K. A. Searle

Supporting Interactive Youth Maker Programs in Public and School Libraries: Design Hypotheses and First Implementations

After six months of observation at three middle school libraries and one public library implementing Maker-oriented programs, we propose four design hypotheses derived from qualitative data analysis and initial testing through design implementation. These design hypotheses address how public and school libraries serving adolescent youth can better facilitate Maker-oriented activities and are drawn from an on-going study and design project to help libraries develop interactive, technologically enriched spaces and programs to support youth exploration and creativity. Each hypothesis is illustrated with examples drawn from our observations of libraries before and after maker programs were introduced.

Sustaining Making in the Era of Accountability: STEM Integration Using E-Textiles Materials in a High School Physics Class

Maker-projects have often been implemented in K-12 schools to foster the emergence of identity, develop maker mindsets, fuel creation, and master STEM skills and content. This paper explores the ability of an electronic textiles, or e-textile, maker project to develop deeper science learning within a unit where computer science, technology, engineering, design, and physics intersect. Maker-project learning is often dedicated to bridging the areas that make up STEM, namely science, technology, engineering and mathematics. However, the content areas of science and mathematics are often less explored pillars within STEM while implementing maker-projects in a K-12 classroom. We look at how a unit on electricity in a high school physics classroom is taught using the programming of an Arduino microcontroller and electronic textile construction. In this way, the science in computer science is emphasized and understood from a physics perspective.

Connecting Space and Narrative in Culturally Responsive Making in ARIS with Indigenous Youth

Attending to issues of equity in making1 demands that we work closely with communities, focusing on what it is made, how it is made, for whom, and in what contexts. Rather than exploring making exclusively as a pathway to STEM learning, we examine how Indigenous youth learned about and documented community-based making using the Augmented Reality and Interactive Storytelling (ARIS) platform. Drawing on a range of qualitative data, we asked: (1) What did youth learn about makers, materials, and cultural meanings in their community? (2) What were the making processes of small groups of Native American youth tasked with developing games located in their community? Findings highlight how Indigenous youth learned about and incorporated cultural knowledge into their ARIS games. In the discussion, we address how beginning and ending with community-based making contributes to ongoing discussions about culturally responsive making and what others might learn from our experiences.