Learning About Makerspaces: Professional Development with K-12 Inservice Educators

Abstract

Makerspaces are the latest educational movement that may disrupt the “grammar of schooling.” Makerspaces may change the ways schools use technology; change the ways schools engage in learning and teaching; and change the forms of learning that count in schools. However, without deliberate professional learning and planning, the glamor of new tech tools can overshadow the importance of pedagogy within makerspaces. We share our approach to makerspace professional learning in K–12 schools, which is adapted from the Frank et al. “Focus, Fiddle, and Friends” framework on knowledge diffusion within schools. Our workshops focus on teaching and learning strategies, model making pedagogy, expose educators to current technology tools, and value play.

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Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lana Peterson

Lana Peterson is a PhD student within the Learning Technologies program at the University of Minnesota and is the professional development and community engagement coordinator at the LT Media Lab. Her research interests include K–12 technology integration, digital learning environments, participatory politics, and computer science.

Cassandra Scharber

Cassandra Scharber is an associate professor of learning technologies and the co-founder/associate director of the Learning Technologies Media Lab at the University of Minnesota. Her research spans the areas of K–12 technology integration, computational thinking, and digital literacy. Scharber is published in many journals, including Gender and Education, Educational Philosophy and Theory, Computers in the Schools, and the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. Please address correspondence regarding this article to Cassandra Scharber, LT Media Lab, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Minnesota, 210C Learnings and Environment Sciences Building, 1954 Buford Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA. E-mail: [email protected]