Making Is Fun but Are They Learning?: Equity in Science Education
Description
There is growing interest in Making as a new approach to STEM learning. Students and teachers alike are excited about it. The White House is excited about it. Many federal agencies, including NSF, are exploring Making as an inclusive approach to engaging learners in STEM practices of designing, engineering, testing, and creative, improvisational problem-solving.
Making looks and feels like fun. But what are young people learning? And how do educators make Making a rich and inclusive process for all?
This video shares findings from a research-practice partnership, called the California Tinkering Afterschool Network, that brought together STEM researchers and afterschool Maker educators to co-investigate how Making activities could support more equitable approaches to STEM learning, and what kinds of professional learning educators needed to make Making productive and equitable for all learners. Read more about the research project and our findings in our attached report.
This partnership is part of the Research + Practice Collaboratory (researchandpractice.org), funded by NSF Award #DUE-1238253.
Download: CTAN Research Report: Making as a Strategy for Afterschool STEM Learning