Supporting students' active participation in maker-centered project-based learning (PBL) can be challenging in inclusive classes. The aim of this study was to support students' active participation in cooperative team via teacher-directed reflective discussions during an inclusive, maker-centered PBL unit. The study was conducted during the students' final year of primary school. In the context of 44 students' inclusive class, the study focused on a team of 11 students (4 girls, 7 boys; aged 12-13 years) who worked in pairs and had their own differentiated responsibility areas (e.g. interior designers had interior design and lighting responsibilities) in the construction of a scale-model house. Because students in PBL need support in their learning, reflective discussions were organized after each lesson to ensure students' participation. Reflective discussions were video recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using a content and cooccurrence network analysis. The analysis revealed that teacher-directed reflective discussions first focused on supporting the cooperation of all students and then ensured the continuity of the process with most of the pairs. Some pairs, consisting of students with learning difficulties, needed intensified support until they could actively participate. The results indicate that teacher-directed reflective discussions improve students' cooperation skills and promote participation. A carefully prepared group composition enables the teacher to give intensified support to those students who need it most. In light of the results, we recommend that teachers focus on group composition when preparing inclusive, maker-centered PBL projects and use reflective discussions during said projects to promote inclusion and support students' active participation.
The study focuses on examining elementary pupils' (N = 42, 11-13 years old) reflections on collaborative design processes, team collaboration and their co-inventions. Digital and traditional fabrication technologies were used in a 2-year co-invention project containing approximately 16 sessions during year 1 and 11 sessions in year 2. Between the two project periods, the pupils were asked to write a structured essay about their co-invention and design process, and in year 2 they kept journal notes in each team's design-folder. Each pupil's structured essay was analyzed with qualitative content analysis that focused on three main aspects: (1) description of the co-invention, (2) progress of the co-invention process and (3) quality of collaboration. Based on the essay analysis, we constructed a "Co-invention Table" with five categories: user, conceptual design, technical design, appearance, and construction. The nature of the 13 pupil-teams' co-inventions varied greatly, and these coinventions were divided according to three main functions: (1) improving cleanliness, (2) providing reminders or (3) addressing well-being. The essays provided information on how creative ideas were generated and how critical thinking and evaluation of ideas were crucial in improving ideas for further development. The collaboration was dependent on everyone's active and equal participation into work and the importance of an adequate division of the labor was highlighted.
The purpose of this paper was to examine mindset research from a sociocultural perspective, analyze the interrelation between mindset and social representations, and expand mindset discourse from intelligence and giftedness to the creativity domain with maker-pedagogy. Although mindset research has traditionally been anchored in personality psychology, the present paper argues that mindsets reflect social and cultural practices of schooling and associated cultural beliefs and social identities. Experienced societal and educational realities shape implicit ability beliefs and reflect social representations shared by families, teachers, and peers. Because the rapidly transforming knowledge society requires all citizens to solve non-routine problems and pursue novelty and innovation, it is critical that young people believe in their potential to stretch their intellectual and creative capabilities and build new talents through sustained efforts. Hence, deliberate cultivation of a growth mindset is not only beneficial for young people's educational and professional trajectories but also a societal necessity.
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