Learning Through STEM-Rich Tinkering: Findings From a Jointly Negotiated Research Project Taken Up in Practice

January 1st, 2015 | RESEARCH

The Maker Movement has taken the educational field by storm due to its perceived potential as a driver of creativity, excitement, and innovation (Honey & Kanter, 2013; Martinez & Stager, 2013). Making is promoted as advancing entrepreneurship, developing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce, and supporting compelling inquiry-based learning experiences for young people. In this paper, we focus on making as an educative inquiry-based practice, and specifically tinkering as a branch of making that emphasizes creative, improvisational problem solving. STEM-rich tinkering activities are designed to support interdisciplinary investigations and creativity using a STEM-rich palette of tools, concepts, and phenomena. To date, the majority of research on making has focused on analysis of makerspaces, maker communities, and design and implementation of maker activities. In this paper, we describe a study that documented dimensions of learning in tinkering programs designed for museum visitors. The study, which was jointly negotiated among a team of researchers and practitioners, led to the development of a Tinkering Learning Dimensions Framework and a publicly available video library of tinkering exemplars, both of which are being actively used by tinkering practitioners in their direct service to the public and professional development work for the field.

Document

(no document provided)

Team Members

Bronwyn Bevan, Author, Exploratorium
Josh Gutwill, Author, Exploratorium
Mike Petrich, Author, Exploratorium
Karen Wilkinson, Author, Exploratorium

Citation

Identifier Type: DOI
Identifier: 10.1002/sce.21151

Publication: Science Education
Volume: 99
Number: 1
Page(s): 98

Related URLs

Full Text

Tags

Audience: Museum | ISE Professionals
Discipline: Art | music | theater | Education and learning science | Engineering | Technology
Resource Type: Peer-reviewed article | Research Products
Environment Type: Making and Tinkering Programs | Museum and Science Center Programs | Public Programs