Making Sense of Makerspaces

Even though the maker concept has been around for decades, the term makerspace has now entered the vocabulary of many educators. But the meaning concerning student learning varies. Here, Froschauer discusses the need to be purposeful in what we do within the framework of a makerspace. Certainly, tinkering is important as an entry point. It allows students to play around with the materials and objects they encounter to determine their properties and how they work together. But students should then have the opportunity to make something out of the materials they have interacted with and understand.