A Makerspace is “a place where people can come together to use, and learn to use materials as well as develop creative projects” (Makerspaces Australia, n.d.). Makerspaces can be anywhere, but are commonly found in public and school libraries. It is best if the space “can be used for a range of activities with changing and flexible educational goals and creative purposes” (Makerspaces Australia, n.d.). Makerspaces and the idea of the maker movement are underpinned by pedagogies that focus on the learner as constructing their own knowledge through doing – through making. Sylvia Martinez tells us that “knowledge is born out of experience” (2014). If we give students the opportunity to use these Makerspaces to create something, then they are delving more deeply into what they are learning, rather than just taking notes, or listening to a teacher talk.
The main pedagogical theory that underpins Makerspaces is constructionism. Jonan Davidson talks about how constructionism is similar to constructivism in that it describes how people construct knowledge, but Papert added to the theory by arguing that learners also need to “construct real-world inventions which can be shared with others” (2014). If we allow our learners to use Makerspaces to engage in constructionist theory, then we are also enabling them to engage with content creatively and critically.
There are many different technologies out there that are appropriate for constructionist pedagogy and Makerspaces in particular. Today, I will be focusing on the Makeblock Neuron. The Neuron is a kit of programmable, magnetic blocks that have different inputs and outputs, resulting in a plethora of different functions and activities.
The Makeblock Neuron has uses in both primary and high school, and in all learning areas. The magnets and stability of the blocks make it good for younger students, while the programming aspects make it good for older students. Specifically for a languages/Japanese class, I would program the Neuron to respond to voice recognition with certain Japanese phrases, which would then be written in Japanese script on the display block, helping with vocabulary acquisition in the target language.
References:
Donaldson, J. (2014). The Maker Movement and the rebirth of Constructionism. Hybrid Pedagogy. Available at: https://hybridpedagogy.org/constructionism-reborn/
Makerspaces Australia. (n.d.). What is a Makerspace? Retrieved from http://makerspacesaustralia.weebly.com/what-is-a-makerspace.html
Martinez, S. (2014). Invent to learn: making, tinkering and engineering in the classroom [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDUHSPKvJRA
Digital Creativity and Learning 
One reply on “Makerspaces in Schools”
Hi courtney
I enjoyed reading your blog, it was very engaging and insightful. I like your definition of makerspaces and how they’re underpinned by a constructionist pedagogy, where the students are also creating their own knowledge. I particularly like your emphasis on how we need to get students more connected with their learning through hands-on learning experiences as they’re have a more robust effect on learning than simply taking notes. This provides a persuasive stand on the necessity of having makerspaces in schools. I also like your ideas of using neutron kits in Japanese classes. I think it is a really cool and unique way of acquiring knowledge on different letters, words and phrases in Japanese and the knowledge would also be created by the student and not just received, which makes it highly effective. However there can al be various negatives on using makerspaces, as students may have difficulty knowing how to construct things, particularly students who struggle in subjects like visual arts, which would lead to increased time spent on teacher instruction, limiting available time for independent knowledge construction. Also materials can be expensive and not all schools have a loose enough budget and packing up and setting up these spaces can also be time consuming, limiting learning time. I would’ve live to see some outline of these negatives and possible solutions.
Overall Great Blog!
Definitely was a pleasure to read!
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