Learning by Doing
Curiosity and inquiry learning have been the hot topic of my articles so far, but I thought it important to share the path that led me here: A path still reflected in all my inquiries as I work with year 3 to year 10 students in a unique environment called a Makerspace. You may have noticed my love of, “How might we….” questions to drive inquiry learning. While this is not the only way to begin a big question, it is the question starter that prompts an environment of action, inventing and making in a class called MakerEd.
I have had the absolute privilege of designing and establishing Makerspaces in a couple of schools now. Being surrounded every day by the colourful and intricate array of no-tech, low-tech and high-tech toys and tools is something that gets me out of bed each morning. From the old school saws at a workbench to the robotic gadgets waiting to be programmed or the leftover fabrics organised by colour, ready to be sewn by hand or machine, sorted and labelled in a flexible space, anticipating integration into a project never imagined in last year’s planning. The Makerspace provides a place for all the technology areas to combine within a design thinking model that is so relevant and necessary to solve the problems and create opportunities in our future world.
The current education system, based on the industrial age, needs to be disrupted and redesigned to ensure students have the skills and qualities required to face a rapidly changing, unpredictable and increasingly globally connected economy. Consequently, policymakers and schools are faced with decisions on how to change their teaching and learning to ensure these needs are met. I believe the Makerspace, alongside Maker Education pedagogy, is the perfect environment to grow these skills and approach a new way of teaching and learning suited to the 21st century.
MakerEd is the perfect blend of the globally significant rise in DIY (Do-It-Yourself) mentality that saw entrepreneur Steve Jobs and Apple rise from a suburban garage, and the real life authentic problems that breathe life into our inquiry learning models. Learning through making is embedded in Seymour Papert’s theory of constructionism, where he proposes learners build knowledge through the making of something that is shareable. It is important to note that MakerEd is consistent with constructionism where the student is driving the making rather than being instructed on how to make something. Miles away from instructionism, in the old school technology rooms where students are guided step by step through recipes to make cheese scrolls or given patterns to construct duplicate bird houses.
Replacing these industrial age teaching methods, revolving around recollection and memorisation, MakerEd demands questioning and critical thinking. Martinez and Stager, Authors of “Invent to Learn,” explain that thinking becomes visible when making is shared tangibly. Visible thinking manifests in student reflections throughout the making process from hypothesising, justifying, evaluating, comparing, planning, ideating, testing and iterating their creations. A big idea of Seymour Papert’s Constructionist Learning Lab is that learning should be hard fun. This means we don’t necessarily learn by being told the answer but by struggling to find one, persevering through failure and reflecting on what went wrong. A study of elementary teachers implementing MakerEd reported a higher capability in students to form complex questions as they became more active learners who were posing problems, seeking and testing solutions. MakerEd can be an avenue for vast opportunities to grow critical thinking in students.
Maker Faires, founded by Dale Dougherty and Sherry Huss, are attracting and showcasing makers from all over the world. Tech Labs with memberships mimicking those of a gym are popping up in office buildings in innovative cities. Universities across the world are advertising their creative hubs to attract enrollments. Disguised under various names, these are the Makerspaces of the real world. They are a collision of lifelong learners, in their respective fields of passion and expertise, collaborating to innovate and solve problems while learning from each other.
The design thinking process, used by engineers and innovators worldwide, sets out a framework for my students to develop their 21st century skills. While there are slight adaptations
on design thinking across environments, the one I have personalised for our makerspace moves from wonder, defining, empathising, ideating, prototyping, iterating to making and sharing. It is within this framework students learn to be curious questioners who understand problems from a range of perspectives. Students develop creativity, perseverance, and adaptability as they apply critical thinking to converge their many ideas into a workable model. Growth Mindsets are demonstrated as students iterate, test and most importantly learn that failing forward sometimes gets the best results. The making and sharing stages of this Design Thinking Model have been inspired by the maker mindset where communities of makers work alongside each other to learn new skills and freely share methods to inspire and support their like-minded peers.
Of course, making can happen anywhere, anytime and anyplace. One does not require a makerspace to adopt design thinking or learning by doing. Similarly, one does not need
the latest technology to engage the students in a making environment. The Cardboad Arcade viral YouTube video is proof of this. You can begin learning through making with recyclables, craft materials, playdough and general classroom stationery. Although if you do get your hands on some budget to push the boundaries, I recommend creative and mechanical LEGO, cameras, basic electronic components, marbles and white board tables. If you are keen to include digital technology into your projects, explore the world of robots, 3-D printers, laser cutters and computers. I find the mixture of no tech, low tech and high tech – a mixture which allows for great flexibility, choice and engagement.
If you are lucky enough to establish a makerspace as an entire room or lab, it is worth considering the types of spaces you may need. My first tip would be a lot of wet space and a deep sink, for those messy projects laden with paint, playdough or glue. The carpeted space however, adds a comfortable area where students like to build, draw, conduct physics experiments, film stop motion and test their robotics. I use masking tape on the carpet tiles to mark out grids and mazes, which are excellent for computational thinking.
Another essential part of a complete makerspace is certainly storage. From cupboards and drawers to open shelving and tote trays. Never underestimate the myriad of recyclables, gadgets and broken down appliances you will accumulate and need to hide away.
Regardless of what your space includes, be comfortable with messy learning. It will be chaos from January to December. While it is important for every last LEGO piece to be accounted for upon pack up and power tools to be safely stored away, there will inevitably be paint drying on cardboard in a corner, structures half built on the tables and sewing machines left out for the next session. The 3-D printers will be noisy, the coloured paper and fabrics will lose their rainbow organisation, but the students will be engaged, inspired, creative and learning. Prepare for flexibility with moveable furniture (preferably with wheels). Include the hard woods workbench that can handle the wear and tear of cutting and drilling, as well as cubby holes to display the projects that cannot be gun stapled to the wall or neatly stacked in a pile. There is not a week in the year that my makerspace looks like the last. Adaptability to meet the learning needs is key.
If making and hands on learning inspires you, or you have students who find it hard to articulate thinking and questioning, but love construction and experimenting, I encourage you to begin researching Makerspaces and the maker mindset. There are a wealth of experiences, advice and instructions to help you get started. The possibilities are endless and your inquiries will be as unique as each year’s classroom culture.