Morgan M. Hynes

Classroom makerspaces: Identifying the opportunities and challenges

This paper aims at introducing, identifying opportunities, presenting a vision and stakeholder driven challenges regarding the concept of classroom makerspaces. With the engineering design process at its core, the discussions are in the purview of K-college engineering classrooms. So as to provide a background and elucidate upon accomplishments to date, we first shed light on the history, elements and evolution of makerspaces. Then we present the motivation for this work rooted in educational theory and also put forth our vision for classroom makerspaces. The present day opportunities arising from the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and expectations from science and engineering classrooms are then identified which serve as further motivation for this practice. The subsequent section on challenges is the result of a brainstorm by our team of engineering education researchers, who are well acquainted with the concept of classroom makerspaces and bring to the table a diverse set of experiences and knowhow from academia, education and engineering. This paper is aimed at aiding the academic community to understand these challenges and subsequently address them with future studies and practices, so as to be in a better position for inclusion of classroom makerspaces in educational institutions.

The use of engineering design scenarios to assess student knowledge of global, societal, economic, and environmental contexts

Product archaeology as an educational approach asks engineering students to consider and explore the broader societal and global impacts of a products manufacturing, distribution, use, and disposal on people, economics, and the environment. This study examined the impact of product archaeology in a project-based engineering design course on student attitudes and perceptions about engineering and abilities to extend and refine knowledge about broader contexts. Two design scenarios were created: one related to dental hygiene and one related to vaccination delivery. Design scenarios were used to (1) assess knowledge of broader contexts, and (2) test variability of student responses across different contextual situations. Results from pre- to post-surveying revealed improved student perceptions of knowledge of broader contexts. Significant differences were observed between the two design scenarios. The findings support the assumption that different design scenarios elicit consideration of different contexts and design scenarios can be constructed to target specific contextual considerations.

Appearances matter: The perceived complexity, coherence, mystery, and legibility of makerspace labs

Makerspace labs are popping up across U.S. universities following the excitement the Maker movement has created. These spaces are touted as a place where students can express their creativity and turn their ideas into innovations. Makerspaces do indeed foster self-directed learning and creative innovation; however, little has been studied regarding the design of such spaces to draw in the general student population. This paper shares results from a pilot study where the research team created a survey based on the preferred environments theoretical framework to measure first-year engineering students preferences regarding various images of makerspace labs.

People, Means, and Activities: A Conceptual Framework for Realizing the Educational Potential of Makerspaces

Makerspaces are environments where individuals use technologies to make physical artifacts within a community of fellow Makers. There has been growing interest in the educational potential of Making activities which has resulted in many schools procuring tools and technologies to set up their Makerspaces. However, there is scant research investigating the efficacy of Making these newly emerging Makerspaces intended for learning. In our work, we narrow this gap in knowledge between the claimed educational potential of Making and its attainment. By synthesizing prior work and publically available data on Makerspaces, we introduce a framework to situate the educational considerations for Makerspaces and recommend directions for future research on educational Makerspaces. Being cognizant of the Maker culture having emerged outside of the academic literature, we synthesize publically available data from 53 untraditional but relevant sources. These sources include definitions of Making forwarded by 3 well-established Maker initiatives (Makerspace, Hackerspace, and Fab Lab), 18 relevant sites of Making activities across the United States, 17 sites from other countries (namely, China, India, Morocco, and Spain), and 15 Maker initiatives at schools in the United States. After proposing and detailing the framework, we recommend directions for future research to attain the potential of educational Making.

Full list of citations from: Systematic Review of Research in P-12 Engineering Education from 2000-2015

Nations throughout the world have recognized the importance of having a Science, Technology, Engineering, andMathematics (STEM) competent workforce in today’s highly competitive and technical economy. As such, the past fifteenyears have seen a sharp rise in introducing pre-college (P-12) students to engineering and engaging them in learningengineering principles. Policy decisions to include engineering in national curriculum and standards have not beeninformed by as rich a body of research as subjects such as mathematics and science; however, research on P-12 engineeringeducation is on the rise. This paper presents a systematic review of the engineering education research in P-12 published injournals from 2000–2015. A systematic review follows a set of replicable, detailed procedures that describe how the articleswere selected, reviewed, and analysed. The results of this review included 218 peer-reviewed journal articles. The paperdetails the kinds of research and research questions these papers focused on, and synthesizes and discusses findings ofacross different topics, and proposes research topics ripe for further work.

Design-based research to broaden participation in pre-college engineering: research and practice of an interest-based engineering challenges framework

ABSTRACT This paper presents a design-based research project undertaken to test and implement an interest-based engineering challenges framework for pre-college students. This work is motivated by the need for innovative engineering education practices in pre-college settings, and making engineering more inclusive for people from diverse backgrounds. The design-based research methodology can be challenging to implement as it comprises of multiple, cyclical research activities that provide challenges in documenting and communicating the larger study’s progress. This paper presents findings from this continuously evolving study, and also the design and implementation of this design-based research at roughly the halfway point for a four-year study. Each of the consequent versions scaffold to answer the broader research questions of the study pertaining to: engineering appealing to students’ personal interests, empowering underrepresented groups to find meaningful connections to engineering, leading more authentic engagement in engineering and design practices, and improving students’ attitudes and perception of engineering.