Our research from multiple projects shows that making-based learning can effectively help students explore real-life situations where math and other STEM subjects are useful and important. Over the last 10 years, our team has explored the affordances and drawbacks of making in schools, afterschool programs, and informal learning settings as well as with different age groups, from students in 4th grade all the way to high school. In collaboration with partners and teachers, we have tested 3D design and 3D printing in math classes to elevate spatial reasoning. We have also worked to support youth in connecting STEM and entrepreneurship through making in a makerspace. And, finally, we have created a math and making afterschool program that provides real-world contexts and tools to solidify and expand youths’ service to their families and communities. In short, we have found that making-based learning has allowed us to engage students who may otherwise be uninterested in STEM subjects and allowed us to more deeply engage even those learners who already enjoy STEM.
Our first foray into making and mathematics (MPACT, DOE # U411C180070), was the development of a set of grades 4–7 in-school curricula to promote spatial reasoning, computational thinking, and standards mathematics content. Youth were introduced to a four-phase design approach (Collect Ideas, Prototype, Design, Make) to create 3D artifacts. They collected ideas on solving a particular design problem through observations, interviews, andresearch. They created prototypes with easy-to-obtain reusable materials, like cardboard and masking tape, and then generated designs in TinkerCad™, a freely available 3D design program suitable for school-age students. Students then printed their designs and compared them to their design goals. We found that youth developed a more robust understanding of key mathematics and improved their spatial reasoning.
Through a propitious collaboration, we designed AAMASE, an out-of- school project to explore in more detail the possibility of older youth learning STEM and entrepreneurship through making in a well- established makerspace (AAMASE, NSF#2148543). The groups of mostly young women worked in collaboration with local professional makers, developing their agency and making skills. Being in the makerspace, youth were able to participate in consequential making– the kind of making that is meaningful to the youth, resulting in a useful and/or beautiful object (Tan et. al, 2016).These young women engaged in welding, resin casting, laser cutting, wood-working, ceramics, sewing, and electronics among other making activities. You will see examples of several youths’ experiences in the AAMASE article in this issue.
Our third project, AMPED 4 Making, (NSF#2215382) was co- developed with the Cesar Chavez Foundation to explore the intersection ofconsequential making and mathematics in afterschool settings. The goal is to engage middle schoolers in design-and-making projects to address community needs as perceived by the youth. In the four semesters, youth use mathematics to design, prototype, or build meaningful and useful artifacts. Throughout they learn about and embody principles derived from the life of Cesar Chavez, such as service-orientation, appreciation of their communities, and development of persistence, which the program and youth also know as “Sí Se Puede”(“can do” or “yes we can”) attitude. In student interviews (page 12), youth show us what they have learned and how proud they are of what they make and what they have learned while making.
Finally, our newest venture, Making in the Garden (TERC-funded) examines how making and playing with human-sized geometric objects in an afterschool setting, with young children ages 9-11, impacts their spatial reasoning and mathematical thinking. These activities have had extremely high engagement from youth and facilitators, and have resulted in a 3D making club led by program teachers. We expect to share stories and findings in future issues of Hands On!
AAMASE Website terc.edu/projects/aamase
AMPED 4 Making Website terc.edu/amped4making/
Making an Impact with MPACT terc.edu/hands-on-magazine-fall-2023
MPACT Website terc.edu/projects/mpact
Making in the Garden terc.edu/news/math-and-making-fccenters
Authors
Teresa Lara-Meloy and Ken Rafanan are PIs on AMPED 4 Making and AAMASE, respectively. They also collaborated in MPACT and Making in the Garden.
Acknowledgements
This material is based upon work partially supported by the National Science Foundation Awards #2215382, #2148543 and Department of Education award # U411C180070. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or the Department of Education.
References
Tan, E., Calabrese Barton, A., Shin, M., & Turner, C. (2016). Probing participatory partnerships: Equitably-consequential making by, for and with marginalized youth. Proceedings of the 6th Annual Conference on Creativity and Fabrication in Education.