Reading Takeaways

    In “Developing a Maker Mindset,” Lisa Regalla writes about the rise in popularity of the makerspace, which exposes young people to a variety of resources and allows them to make thoughtful connections and build things. Uniting STEM and art, which are often “siloed” in education, helps children develop more agency in their learning. She notes that this is a trait of children to be curious and make connections, and learn through their five senses, but it could be argued that this experience is good for everybody at any age, as curiosity should not be assumed to be latent or dried up after childhood and adolescence. Making these connections in makerspaces prepares people for life, not just school, because they can drive their own learning and evaluate how they do things, which gives them autonomy from consumer cycles.

    Student-led creative activities are important for social-emotional growth, and there is also an intergenerational learning component through the “interchangeable roles of expert and novice.” This connects to my own difficulty with balancing control in the classroom. I want to transition into my next teaching role with the mindset that it is more fluid, with the goal of trusting my students more to be responsible for their own learning. I especially liked the idea in the article that being a facilitator is not jumping in and “rescuing,” which is something I have done and also observed in other art educators. It is tempting to alleviate your students’ discomfort because you want them to "buy in" to the learning in the course and not feel discouraged.

    I had previously thought of the growth mindset as the power to change what you’re not good at. In this article, Regalla focuses on the idea that a growth mindset means you are not inherently good at something, and that because of this, praise is a double-edged sword. I really like her advice about praise, because I think the inclination can be to praise everything to reinforce good effort and behavior, but then it loses some of its sincerity and value.

    “Digital Fabrication and Making in Education: The Democratization of Invention,” by Paulo Blikstein discusses the power of digital fabrication for students. It provides them with “literacies” and allows them to get closer to seeing themselves in positions of agency, not just being “conscious of the possible,” but developing new alternatives. The excitement and despair associated with making things is not usually seen in other parts of the school day, which builds resilience and opens up new avenues of connection for students. The advice given in this article is salient and applicable, for instance “keychain syndrome,” and the idea of getting children invested in machines by making a personal product through them. I believe I have experienced this with children wanting to make T-shirts and tote bags in printmaking. This can “trivialize” the experience and narrow future possibilities.