Acknowledgments ix
List of Tables and Figures xiii
Foreword xix
Introduction 1
What is a Maker? And What is Maker-Centered Learning? 4
A Road Map to the Journey Ahead 8
1 Exploring the Benefits of Maker-Centered Learning 15
Learning from Maker Educators and Thought Leaders 17
Identifying the Real Benefits of Maker-Centered Learning 18
Understanding the Primary Outcomes of Maker-Centered Learning: Developing Agency and Building Character 19
Understanding the Secondary Outcomes of Maker-Centered Learning: Cultivating Discipline-Specific and Maker-Specific Knowledge and Skills 35
Recapping the Real Benefits of Maker-Centered Learning 39
2 Teaching and Learning in the Maker-Centered Classroom 43
Maker-Centered Roots and Connections 45
Who (and What) Are the Teachers in the Maker-Centered Classroom? 51
Students as Teachers 51
Teachers in the Community 55
Online Knowledge Sourcing 56
Tools and Materials as Teachers 57
What Does Teaching Look Like in the Maker-Centered Classroom? 59
Facilitating Student Collaboration 60
Encouraging Co-inspiration and Co-critique 63
Redirecting Authority and the Ethics of Knowledge Sharing 70
What Does Learning Look Like in the Maker-Centered Classroom? 73
Figuring It Out 74
What Does the Maker-Centered Classroom Look Like? 77
Tools and Materials 78
Storage and Visibility 80
Specific and Flexible Spaces 83
3 Developing a Sense of Maker Empowerment 85
What Is Agency? 89
Choice, Intention, and Action 89
Scope: Agency and the Complex Web of Interrelated Actions 91
Locus: Participating in Agentic Action 94
Agency and Maker Empowerment 98
Empowerment and Social Justice 101
Empowerment in Education 103
4 Developing a Sensitivity to Design 109
Developing a Sensitivity to Design in a Consumer-Driven World 111
The Hidden Mechanics of Stuff 112
Living in the Throes of a Throwaway Culture 114
What Is a Sensitivity to Design? 116
How Are Students Sensitive (or Not) to Design? 120
Seeing the Designed World as Malleable 122
5 Maker-Centered Teaching and Learning in Action 127
A Framework for Maker Empowerment 128
Looking Closely 130
Exploring Complexity 133
Finding Opportunity 136
Tools and Techniques for Supporting Maker-Centered Thinking and Learning 141
Dispositional Development and Thinking Routines 142
Developing Thinking Routines to Support a Sensitivity to Design 142
Conclusion 155
Maker-Centered Learning: Challenges and Puzzles 157
Considering the Ethical Dimensions of Maker-Centered Learning 158
Equity and Access in the Maker-Centered Classroom 159
Supporting and Sustaining Maker-Centered Practice 162
Looking Ahead: The Future of Maker-Centered Learning 163
Imagine If. . . 166
Afterword 169
Appendix A: Overview of Interview Participants 173
Appendix B: Thinking Routines 175
Notes 185
References 195
Index 203
About the Authors 223
