Constructionism and the maker movement

In this week we focused on constructionism a theory devised by Seymour Papert whereby learning for students is surrounded upon creativity, designing, producing and presenting their new-found knowledge (Donaldson, 2014). However, what encapsulates constructionism is the process of constructing inventions that can be applied to the real world and shared to others (Donaldson, 2014). In conjunction, the maker movement is a pedagogical inclusive movement whereby the accessibility of “constructive technology” is becoming increasingly prominent within the education sphere (Martinez & Stager, 2014, p.13). Therefore, educators, institutions and students can access a multitude of technologies promoting their problem-solving skills and enhancing student’s self-expression of knowledge thereby developing a passion for education (Martinez & Stager, 2014).

Constructionism can be applied to all Key Learning Areas (KLAs), (Bower et al, 2018). As it not only develops fundamental knowledge of KLA’s but also higher order thinking skills as when student’s become makers they are involved within the designing process (Dougherty, 2013). Thereby, constructionism is fostering creativity and learning through its process of building designs. As for example within our tutorials in week 7 we continued our designing process (product made in week 3) of creating a water irrigation system which incorporated MICRO:BIT.

By Shah Garcia, Images presented shows the process of Micro:bit and its coding aspect

Micro:bit is a tiny computer that when plugged into the computer via a an adapter, and opening up a browser that allows us to code certain actions of objects. We coded our designs to manipulate a straw that would feed water into soil. Which was a really engaging and challenging to do therefore required a lot of trial and error.

By Shah Garcia, through code we were able to manipulate the object

Creativity and learning can be fostered through this process of making by providing students with a effective makerspace as the design of space is really important in creating letting students explore, learn technical skills, be creative and promote safe collaborative learning (Falloon, et, al., 2022). Studies by have shown that when students partake in maker spaces in STEM learning, it fosters a multitude of higher order thinking skill such as a growth mindset, risk-tasking and independence which in turn can foster creative thinking (Fallon, et, al., 2022).

There are limitations of constructionism and the maker movement such as when classrooms do not have the required resources to include a maker space that can heavily impede constructionism (Stevenson et, al., 2019). Also, when the process of maker spaces is rushed students can find it hard to form ideas and they can struggle to start designing (Stevenson, et, al., 2019).

References:

Bower, M., Stevenson, M., Falloon, G., Forbes, A., & Hatzigianni, M. (2018). Makerspaces in primary school settings: advancing 21st century and STEM capabilities using 3D design and printing. Macquarie University. https://primarymakers.com/

Donaldson, J.P, (2014). The Maker Movement and the rebirth of Constructionism. Hybrid Pedagogy. https://hybridpedagogy.org/constructionism-reborn/

Dougherty, D. (2013). The Maker mindset. In Honey, D. E. (Eds. . David E. Kanter, Margaret Honey, David Kanter (David E.), Taylor, & Francis (Eds.), Design, make, play : growing the next generation of STEM innovators, edited by Margaret Honey, David E. Kanter. (pp. 7–11). New York : Routledge.

Falloon, G., Forbes, A., Stevenson, M., Bower, M., & Hatzigianni, M. (2022). STEM in the Making? Investigating STEM Learning in Junior School Makerspaces. Research in Science Education (Australasian Science Education Research Association), 52(2), 511–537. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-020-09949-3

Martinez, & Stager, G. (2014). The maker movement: A learning revolution. Learning & Leading with Technology, 41(7), 12–17. http://simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=97093591&site=ehost-live

Stevenson, M., Bower, M., Falloon, G., Forbes, A., & Hatzigianni, M. (2019). By design : Professional learning ecologies to develop primary school teachers’ makerspaces pedagogical capabilities. British Journal of Educational Technology, 50(3), 1260–1274. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12743