Learning through making in public libraries: theories, practices, and tensions

Willett, Rebekah

doi:10.1080/17439884.2017.1369107

Cited by 33 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Despite the growing interest in the intersection between information and learning, few studies explain the role of information in technology‐rich, student‐centered learning, such as maker learning. Maker learning, also called maker‐centered learning (Clapp, Ross, Ryan, & Tishman, ) or learning by/through making (Willett, ), is a type of learner‐centered, hands‐on learning that stems from the pedagogical traditions of constructivism (Piaget, ; Vygotsky, ), constructionism (Papert, ), experiential learning (Kolb, ), and community of practice (Lave & Wenger, ; Wenger, ). Maker learning refers to learning as a process, creating artifacts that are personally meaningful and contribute to a community.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The processes of maker learning and information behavior in a technology‐rich high school class

Koh

Snead

Lü

2019

Asso for Info Science & Tech

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This mixed-method study investigated the processes of making and information behavior as integrated in selfdirected learning in a high school maker class. Twenty students engaged in making projects of their choice with low-and high-technologies for 15 weeks. Data collection included visual process mapping activities, surveys, and Dervin's Sense-Making Methodologyinformed interviews. Findings included inspirations, actions, emotions, challenges, helps, and learning that occurred during the making processes. Information played an integral role as students engaged in creative production and learning. Students identified information as helps, challenges, how they learn, and learning outcomes. The study proposes a new, evolving process model of making that illustrates production-centered information behavior and learning. The model's spiral form emphasizes the non-linear and cyclical nature of the making process. Squiggly lines represent how the making process is gap-filled and uncertain. The study contributes to the scholarly and professional fields of information science, library and information studies, maker, and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) learning.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The processes of maker learning and information behavior in a technology‐rich high school class

Koh

Snead

Lü

2019

Asso for Info Science & Tech

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“…After the training received, results show that library professionals felt confident over their ability to recommend CS projects to their users. The librarians envisaged both indoor and outdoor activities, mainly of crowdsourcing type 12 which do not require significant investment in technical expertise or infrastructure, but rather depend on online resources, low-cost tools or personal smartphones 38,39 . We have explored whether co-created citizen social science projects can be successfully implemented in public libraries.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public libraries embrace citizen science: strengths and challenges

Cigarini¹,

Bonhoure²,

Vicens³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Can public libraries become hubs for citizen science? We answer this question collaboratively, in line with citizen scienceprinciples. Two hands-on activities for librarians of the Barcelona Network of Public Libraries were ideated and implemented. One was a training course for 30 librarians from 24 libraries. The training empowered the librarians and allowed them to envisage citizen science tailormade implementation in each library. The second activity consisted of the co-creation of a citizen social science project. 40 library users, 7 librarians from 3 different cities, and professional scientists, were involved. Before, during and after the activities, we listened to librarians and users with participant observation, surveys, and a focus group to identify strengths and challenges. The potential of citizen science at public libraries, and especially its co-created citizen social science format, lays within a more social dimension that allows to strengthen social bonds among participants andacquire better knowledge of the environment. However, the potential may be hindered by the complexity of collaboration, the uncertainty of research co-creation and by participant retention strategies. The results overall suggest that public libraries can offer leadership in the promotion and implementation of citizen science initiatives, contributing to the debate over the public libraries’ mission as local community hubs.

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“…Foregrounding this article, we examined how participants in the program discussed learning alongside 35 observational field notes from maker programs collected across nine library locations. Another member of the research team, (Willett, 2017) analyzed the relation to three theoretical frameworks currently employed in educational makerspace literature: Constructionism (see Papert), Communities of Practice (see Lave & Wenger), and Dispositions (see Tishman & Palmer). This provided a solid foundation from which to extend inquiry.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public Libraries as Sites of Collision for Arts Education, the Maker Movement, and Neoliberal Agendas in Education

Lakind¹

2018

Journal for Learning through the Arts

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In recent years, the concept "making" has been claimed by "The Maker Movement." While making offers great potential (and resources) for art integration in informal learning sites, maker discourse is often intertwined with a neoliberal mission. For example, movement leaders glorify Steve Jobs and hark on the myth that hobbies can be transformed into wealth-generating endeavors. As art-making activities in informal learning setting across the U.S. intersect with the maker movement, prominent learning theories that contradict this neoliberal philosophy may be repurposed or disremembered. Constructionist learning will require a continued commitment to a notion of learning by doing, "rather than acquiring theoretical precepts for subsequent application" (Ingold, 2013, p. 52). This article examines research from a multi-year empirical study of a Public Library system's arts-based maker program. It provides a rich example of how discourse around making fits into learning in arts education, showcasing instances when neoliberal ideology collides with contradictory theories regarding how and why people learn and make. First, this paper will introduce the reader to the maker movement in education and review literature on making, learning, and neoliberalism. Secondly, I analyze the discourse of public librarians who implement the arts programming and suggest possible implications for how learning through the arts can be undermined by neoliberalism. And, finally, this article proposes a view of making that does align with arts education that embraces dispositional, constructionist, and post-modern/new materialist approaches to learning: Making as the reciprocal relationship between maker, material, tools, skill, and intention. This article draws on a three-year empirical study of a Public Library system's arts-based maker program called Bubbler. I will introduce the Maker Movement and review literature on making and learning. I will use discourse analysis of interviews and workshops with public librarians to highlight how neoliberal ideology collides with educational theories incongruent with this economic vision for how and why people learn and make. Finally, I will suggest possible implications for how learning through the arts can be undermined by, and move away from, these neoliberal logics. I present a view of making oriented around responsiveness and connection that aligns with learning theories towards an anti-neoliberal arts education. This study contributes to conversations about learning through art making in educational settings across the U.S. Artists have always considered themselves makers; visual artists are makers of artifacts (paintings, sculptures, etc.), while performing artists are makers of experiences (dances, plays, concerts). Per the National Arts Education standards, a core component of learning is: "Conceiving and developing new artistic ideas and work" (i.e. making; www.nationalartsstandards.org). In recent years, the term making has been claimed by what is coming to be known as "The Maker Movement"...

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Learning through making in public libraries: theories, practices, and tensions

Cited by 33 publications

References 7 publications

The processes of maker learning and information behavior in a technology‐rich high school class

The processes of maker learning and information behavior in a technology‐rich high school class

Public libraries embrace citizen science: strengths and challenges

Public Libraries as Sites of Collision for Arts Education, the Maker Movement, and Neoliberal Agendas in Education

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