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"Makerspaces are intended to appeal to people of all ages, and are founded on openness to experiment, iterate, and create. The driving force behind makerspaces is rooted in the maker movement, a following comprised of artists, tech enthusiasts, engineers, builders, tinkerers, and anyone else with a passion for making things."
(Johnson, L., Becker, S. A., Estrada, V., Freeman, A. 2015)
MAKERSPACES IN RESEARCH
"The maker movement has energy and momentum. This is an important moment for policymakers, funders, and others interested in supporting an alternative narrative for education that focuses on deep and prolonged experiences of learning through making, and results in students developing a sense of agency, self-efficacy, and community."
(Agency by Design White Paper 2015)
"Those who bring making into educational programming – and then proceed to transform the learning experience because of it – speak not only to the connection between making and numerous subject areas but also to the “soft,” non-cognitive skills that are developed. These skills are the 21st century skills ... that makerspaces report as engaging in: creativity and innovation, communication and collaboration, critical thinking and problem-solving, adaptability."
(Chang, S., Keune, A., Peppler, K., Regalla, L. 2015)
"A growing number of researchers and educational leaders see in making the potential to engage young people in personally compelling, creative investigations of the material and social world (Blikstein, 2013; Martin & Dixon, 2013; Martinez & Stager, 2013), to democratize tasks and skills previously available only to experts (Blikstein, 2013), and to expand participation in STEM fields by leveraging the strengths of interest-driven, multi-disciplinary STEM learning environments (Brahms, 2014; Martin, 2014; Sheridan et al., in press). In a June 2014 meeting at the White House, numerous agencies (including the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Education), and corporations (such as Local Motors, Google and Intel), made commitments to supporting the expansion of making activities into community settings (White House, 2014)."
(Vossoughi & Bevan 2015)
References:
Agency by Design Whitepaper (2015). Maker-Centered Learning and the Development of Self: Preliminary Findings of the Agency by Design Project. Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Educaiton.
Chang, S., Keune, A., Peppler, K., Regalla, L. (2015). Open Portfolios: Maker Education Initiative. Research Brief Series.
Johnson, L., Becker, S. A., Estrada, V., Freeman, A. (2015). NMC Horizon report: 2015 higher education edition, New Media Consortium.
Vossoughi, S., & Bevan, B. (2015). Making and Tinkering: A Review of the Literature.
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