Do-It-Together: An Exploration of Creativity and Collaboration in Maker-Centered Learning Environments

Date: 

Friday, October 10, 2014 (All day)

Location: 

Project Zero Perspectives: Making, Thinking, and Understanding, San Francisco, CA

The contemporary maker movement has been described as a return to the DIY (do-it-yourself) movement of the 1960s and 70s. Now, as then, the proposed benefits of engaging children in DIY learning experiences range from heightened expertise in STEM subjects to increased creative capacities for young people. While few makers and educators would argue against the content-area and creativity-based learning outcomes associated with DIY activities, some, such as Make magazine columnist David Lang, have suggested that the “DIY” moniker is in itself a misnomer for maker-centered learning. Making isn’t about doing things oneself—one may argue—instead, making is about collectively engaging in innovation networks together. During this hands-on workshop session, Project Zero researcher Edward Clapp will engage participants in a series of fast-paced design challenges that emphasize the do-it-together nature of maker-centered learning experiences. The ultimate goal for this session is to provide participants with first-hand experience in group-based creative problem solving activities, while also offering participants strategies for incorporating these activities—and others like them—into an array of learning environments. In the end, participants will walk away from this session with a sensitivity to the social dimensions of maker-centered learning experiences and an increased awareness of the participatory and distributed nature of creativity and innovation.