lystn

OTT 134 What is Makerspace and Why Does It Matter in the Classroom?

Many teachers are looking for ways to bring more hands-on critical thinking into their classrooms, especially after a lot of screen time in the past year with COVID. I talked all about the 3 crucial reasons to create a makerspace in your classroom post-pandemic on episode 133.

Most Makerspaces, which are spaces that kids can investigate, tinker, discover, create, and build. And yes, they can be anything and anywhere. They don't just have to be in a special space in your schools like a media center or a Makerspace room. Often Makerspace is tied to things like STEM, but it doesn't have to be limited to just these subjects. It can exist to deepen the experience with literature, practice soft skills, and even focus on social and emotional learning. (You can catch my session on SEL with Makerspace at the Whole Teacher Eclecticdon.

Whole Teacher EclecticCon 2021

No matter the objective Makerspace can be a space in your classroom, in a closet, in a tub, on the playground, or even on a cart with the goal that kids can explore creativity through engaging activities. The best part of creating a Makerspace in your own classroom is you can customize your space to cater to the specific needs of your students, their age range, and their interests, or even based on the standards you need to cover.

Makerspaces matter in our classrooms because they allow students to hone in on their own unique strengths and interests to practice valuable future-ready workforce skills such as cooperation, collaboration, empathy, determination, perseverance, and more. These are vital skills for the future, and we need to help students practice these skills.

Makerspace has been a trend for a while now in education. Makerspace stays relevant today because they have the ability to adapt to changing curriculum and academic needs. No matter what you have to teach, students can be creative, direct their own learning, and make productive mistakes, or experience productive struggle. (To hear more about productive struggle, take a listen to the episode.)

Unstructured learning occurs when students are given the reigns to their own learning experience, promoting creativity, innovation, and discovery. Students engage deeply in the activity they design and self-direct and practice their trial and error skills throughout the execution of their learning experience. This type of learning is open-ended, and the end result is unique for every student.

Ultimately, unstructured learning leads to the pursuit and strengthening of important skill sets, including critical thinking, creative problem solving, self-motivation, and even SEL skills, such as productive struggle and managing failure.

Today’s makerspace projects far surpass the shoebox dioramas that we have seen or done ourselves for years. However, it is more about the experience, rather than the product, that truly moves the learning forward. This process over product thinking is about creating, setting goals, working with peers, and problem-solving until success is achieved. Makerspace engages today’s students in a way that few traditional classroom experiences allow. For teachers, creating and promoting these spaces ensures that thei