A recent Makers in Education cohort.

Summary

Makers in Education (MiE) is a collaboration between the Ground Floor Makerspace and the Greater Cincinnati STEM Collaborative at the University of Cincinnati. This case study focuses on the creation and implementation of a maker-centered professional development program for K-12 educators. The program is implemented as a 2-week intensive professional development training program on makerspace technologies in tandem with mentoring on how to incorporate maker pedagogies in the classroom. The intensive is further supported by a Community of Practice meeting quarterly to share ideas, strategies, and skills.

The Challenge

The education landscape is shifting to address the demand for a STEM competent workforce. Makerspaces have been integrated throughout K-16 education to ignite student interest in STEM learning; however, due to the paucity of opportunities for educators to access high-quality training in makerspace technologies, there remains a shortage of teachers fully equipped to meet this demand. Makers in Education focuses on reskilling educators via makerspaces to effectively leverage advanced technologies in the classroom while also building a network of maker-educators to share knowledge and resources. The overall goal of Makers in Education is to address the skills gap in makerspace-enabled STEM education by providing maker-centered professional development to teachers across the Greater Cincinnati region.

Target Population

Makers in Education serves the education community in Greater Cincinnati including in-service K-12 teachers and informal educators. Collectively, each cohort of +/- 20 teachers impacts over 2,000 students annually. In 2023 we launched Makers in Education as a 2-week pilot to answer the question ‘can we effectively prepare teachers to integrate makerspace technologies in the service of STEM education?’. The results were affirmative and convincing, with five of the 19 going on to share their successes at the 2024 Tri State STEM+ Conference hosted by University of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky University.

Program Structure

Week 1: Participants start the week with Makerspace membership onboarding and select from a menu of hands-on technology focused trainings with spotlights on CAD design and digital fabrication using Makerspace equipment. Participants attend a minimum of 20 hours per week including large group sessions, small group trainings and individual “studio” working sessions while planning a project to be completed in week two. In the final session on Friday, participants reflect on their learnings and outline the project which will be the focus of the following week.

Week 2: The second week combines group discussion and individual “studio” working sessions as participants explore hands-on making. Each project at this point is unique, However, it should combine existing skillsets and interests, leveraging one or more new makerspace technology. The cohort and PD staff end the week with brief project presentations documenting and reflecting on the experience and resolution of the makerspace project and academic product.

Following the two-week intensive course, all participants are provided with the opportunity to stay on for the full balance of the 8-week membership. This additional time is available to continue learning and creating alongside our 2,000 makerspace members.

Educators work on their projects in the Makerspace.

MiE creates opportunities for joyful learning among educators.

Key Designers

This project leverages a coalition of STEM education experts from the Greater Cincinnati STEM Collaborative, makerspace educators from the Ground Floor Makerspace at the University of Cincinnati, and volunteer makerspace educators from across the region.

Key Designers include:

Ground Floor Makerspace: Benjamin Jones, Lucy Weaver, Gabrielle Weaver (Stichweh),

Greater Cincinnati STEM Collaborative: Ted Fowler, Debbie Liberi, Sean Kelley, Emilee Armbruster

Key Partners

Key Partners for continued development and delivery of this program are the University of Cincinnati 1819 Innovation Hub; UC College of Education, Criminal Justice, Human Services, and Information Technology; Ohio STEM Learning Network; and the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation.

Program Timeline

The 2-week intensive commences at the end of the academic year, in the first weeks of June. Quarterly meetings for the Community of Practice provide opportunities for the cohort to reconnect and introduce participants from multiple cohorts.

Challenges

One of the powerful outcomes of the intensive 2-week MiE program is that many participants design lesson plans that feature making as the key pedagogy. Ideally once these lessons are implemented in the classroom, there is incentive to involve students in additional making projects and also entice colleagues to use making as an effective key pedagogy. Our challenge is how to encourage participants, post MiE, to continue using the skills acquired in MiE and share their successful lessons with other educators thus building a true maker ecosystem.

One substantial step we have taken in building a maker ecosystem was to create a Community of Practice with the purpose of sharing ideas and trends and seeing what making looks like in different contexts. So far at our Community of Practice meetings we have featured several MiE participants who have shared their making successes with students. We also encourage our MiE participants to make formal presentations at the annual Tri-State STEM+ Conference, featuring their making projects with students. There were 5 educators from the first cohort in the summer of MiE in 2023, who presented at the Tri-State STEM+ Conference 2023 that fall. The following year, there were 12 presenters at the Tri-State STEM+ Conference 2024 from the 2024 MiE cohort.

In addition, we include members from each previous cohort in presentations to each new MiE cohort during the 2-week program; 4-5 participants from 2024 cohort and 2023 cohort will share the lessons they created and implemented in making at the 2025 intensive. In our effort to grow our maker ecosystem, we continue to look for ways to showcase the work of MiE participants that supports making as the key pedagogy.

Outcomes

A survey-based study was conducted on the 2024 cohort that assessed their self-reported interest in integrating makerspace technologies into their classroom, as well as their self-efficacy, or confidence in using makerspace tools. The study also assessed the cohort’s general comfort level and feeling of belonging in makerspace environments. The results of the study showed that, between the first day of the intensive and the final day of the intensive, most of the participants’ metrics improved in all of these areas. The format of this program has proven to be an effective method of finding and training teachers who will gain confidence in their own ability to learn and operate in makerspaces.

The MiE participants all showed a sincere interest in integrating makerspace technologies in their classrooms, and have started down the path to mastering the skills necessary to make that possible. The implementation of the Community of Practice program maintains the engagement of these cohort participants, and gives them the opportunity to continue gaining experience in makerspace technologies, and perspective on how those technologies impact communities similar to their own.

Creating a baseball bat on the lathe.

Contact

Benjamin Jones, Ground Floor Makerspace Director, University of Cincinnati’s 1819 Innovation Hub

jones5bs@ucmail.uc.edu

Case Study

Makers in Education: Building and Sustaining a Maker-Educator Learning Community