The Makerspace movement is beginning to take over the library world. I've heard terms like Fablab, Innovation Lab, & Makerspace. Upon my first glimpse of a Makerspace, about 3 years ago, it looked like it was a place where materials were provided for students to explore and create. Sounds appealing, but what does that really look like? And how does it fit into a school library?
Through exploring these questions, I have found that many of us have been using Makerspaces, and the idea of Makerspaces, just not the terminology. A Makerspace is simply a space where materials are provided for students to manipulate to create solutions. Not mindless creation, but facilitated by directed objectives and problems to be solved. The model I liked best was utilizing Problem Based Learning (PBL) by providing students the materials necessary to solve the problems found. This type of environment encourages students to learn through exploration and failure. They create, explore, manipulate, and have optimism to complete tasks. The benefit of Problem Based Learning is that students are challenged to see problems and create solutions. This type of facilitation truly pushes our students to operate at the highest level of Blooms! Many of us already do this in our classrooms, computer labs, and in the library. We just have not been using the same terminology. I think that utilizing a Makerspace will encourage us as teachers to become facilitators of our students learning more than the givers of information.
Check out this video regarding PBL
In this video they point out 5 keys to rigorous Project Based Learning.
1. Real World Connection
2. Core to learning
3. Structured collaboration
4. Student driven
5. Multifaceted assessment
Some of the main points I find most helpful and interesting were that our students will begin to identify and seek out authentic problems in our world. They will use all areas of academics to solve these problems. This approach is more like the real world we, as teachers, are preparing them to work and succeed in. Students become - more engaged, self directed, think deeply, collaborate with one another, and problem solve.
As teachers, we become facilitators who ask good questions, give hints not answers, and scaffold the problem based learning. We can encourage and lead our students to think critically regarding real world situations while teaching the TEKS. It is truly a model of learning that students thrive on and internalize the concepts being taught.
Here is another video that helped me in discovering the benefit and purpose of a Makerspace.
A few of my favorite talking points are:
*Our students are operating in a 2D world and are missing the 3D inventiveness our world requires.
*Three aspects to a Makerspace 1people 2PBL 3Space
*Makerspaces encourage a growth mindset by encouraging a persistent tinkering mentality
*A mentality of unshakable optimism, unlimited opportunity, &never ending satisfaction
*Problem based learning encourages our students to be personally motivated-discovering their problems and finding ways to solve their own problems
Some of the values this video states that makers live by are:
*Embrace Ambiguity
*Don't know the answers
*Learn from failures
*Optimism
*Take ownership
I also enjoyed hearing about their initial impact:
*Students like all of the different outcomes that their projects resulted in
*Students are learning what they want (while also learning what we want them to learn, but with a personal interest)
So what does all of this mean for our Library?
I think it means we provide materials, a space, and collaboration between teachers and the librarian to create a Problem Based Learning experience extending the TEKS the teachers are currently covering in their classrooms.
How? Well, I think we are already headed in the right direction! We currently collaborate to create collaboration Fridays, so now we look at ways to raise the rigor through offering PBL in connection to the TEKS being presented each week in class. (on a side note, PBL should cover all subject areas or STEAM)
I am looking forward to integrating this form of facilitation and questioning into our library and school!
Don't miss a preview coming at the end of the month! Makerspace Collaboration Week!
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