Resourcefulness, narratives, and identity in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics education: A perspective of makerspaces for rural communities in Colombia

Abstract

Disparities of scientific education (STEM) in rural and remote communities are exacerbating inequalities and taking away opportunities for youth to explore their scientific interests and participate in science-making globally. Maker education in rural and remote areas of Latin America could boost the participation of rural communities in scientific education and open alternatives to the lack of higher literacy rates and STEM education. In Colombia, tertiary education has been making efforts to close this gap through the Itinerant Technical Academies of Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje (SENA: National Learning Service). Participants in the Technical Academies create relevant technologies for their context, reflecting on their cultural values and aesthetics. In this contribution, we describe three projects conducted in the itinerant Technical Academies of rural Colombia in Narino to exemplify how participants made their artifacts relevant to their culture using available resources, materials, and practices. Students are using available resources to create artifacts that are relevant to their social contexts and aligned with constructivist practices. We propose and discuss three characteristics that have emerged in makerspaces situated in rural Colombia: (i) Narratives, (ii) Resourcefulness, and (iii) Identities and we suggest that makers, scholars, policymakers, and educators should pay attention to those three elements to guide future studies and further research on maker education in the Global South.

Designing and implementing maker curriculum for promoting 7th graders’ maker competence

“…Indeed, the maker movement provides students with new paths for thinking and diverse ways to act, which is beneficial for cultivating their computational thinking (Resnick and Silverman, 2003;Blikstein, 2008). Recent studies indicated that creating a makerspace in which students learn in an enriched environment that emphasizes engagement, communication, practice, and innovation is beneficial for promoting students' maker spirit and competence Oswald and Zhao, 2021;Avendano-Uribe et al, 2022;Hughes et al, 2023;Leskinen et al, 2023). In addition, it is valuable to support and motivate students' learning autonomy (Ryan and Deci, 2000;Barron, 2006;Azevedo, 2011); that is, anyone can learn the skills they require to accomplish what they imagine (Dweck, 2000).…”

“…Previous research findings also indicated that STEAM education is valuable for promoting students' reflection on their own scientific reasoning (Bassachs et al, 2020), advancing their capabilities of oral communication (Botuzova, 2020), engaging them to actively work on targeted learning tasks effectively and innovatively (Lavrenova et al, 2020;Makonye, 2020), and providing all students with equal access to all fields of science, which can reduce the gender gap in science and technology (Guenaga Gómez and Fernández Álvarez, 2020;Kijima and Sun, 2020). Similarly, the maker movement, focusing on "hands-on, creation, design and innovation" (Peppler and Bender, 2013), shares this interdisciplinary nature and provides a creative learning environment for all students to think and act anew that is beneficial for nurturing their competencies (e.g., maker competence) Oswald and Zhao, 2021;Avendano-Uribe et al, 2022;Hughes et al, 2023;Leskinen et al, 2023). Hughes et al (2023) claimed that design thinking and collaboration are fundamental to developing the learning tasks of the maker curriculum.…”

“…As mentioned in the Introduction, following the worldwide trend of curriculum reform on cultivating student competence (Rychen and Salganik, 2003;Malewski, 2010;Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2010) through the interdisciplinary STEAM education (e.g., Yakman and Lee, 2012;Burnard et al, 2018;Sun et al, 2023) and maker movement (e.g., Oswald and Zhao, 2021;Avendano-Uribe et al, 2022;Hughes et al, 2023), a new "Curriculum Guidelines of 12-year Basic Education" was developed in 2014 and fully implemented in 2019 (Ministry of Education, Taiwan, 2014Taiwan, , 2018. Based on the new guidelines of "The Domain of Technology" (Ministry of Education, Taiwan, 2018), students in junior high schools (grades 7-9) are required to take two courses: "Life Technology" and "Information Technology. "…”

“…Moreover, the implementation of a designated maker curriculum and instruction is essential for promoting learning autonomy, engagement, communication, practice, and innovation, both in the classroom and in the real world (Ryan and Deci, 2000;Barron, 2006;Azevedo, 2011;Oswald and Zhao, 2021;Hughes et al, 2023). This marker learning environment also matches the three vital elements of building an enriched makerspace, that is, resourcefulness, narratives, and identity (Avendano-Uribe et al, 2022), where targeted 7th-graders can work both individually and collaboratively to do things that they are interested in and make creative products through unlimited imaginations (Dweck, 2000;Heath et al, 2010). These essential capabilities, which can be fully established within interdisciplinary and inquiry-based maker classrooms, would help the targeted adolescents survive in this dynamic and fast-paced era.…”