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How Are 21st Century Skills Captured in Makerspaces?: A Review of The Literature

Published: 22 November 2021 Publication History

Abstract

A growing body of educational literature defends the need to prepare students for the new demands of the 21st century. Four skills are frequently cited among the most important skills that students should master: collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity (4Cs). Digital fabrication spaces, also known as makerspaces, promise to facilitate the development of these skills through project-based learning and open access to a range of prototyping tools, such as laser cutting and 3D printing. Despite this promise, there is little agreement in the educational literature on how makerspaces are contributing to the development of 21st century skills. In this review, we examined the types of student data that are being collected in makerspaces and analyzed how this data supports the development of 21st century skills in digital fabrication environments. We found that 1) the motivation for the majority of studies (46%) was to evaluate the space (with a focus on best practices and challenges of maintaining these spaces), while very few studies (3%) leveraged measurements for learners' social benefits (e.g., diversity and inclusion, gender-equality); 2) 53% of the studies focused on a 21st century skill, with a stronger focus on collaboration and communication; 3) 92% of the reviewed papers relied on traditional methods (e.g., surveys) to capture student data, and only 8% explored complex tracking technologies such as sensing devices; 4) finally, less than 10% of the studies used pre-post measures, which is a prerequisite for measuring learners' growth. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings in measuring 21st century skills in makerspaces.

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Cited By

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  • (2024)Girls’ Reluctance and Intersectional Identities in STEM-Rich MakerspacesEducation Sciences10.3390/educsci1406062814:6(628)Online publication date: 11-Jun-2024
  • (2024)Digital Fabrication als Brücke zwischen Making und InformatikDigital Fabrication: A Bridge between Making and InformaticsMedienPädagogik: Zeitschrift für Theorie und Praxis der Medienbildung10.21240/mpaed/56/2024.02.05.X56(314-330)Online publication date: 5-Feb-2024
  • (2023)Incorporating a Makerspace into Computer Science CoursesJournal of Computing Sciences in Colleges10.5555/3606402.360642038:8(146-157)Online publication date: 1-Apr-2023
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  1. How Are 21st Century Skills Captured in Makerspaces?: A Review of The Literature

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      FabLearn '20: Proceedings of the FabLearn 2020 - 9th Annual Conference on Maker Education
      April 2020
      139 pages
      ISBN:9781450375436
      DOI:10.1145/3386201
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      Published: 22 November 2021

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      Author Tags

      1. 21st century skills
      2. Assessment
      3. Collaboration
      4. Communication
      5. Creativity
      6. Critical Thinking
      7. Digital fabrication
      8. Makerspaces

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      View all
      • (2024)Girls’ Reluctance and Intersectional Identities in STEM-Rich MakerspacesEducation Sciences10.3390/educsci1406062814:6(628)Online publication date: 11-Jun-2024
      • (2024)Digital Fabrication als Brücke zwischen Making und InformatikDigital Fabrication: A Bridge between Making and InformaticsMedienPädagogik: Zeitschrift für Theorie und Praxis der Medienbildung10.21240/mpaed/56/2024.02.05.X56(314-330)Online publication date: 5-Feb-2024
      • (2023)Incorporating a Makerspace into Computer Science CoursesJournal of Computing Sciences in Colleges10.5555/3606402.360642038:8(146-157)Online publication date: 1-Apr-2023
      • (2023)Student motivation and engagement in maker activities under the lens of the Activity Theory: a case study in a primary schoolJournal of Computers in Education10.1007/s40692-023-00258-y11:2(347-365)Online publication date: 20-Jan-2023

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