Shaunna Smith

Through the Teacher's Eyes: Unpacking the TPACK of Digital Fabrication Integration in Middle School Language Arts.

Abstract Digital fabrication consists of manufacturing design technology that is used to facilitate the creation of physical objects. Existing research suggests digital fabrication technology can inspire student creativity and innovation in mathematics and science. However, there is a lack of research that informs teacher education by identifying practical pedagogies to meaningfully integrate digital fabrication into language arts curricula, which this article seeks to achieve. Guided by the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework of 21st century teacher knowledge, this case study explores one middle school teacher’s yearlong journey as she integrated digital fabrication technology to create pop-up books in an afterschool program with a language arts focus.

Fail Again, Fail Better: Embracing Failure as a Paradigm for Creative Learning in the Arts

United States educational policy, unfortunately, has created a platform where successes are celebrated and failures are punished—in line with the culturally popular but problematic catchphrase “failure is not an option” (Giroux & Schmidt, 2004; Weinzimmer & McConoughey, 2012). Policy oft en builds a negative view toward failure, preventing opportunities for teachers and students to fail. Th is is compounded by other factors that heighten fear of failure. Beyond this, there remains the fact that failure lies rooted in an area of the psyche, which makes risk-taking a natural aversion. Psychology tells us that in our evolutionary past, survival was dependent on minimizing loss of what you have. To risk or explore unnecessarily and lose (even a little) was dangerous—building risk-aversion into human psychology (Nicholson, 1998). Yet human ingenuity and discovery have always indulged curiosity, and curiosity requires being open to failure. When circumstances are safe enough, this is oft en what people do. Konner (2010) has described this behavior of learning in children where they learn about their world through playful trail and error—but only when they know they are safe. “All of old. Nothing else ever. Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” —Samuel Beckett (O’Connell, 2014) Embracing Failure as a Paradigm for Creative Learning in the Arts

Pre-service teachers’ blog reflections: Illuminating their growth and development

Abstract Blogging, a mode of electronic journaling, has been identified as an effective means to help pre-service teachers to construct meaning about their experiences. The purpose of this study was to examine pre-service teachers’ reflections about their praxis through blogging and to describe the nature of their growth and development. The use of reflective writing through blogging helped to identify three themes that emerged from the data: (1) validation, (2) prescriptive, and (3) self-assessment. Our findings suggest that blogging facilitated a community of learners that provided support and encouragement. Pre-service teachers’ reflections revealed a focus on the mechanistic aspects of teaching without critically examining the nature of what was observed. However, our findings also suggest that structuring reflective thinking through blogging has the potential to foster a nascent understanding about teaching and learning.

Robo/graphy: Using Practical Arts-Based Robots to Transform Classrooms Into Makerspaces

Since the 1980s robotic-art has been a valuable, if overlooked, domain within the study of contemporary visual arts, art history, and arts education. In this article we introduce a series of real-w...

‘‘Lend a Hand’’ Project Helps Students: Improved Spatial Visualization Skills Through Engaging in Hands-On 3-D Printed Prosthetics Project During a 9th Grade Engineering Course

Research shows that high spatial ability is linked to success and persistence in STEM. Empirical investigations often report a gender gap in favor of male students. The purpose of this research study was to assess changes to 9th grade engineering students’ spatial visualization skills through engagement in a nine-week collaborative 3-D printed prosthetics project embedded within their existing ‘‘Beginning Concepts of Engineering’’ course curriculum. Using concurrent mixed methods, this study examined pre/post-test scores on the Revised Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Rotations (Revised PSVT:R) in connection with gender, course grades, and level of involvement in the project. Both male and female students’ spatial visualization skills improved overall through the project. Higher levels of project involvement had a positive correlation with students’ Revised PSVT:R scores, and semester course grades. Female students had lower Revised PSVT:R scores than their male peers before and after the project; however, females experienced statistically significant gains in their post-project Revised PSVT:R scores. The trend of the closing gender gap that is evidenced by the female and male students’ mean scores suggests that a novel collaborative project, which includes hands-on, spatially-rich activities, can help female students catch up on their spatial visualization and mental rotation skills. This impact is increased when students dedicate more time to the project.

Children’s Negotiations of Visualization Skills During a Design-Based Learning Experience Using Nondigital and Digital Techniques

In the context of a 10-day summer camp makerspace experience that employed design-based learning (DBL) strategies, the purpose of this descriptive case study was to better understand the ways in which children use visualization skills to negotiate design as they move back and forth between the world of nondigital design techniques (i.e., drawing, 3-D drawing with hot glue, sculpture, discussion, writing) and digital technologies (i.e., 3-D scanning, 3-D modeling, 3-D printing). Participants included 20 children aged 6–12. This research was guided by Vossoughi, Hooper, and Escudé’s (2016) call for explicit attention to pedagogical practices during the integration of “making” activities. Content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data, including observation, researcher/facilitator field notes, think aloud protocols, daily reflective exit tickets, and participant artifacts. Findings highlight the ways in which participants negotiated visualization skills through (a) imagining, drawing, and seeing through creating 2-D sketches, (b) reasoning and relating through writing stories, (c) transforming through 3-D extrusion, (d) observing and noticing through 3-D sculpting and 3-D scanning, and (e) manipulating through digital 3-D modeling, mental rotation, and mental transformation. Implications for formal K–12 educational contexts and teacher preparation programs are discussed.

Educators’ perceptions of a maker-based learning experience

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine a cohort of educators’ perspectives of a semester-long maker-based university course. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study utilized participants’ weekly and end-of-semester written reflections to illustrate the participants’ perceptions of a semester-long university course focused on the role of maker principles and technologies in a variety of educational contexts. Findings The participants’ perceptions of learning following the semester-long maker experience viewed learning as a more collaborative experience, and noted the benefits of a classroom community that arose from the collaboration. Originality/value This study adds empirical research to the literature base on the use of maker tools and strategies in formal educational environments. While other studies have examined similar environments, they tend to focus on short-term, single experiences. This study followed the development of educators’ perceptions of a maker-based learning experience over a longer duration of time. The findings of this study provide a research-based foundation for teacher educators to build upon when developing maker-based learning activities.