Makerspaces are physical locations where students, teachers, and community members come together to create, design, invent, and problem solve. “The development of a makerspace within the library allows students to build, experiment, work together in projects, and learn from volunteers in the community who are interested in helping students create” (Coatney & Woolls, 2018, p. 26). One way makerspaces impact learning is through critical thinking skills. It helps students to look at all the facts and analyze the problem by providing continuous solutions to figure out what works and what does not work. It also allows students to have the capabilities to collaborate in peer-to-peer learning or be self-directed which leads them to be in control of their learning. Not only does it allow for student collaboration, but for educators to plan and collaborate with other educators to execute hands-on projects that incorporate science and technology to meet academic standards. Through makerspaces, students have the opportunities to develop 21st century skills through technology, hands-on learning, creation, exploring different design thinking approaches, and using higher order problem solving skills which all support real world learning. According to Robertson (2019), makerspaces in libraries help meet the AASL qualities of well-prepared learners and dynamic school libraries by connecting academic knowledge and creating a deeper understanding within these spaces.
References
Coatney, S., & Woolls, B. (2018). The School Library Manager: Surviving and Thriving. ABC-CLIO, LLC.
Makerspace Impact on Student Learning, Success, and Education. (n.d.). KeepnTrack. Retrieved January 16, 2022, from
https://www.keepntrack.com/makerspace-impact-student-learning/
Freeman, A., Adams Becker, S., Cummins, M., Davis, A., and Hall Giesinger, C. (2017).
NMC/CoSN Horizon Report: 2017 K–12 Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media
Consortium.
Robertson, N. D. (2019, November/December). Expanding School Library Collections:
The Makerspace Edition. Knowledge Quest, 48(2), 8-14. ERIC.
Julian, K. D., & Parrott, D. J. (2017). Makerspaces in the Library: Science in a Student's
Hands. Journal of Learning Spaces, 6(2), 1-9. ERIC.
Makerspace. (2014–2021). [Photograph]. Makerspaces.com. https://www.makerspaces.com/makerspace-guide-school-and-library/
Love that you talked about how Makerspace gives the opportunity for teachers to collaborate. A lot of educators think the only thing they can work together on is specific lessons, but Makerspace gives another opportunity for educators to use their own critical thinking skills to empower their students.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most important aspects of creating a lifelong learner is being a critical thinker. Librarians have a responsibility to teach these skills and setup makerspaces to ensure those skills are being developed and students learn 21st century skills, as you stated. Many good points within this post.
ReplyDeleteReally great post! I think that markerspaces are important in the learning process, and gives that peer-to-peer learning experience, which is so important!
ReplyDeleteI would love to see a really good Makerspace in action. I've read several articles about them, but I can't seem to get my head around it. Do you give them a topic of something to make? I just see construction paper all over a table.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your short post! No added fluff, just straight to the point. I need to work on this for sure, but anyway, I also see the value and importance of makerspaces. However, at my current campus the kids have only used them maybe twice all year so I'm wondering about the consistency in which they are supposed to be used.
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