The Agency by Design guide to implementing maker-centered teaching and learningMaker-Centered Learning provides both a theoretical framework and practical resources for the educators, curriculum developers, librarians, administrators, and parents navigating this burgeoning field. Written by the expert team from the Agency by Design initiative at Harvard's Project Zero, this book* Identifies a set of educational practices and ideas that define maker-centered learning, and introduces the focal concepts of maker empowerment and sensitivity to design.* Shares cutting edge research that provides evidence of the benefits of maker-centered learning for students and education as a whole.* Presents a clear Project Zero-based framework for maker-centered teaching and learning* Includes valuable educator resources that can be applied in a variety of design and maker-centered learning environments* Describes unique thinking routines that foster the primary maker capacities of looking closely, exploring complexity, and finding opportunity.A surge of voices from government, industry, and education have argued that, in order to equip the next generation for life and work in the decades ahead, it is vital to support maker-centered learning in various educational environments. Maker-Centered Learning provides insight into what that means, and offers tools and knowledge that can be applied anywhere that learning takes place.

Acknowledgments ixList of Tables and Figures xiiiForeword xixIntroduction 1What is a Maker? And What is Maker-Centered Learning? 4A Road Map to the Journey Ahead 81 Exploring the Benefits of Maker-Centered Learning 15Learning from Maker Educators and Thought Leaders 17Identifying the Real Benefits of Maker-Centered Learning 18Understanding the Primary Outcomes of Maker-Centered Learning: Developing Agency and Building Character 19Understanding the Secondary Outcomes of Maker-Centered Learning: Cultivating Discipline-Specific and Maker-Specific Knowledge and Skills 35Recapping the Real Benefits of Maker-Centered Learning 392 Teaching and Learning in the Maker-Centered Classroom 43Maker-Centered Roots and Connections 45Who (and What) Are the Teachers in the Maker-Centered Classroom? 51Students as Teachers 51Teachers in the Community 55Online Knowledge Sourcing 56Tools and Materials as Teachers 57What Does Teaching Look Like in the Maker-Centered Classroom? 59Facilitating Student Collaboration 60Encouraging Co-inspiration and Co-critique 63Redirecting Authority and the Ethics of Knowledge Sharing 70What Does Learning Look Like in the Maker-Centered Classroom? 73Figuring It Out 74What Does the Maker-Centered Classroom Look Like? 77Tools and Materials 78Storage and Visibility 80Specific and Flexible Spaces 833 Developing a Sense of Maker Empowerment 85What Is Agency? 89Choice, Intention, and Action 89Scope: Agency and the Complex Web of Interrelated Actions 91Locus: Participating in Agentic Action 94Agency and Maker Empowerment 98Empowerment and Social Justice 101Empowerment in Education 1034 Developing a Sensitivity to Design 109Developing a Sensitivity to Design in a Consumer-Driven World 111The Hidden Mechanics of Stuff 112Living in the Throes of a Throwaway Culture 114What Is a Sensitivity to Design? 116How Are Students Sensitive (or Not) to Design? 120Seeing the Designed World as Malleable 1225 Maker-Centered Teaching and Learning in Action 127A Framework for Maker Empowerment 128Looking Closely 130Exploring Complexity 133Finding Opportunity 136Tools and Techniques for Supporting Maker-Centered Thinking and Learning 141Dispositional Development and Thinking Routines 142Developing Thinking Routines to Support a Sensitivity to Design 142Conclusion 155Maker-Centered Learning: Challenges and Puzzles 157Considering the Ethical Dimensions of Maker-Centered Learning 158Equity and Access in the Maker-Centered Classroom 159Supporting and Sustaining Maker-Centered Practice 162Looking Ahead: The Future of Maker-Centered Learning 163Imagine If. 166Afterword 169Appendix A: Overview of Interview Participants 173Appendix B: Thinking Routines 175Notes 185References 195Index 203About the Authors 223