Facilitated Making in Museum‐Based Educational Makerspaces. (8th March 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: White, Annie M.; Akiva, Thomas; Wardrip, Peter S.; Brahms, Lisa
• Is Part Of: Curator. Volume 64:Number 1(2021)
• Page Start: 131
• Page End: 154
• Publication Date: 2021-03-08
• Subjects: Natural history museums -- Periodicals; 069.05
• DOI: 10.1111/cura.12404
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0011-3069

Abstract

Abstract: The Maker Movement is on the rise and research shows that the ways educators facilitate making activities is a key element of supporting children's learning and development in this setting. As a field, we need to better understand how educators and children interact in makerspaces and the context that surrounds facilitation. In this study, we describe a research‐practice partnership between 11 museum educators and 4 researchers. Over two years, participants met to reflect on videos of educator‐child interactions and engage in dialog, reflective activities, and interviews around the topic of facilitation. Our collaboration resulted in a Model of Facilitated Making that categorizes types of facilitation moves, describes environmental influences on facilitation, and offers a process for considering techniques educators may use to facilitate. This model offers a framework for reflecting on facilitation in makerspaces, which has implications for practice and future research.