Maker Program Variation: How Programmatic Design Impacts Constructionist Learning

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Abstract

In this paper, we explore maker program variation across a public library system serving patrons across the city via partnerships that enable field trips/regular programming to and from public schools and the juvenile detention center. In efforts to engage learners in constructionist practices without forgoing ideals of equity and access, libraries have stepped in as learning environments that offer maker programs from a democratizing perspective. This article aims to characterize the maker programs available and examine how programmatic design impacts constructionist learning, often claimed to be a keystone of learning through making. We find that programs tend to be single session, occurring in modifiable spaces, and geared towards amateur makers with implications for extended learning, dispositional learning, and learner agency.

Authors

• Alexandra Lakind, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Erica Rosenfeld Halverson, University of Wisconsin - Madison