Publication: Learning About Makerspaces: Professional Development with K-12 Inservice Educators

In December of 2017, Dr. Cassie Scharber and I published “Learning About Makerspaces: Professional Development with K-12 Inservice Educators”, in a special issue of the Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education (JDLTE).

Makerspaces are the latest educational movement that may disrupt the “grammar of schooling.” Makerspaces may change the ways schools use technology; change the ways schools engage in learning and teaching; and change the forms of learning that count in schools. However, without deliberate professional learning and planning, the glamor of new tech tools can overshadow the importance of pedagogy within makerspaces. We share our approach to makerspace professional learning in K–12 schools, which is adapted from the Frank et al. “Focus, Fiddle, and Friends” framework on knowledge diffusion within schools. Our workshops focus on teaching and learning strategies, model making pedagogy, expose educators to current technology tools, and value play.