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In the face of information technology changes, not all students will have access to the means to prepare for this future of work. In addressing this issue, in this study, the authors investigate the impact of a ‘Making as Micro-Manufacturing (M2)’ model in motivating STEM-activity participation and developing self-efficacy among high-schoolers hailing from an underserved community. The approach involved integrating practice-based learning and activities into a high-school class curriculum resulting in the production of small-batch volumes of products in real-world settings for everyday use like instructional kits for elementary school learning. Pre- and post-surveys were administered to ascertain the differences in students’ Making and engineering self- efficacy tendencies. Our results saw increases in the students’ Making and engineering self-efficacy across multiple dimensions and in-situ during a production process. In addition, our results also quantify and characterize that kinds of helping behaviours that occur in the students’ own self-organised production team.
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Integrating Making with Authentic Science Classes: An Approach and Evidence
Abstract Although research has touted the value of making in educational settings, scant work has been done in formal school contexts utilizing quantitative methods. This could be attributed to the various challenges in integrating making in school settings. To fill in the gap, this study presents an approach to integrate making into science classes at the 3rd to 5th grade levels in a U.S. public school for four consecutive years (2015–2019). We examined the effect of the program on students’ self-beliefs (self-efficacy, motivation, and self-concept) using a longitudinal quasi-experimental design. We also examined the effect of making on students’ knowledge and skills using state testing data. Results suggest that when averaged across post school year surveys, students in maker classes (vs. control) reported higher self-efficacy beliefs in science and making as well as more interests in STEM-related careers. Moreover, over two school years, we observed that students in the control group experienced declines on some of our variables while our maker students did not. Data thereby speaks to the potential value and promise of integrating making into formal school settings. Practical implications are discussed.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1934113
- PAR ID:
- 10492311
- Publisher / Repository:
- Springer Science + Business Media
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Science Education and Technology
- Volume:
- 33
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 1059-0145
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 479-492
- Size(s):
- p. 479-492
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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