Unleash the

power of maker
education
A GUIDE FOR
TEACHERS

TEN QUESTIONS ABOUT GETTING STARTED WITH MAKER EDUCATION, ANSWERED

 FUTURE IN THE MAKING
HOW TO THRIVE IN WORLD 4.0?
If there’s something the coronavirus pandemic has made abundantly clear, it is that
digital education is more than just moving the classroom to Zoom. Granted, technology
has saved the day in the face of “the greatest shake-up in education in a century”, but it
has also highlighted startling digital divides. Not only in terms of school and student
access to digital tools but also in terms of opportunity to embed them in learning and
teaching practices in meaningful ways, a recent paper has found.

Online education worked much better where teachers had greater agency and were
used to project-based teaching. Sadly, students in more traditional educational systems
did worse, pointed out the OECD’s Andreas Schleicher among the key pandemic
lessons learned at the first-ever T4 global teachers’ online conference. The time is now to
realign teaching materials and adopt new methodologies to equip today’s youth with
the skills they'll need to succeed in their digital futures.

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 Many of today’s school children will work in jobs that are not even Maker education prepares today’s youth for
around yet, experts say. Still, it is already clear that tech savvy is far
the challenges of the future.
from being the only skill they will need to navigate this brave new
It’s a movement, a methodology, a mindset and a community all at
digital world. The Society of Human Resource Management has found
once that blends hard and soft skills development with a design focus.
that soft skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, innovation
and creativity are the top qualities employers are missing in today’s
job applicants, regardless of industry or job type.
In this ebook, we’ll take a closer look at how
According to the latest data from LinkedIn, human-centric soft skills and why maker pedagogy works, who can
are the most wanted, with creativity, persuasion, collaboration, benefit from it and, most importantly, how it
adaptability and emotional intelligence topping the list. In other
helps kids become the thinkers, creators,
words, skills people need when working with others to come up with
new ideas and then to make them a reality. The hottest hard skills are
problem-solvers and innovators that
the ones that determine what they should be working towards – tomorrow’s workplaces will need.
think analytical reasoning, business analysis and other data-related
skills.

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 1
FROM PASSIVE
1 STUDENTS TO
PROUD MAKERS
Why does maker ed beat
traditional teaching?

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1.1 How does maker education work?
Makers are challenged to think, create and solve problems using a mix It guides kids through the creative learning spiral of imagine, create,
of traditional crafts and digital technology, such as 3D printing, laser play, share, reflect and repeat, a process extensively studied and
cutting, sewing or programming. Maker education takes place in documented by MIT Media Lab’s Mitchell Resnick. In his book, Lifelong
so-called makerspaces, sometimes called fab labs, innovation labs or Kindergarten, the renowned learning researcher and Scratch Team
STEAM labs. They are usually set up in libraries, schools and public founder argues that children engage in a creative learning process that
community centres and are equipped with prototyping technology, has four pillars: projects, passions, peers and play.
including 3D printers, microcontrollers, soldering stations and laser
cutters. But that doesn’t mean they’re simple production sites. Cultivating this capability in children can give them a serious head
start in the workplace of the future. How so? “Modern creative
workplaces look much more like kindergartens than they look like high
school classrooms,” explains MIT Assistant Professor Justin Reich.
Before anything else, a makerspace is an
“Rather than lined up in rows working in sync on identical tasks, people
environment that turns passive students into gather in small groups, take on challenges, and have some measure of
active makers. autonomy and choice about how they move through the day.”

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1.2 Why does it work?
In traditional educational settings, students are asked Working with their own hands as they build 3D printed
to keep quiet, work alone and follow instructions. All cities, laser cut robots or machine prototypes offers a
they need to do is open their textbooks to find the right stronger drive to succeed, a greater awareness of their
answer to any question. Then they move into the world environment and a deeper understanding of the course
of work and suddenly, they’re expected to do the material than any other form of education. The reason
opposite: collaborate with others, perform tasks with is simple: in makerspaces, students become engaged in
minimal guidance, solve problems using their creativity shaping and bettering the world around them, not just
and find answers anywhere. Problem- and using it.
inquiry-based learning can make this transition much
Makers not only discover new ways of thinking and
easier.
doing but also develop an appreciation for STEAM
disciplines and their own STEAM capacities. Meanwhile,
they build confidence, resourcefulness and persistence.
Maker education focuses on
Collaborative learning and hands-on creation also
motivating children to explore, challenge them to apply the 4 C’s of 21st-century skills,
design and create – and learn that is, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and
communication, as well as prepare them to become
along the way.
productive members of a global workforce and society.

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1.3 Do kids really learn while making?
When we ask kids after a creative session in the
makerspace what they’ve learned, they usually say:
“Nothing. We’ve played the entire time.” But if you ask them
whether they’ve measured angles, calculated percentages
or learned something new about history, the answer will be
a resounding yes.

It’s quite incredible how much

knowledge can be shared through
hands-on teaching and how immersive
a learning experience it can
offer to kids.

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 Especially when combined with the oldest form of Having spent years developing educational
teaching: storytelling. For example, learning about Mars materials for makerspace activities, we’ve
might sound interesting to some students. But tell a class
seen first-hand how much easier it is to keep
that they’re now a team of astronauts whose mission is to
students’ attention when they feel
travel to the red planet and survive after a crash landing,
relying only on each other and their scientific knowledge challenged instead of just being taught.
and skills – and everyone gets excited. Not only the ones Bringing the world of TV shows or video
who excel at science but also those who are lagging games to the classroom, or any topic that
behind.
today’s kids are passionate about, be it
sustainability or cyberbullying, will only add
Learning and working towards a specific goal at the same
to this commitment. During the courses
time, however, can pose a significant cognitive burden for
makers, leaving little to no room for the reflection needed
we’ve run, most participants not only arrived
for long‐term retention of knowledge. “Student makers may on time but even spent their breaks working
produce a handsome model airplane having no idea what on their projects.
makes it fly. The best way to ensure learning is to provide
direct instruction: clear, straightforward explanation,
offered before any making has begun,” sums up science
journalist Annie Murphy Paul.

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 2
BREAKERS,
2 SHAKERS,
MAKERS, TAKERS
who is maker education for?

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2.1 Does maker education engage all students?
Constructionist pedagogy is based on the idea that children are not empty
vessels to be filled with information, but active builders of knowledge.
As the renowned Swiss philosopher and psychologist Jean Piaget
explained: “Children have real understanding only of that which they invent
themselves, and each time that we try to teach them something too
quickly, we keep them from reinventing it themselves.” In other words, they
gain knowledge by interacting with the world and building knowledge
structures based on their own experiences.

Besides giving learners agency and authorship, active learning also helps
teachers contextualize scientific concepts and encourage STEM interest in
children. In fact, disciplinary boundaries are against everything the
maker movement stands for. In their paper, Making and Tinkering:
A Review of the Literature, Shirin Vossoughi and Bronwyn Bevan cite: “the
‘blending of traditional and digital tools, arts and engineering can create a
learning environment with multiple entry points that foster innovative
combinations, juxtapositions and uses of disciplinary content and skill.’”

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2.2 Is maker ed about turning kids into engineers?

Only if they want to. But first and foremost, A mixed-method study from 2014, for
maker education aims at helping kids find example, found that arts-integrated
their passion, realize their potential and live instruction can boost children’s academic
fulfilling, productive lives as adults, no and cognitive competencies and
matter what profession they eventually successfully engage lower-performing
choose for themselves. Maker education students and students with disabilities. The
activities let them explore whether it is research was conducted in six high-poverty
design, management, production or public elementary schools in New York City
something else that suits them best. In with a high percentage of English learners
makerspaces, STEM education evolves into and special education students. The results
STEAM, with an A for the arts, added for showed that combining visual arts, literacy
creativity and innovation – and a range of and maths not only increases students’
further benefits for both student and literacy, artistic and maths skills but also
teacher efficacy. helps them meaningfully reflect on their
own work and that of their peers.

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2.3 Who can become a maker educator?
Engineers, artists, teachers, designers – or anyone, really.
With the wide range of user-friendly and affordable digital
tools available for education, this is getting easier by the day.

Background does not matter as long

as teachers are willing to take the time
to learn how to use and make the
most of new technologies.

Teachers working with ed tech equipment already know

that there is an abundance of new tools available. But there
is little time to find the right device and methodology. This is
where maker education teaching materials and
communities of maker educators can provide guidance.

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2.4 What are the limits of maker education?
Makers’ creativity knows no boundaries, but educational
technology does. For example, you cannot print metals with
the 3D printers you find in most makerspaces (although you
can cast metals from 3D prints), and there are some
materials that laser cutters are just not powerful enough for.
Plus, unlike soft skills, hard skills development has some
limitations in a makerspace environment. With maker
technologies, there is a certain level of knowledge
makers can reach, after which it is best for them
to continue their education outside of the
makerspace, for example, at university.

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 3
FROM ABILITIES
3 TO SUPERPOWERS
What skills does maker
ed develop?
In this chart, we’ve rounded up the most
important soft and technical skills maker
pedagogy can foster in students. By no means is
the list exhaustive – it can’t possibly be. Instead,
our aim was to offer a glimpse into the
opportunities maker ed opens up and to inspire
you to take the first steps towards transforming
your classroom into a stimulating place of
discovery, accomplishment and growth.

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3.1 Soft skills

CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING

Understanding basic problems

Choosing the right tool for the right problem

Understanding failure, learning from mistakes and looking for alternative

solutions

Understanding roles in a team and group dynamics

Finding the best solution available under pressure

Finding new ways to look at problems and solutions

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 TEAMWORK AND COOPERATION

Individual problem-solving

Understanding the benefits of teamwork

Working together towards a common goal

Understanding your role in a team and group dynamics

Cooperation in various environments and workflows

Managing processes and people, delegation

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 CRITICAL THINKING

Being open to our shared living environment

Asking relevant questions about an issue

Finding and critically evaluating information sources

Understanding other people’s viewpoints and finding common ground

Learning to debate and view things from different perspectives

Developing leadership skills through critical thinking and debate

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 EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Understanding and assessing basic human emotions

Understanding situations where emotions are involved

Learning the importance of empathy

Expressing and understanding other people’s emotions through making

Leading people and recognizing emotions in a workplace environment

Taking responsibility for others and motivating people

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 COMMUNICATION

Expressing intentions

Verbal and non-verbal communication in a community

Presenting one’s own work and expressing oneself through making

Debating with confidence and communicating clearly both orally

and in writing

Communicating and giving a presentation with impact

Moderating public debates and drawing conclusions

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 ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Recognizing opportunities in any situation

Being open to new ideas and taking risks

Setting goals for oneself

Understanding the importance of planning and scheduling in business

Embracing innovation and taking risks

Starting one’s own venture

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 CREATIVE WRITING AND MEDIA CONSUMPTION

Basic reading and writing skills, story-driven making

Fostering maker activities through reading and writing

Telling and transforming stories, new and old

Coming up with new stories using creative tools and elements

Combining images and various maker technologies

Creating interactive objects

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3.2 Hard skills

3D PRINTING

Learning the principles of 3D printing

Slicing 3D objects, starting a 3D print, completing basic printing and

post-printing tasks

Learning 3D design and how to combine primitives to make simple objects

Designing, preparing and printing multi-part objects

Designing basic objects with professional CAD software

Designing and printing complex objects with advanced joints

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 SOLDERING AND BASIC ELECTRONICS

Understanding how electric circuits work based on visual layouts

Creating simple circuits using crocodile clips and banana plugs

Building circuits on breadboard and soldering through hole components

Building and soldering complex circuits made of PSUs and multiple

MCU-driven sensors

Designing systems with multiple MCUs to control robots

Designing and manufacturing custom PCBs, SMD soldering

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 LASER CUTTING AND VECTOR GRAPHICS

Expressing intentions

Verbal and non-verbal communication in a community

Presenting one’s own work and expressing oneself through making

Debating with confidence and communicating clearly both orally

and in writing

Communicating and giving a presentation with impact

Moderating public debates and drawing conclusions

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 PROGRAMMING AND ROBOTICS

Learning algorithms, functions and basic coding

Writing software to read sensor data

Understanding complex functions in micro:bit

Developing multi-peripheral systems (e.g. sensors, DC motors or

servos)

Developing radio-controlled BLE systems (e.g. RC cars or robotic arms)

Creating IoT solutions and robots built to last

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 MANUAL SKILLS AND USING TOOLS

Fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination

Learning how to use tools and basic health and safety practices

Selecting and using the right hand tools for a task

Using small power tools

Safely using woodworking tools and power tools

Designing and creating custom tools

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MAKER
EDUCATION
SKILLS MATRIX
Download and print our skills matrix with all the soft and
hard skills hands-on learning can develop.

DOWNLOAD A3

DOWNLOAD 2x A4

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 MAKER’S RED BOX
Making the most of maker ed

What’s a Maker’s Red Box?

Using the power of storytelling, Maker’s Red Boxes help educators turn kids into avid
makers and workshops into inspiring learning spaces. Each box includes carefully
designed, STEAM-focused teaching materials with a comprehensive teacher’s guide and
supporting digital content and comes with a starter kit for 12 students. The materials
have been tested in various environments during a years-long development process,
from five-day summer camps to weekly extracurricular workshops.

Maker’s Red Boxes focus on strengthening hard and soft skills like 3D design and
printing, laser cutting, soldering, robotics, teamwork, emotional intelligence and critical
thinking. They encourage inquiry-based, hands-on learning and all follow a different
storyline to cater to all interests and skill levels. These frame stories both define the
creative process and help makers gain transferable knowledge through hidden learning.
And turn assignments into playful challenges instead of dreaded tasks.

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CONTACT
US
Interested in Maker’s Red Boxes?
Get in touch.

Eva Naszaly
Product Ambassador
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: +36 70 709 3729
Web: makersredbox.com