Where Should Learners Struggle?

Graphical Abstract

Abstract

I’ve had one cohort of kids…They were with me last year and then they came back and did a more advanced maker club this year, and so the way that they approached these challenges is so different. They have this mindset where they need to plan and then [confer] and then make a first prototype. And when they see that that’s not good enough, they’ll go back to the planning board…Whereas the kids that are new to the club—I’ve done a lot of hand holding with them towards the making, even, because they get to this obstacle and just give up. —Teacher, maker program in an elementary school education setting

Keywords:

• Informal Education

Supplemental Material

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the many educators and students that contributed to this research project. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DRL-1623452. Any opinions, findings, and, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Author Contributions

Alice Anderson ([email protected]) is manager of audience research and impact at the Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Megan Goeke ([email protected]) is evaluation and research associate at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Amber M. Simpson ([email protected]) is assistant professor of mathematics education at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York.

Adam V. Maltese ([email protected]) is associate professor of science education at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alice Anderson

Alice Anderson ([email protected]) is manager of audience research and impact at the Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Megan Goeke

Megan Goeke ([email protected]) is evaluation and research associate at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Amber M. Simpson

Amber M. Simpson ([email protected]) is assistant professor of mathematics education at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York.

Adam V. Maltese

Adam V. Maltese ([email protected]) is associate professor of science education at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.