Tinkering with “Failure”: Equity, Learning, and the Iterative Design Process

This paper attempts to reframe popular notions of “failure” as recently celebrated in the Maker Movement, Silicon Valley, and beyond. Building on Vossoughi et al.’s 2013 FabLearn publication describing how a focus on iterations/drafts can serve as an equity-oriented pedagogical move in afterschool tinkering contexts, we explore what it means for afterschool youth and educators to persist through unexpected challenges when using an iterative design process in their tinkering projects. More specifically, this paper describes: 1) how young women in a program geared toward increasing equitable access to quality science, technology, and engineering education for girls underrepresented in the field (Techbridge) make sense of their tinkering experiences while persisting through challenges in the iterative design process, 2) which pedagogical moves both Techbridge girls and educators value when persisting through frustrations, 3) what iterative design learning looks like in the afterschool program, and 4) how supporting iterative design processes over end-products can redefine notions of STEM ability and intelligence by inviting diverse learners into activities they find meaningful.