How to Support Maker Teachers in the Classroom: Teacher Perceptions of "Making," Maker-Spaces, and Maker-Teachers

• In Event: Novel Approaches to Professional Learning for STEM Teachers

Abstract

Many are trying to adopt Making into education by building on Piaget’s constructivism and Papert’s constructionism to bring technology into the use of teaching in a more integrated way. It is much misunderstood, and as of yet not well researched particularly as of its use in a classroom setting. This paper sets out to answer the question of “What exactly is a Maker Teacher, and how do we professionally develop one?” The main goal of this work was to understand how a group of teachers who had been participating in a project that integrates Making into the elementary public-school classroom for one semester perceived Making, Makerspaces, and Maker teachers.

Authors

• Beth Deuermeyer, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Rachel Turner, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Mario I Suárez, Utah State University

• Samantha M Meister, Texas A&M University

• Francis Quek, Texas A&M University

• Sharon Lynn Chu, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Lynn Burlbaw, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Patricia J. Larke, Texas A&M University

• Rebecca Schlegel