Coding, Circuits, and Sewing: Learning Through Making at/After School

• In Event: 47.093 - Supporting Learners in STEM, Making, and Computational Thinking

Abstract

Making, maker spaces, tinker labs, or creation labs have recently garnered attention as means for supporting student learning in STEM (Halverson & Sheridan, 2014; Harlow & Hansen, 2018; Martin, 2015). While interest in making is high, little research has been conducted that evaluates student learning through making in K-12 classroom spaces. Empirical research on maker spaces is necessary to demonstrate the efficacy of their inclusion within classroom curricula and to ensure that making is tied to the competencies it is purported to develop. This study attempted to address that gap by examining student learning through two making projects: the construction of e-textiles, or wearable hats, in both an after-school club and an in-class unit, in a school in Ontario, Canada.

Authors

• Cristyne Hebert, University of Regina

• Jennifer Jenson, York University