Developing a Maker Mindset
On the outside, Making and Tinkering may look like the newest educational fad meant to coax schools into investing in products that eventually serve as “cute” objects gathering dust. But a closer look reveals that Making and Tinkering is aligned with the progressive educational theories set forth by Dewey, Papert, Piaget, and Vygotsky among others. It serves as the vehicle to personalized inquiry, project-based learning, and design thinking.
Making and Tinkering can help learners develop an understanding of the world they live in, the impact they can have, and equip them with the skills to learn, adapt and create with others in our rapidly changing world.
The real power of Making and Tinkering activities is not in the tools but in the philosophy and pedagogy. In this workshop, we will explore the ways in which Making and Tinkering can be used to develop a mindset that values playfulness, experimentation, failure, iteration, collaboration, and community as ways of learning, growing, and connecting. This mindset is most commonly referred to as a Maker Mindset.
Participants will build their understanding through an analysis of research-backed theories, examination of the pedagogy, case-studies and hands-on experience with Maker activities using no-tech and low-tech tools and materials. In addition, participants will gain valuable insights into assessing learning through Making and approaches to incorporating Making inside and outside of the classroom.
Target Audience: Classroom teachers, learning specialists and school leaders who want to learn how to establish Making and Tinkering as a powerful philosophy, pedagogy and practice in their classrooms and schools.
Continuum Levels: 2, 3 = Deepening Understanding (theory-based learning, investigating models, identifying experts) | Initiating Implementation (setting structures, developing skills, piloting practice, scaffolding support)
NESA's Learning Continuum:
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