Reading Response for 11/4

11/4/2024

10 Mélange of Making: Bringing Children’s Informal

Learning Cultures to the Classroom

Alexandra Bal, Jason Nolan, and Yukari Seko

Summary 

This reading is about maker culture and its potential in k-12 education. Maker culture allows for informal learning, which is in contrast to traditional education.

One takeaway per reading. 

The authors emphasize the importance of hacking and autonomy in children's education. Hacking is defined as “altering a pre-existing situation to produce something new.” Autonomous learning is important because it helps students build personal agency. This is one of the reasons why maker spaces are so influential in K-12 environments. 

Connection to a real-world example

In the reading, the authors describe learning becoming embedded in sharing. It is like an adult show and tell. In one of my first industrial design classes, my teacher had us bring in an object to discuss how it was manufactured. I adapted this assignment for a k-12 environment for my 8th-grade Intro to Industrial Design class. Students had to bring in an object, discuss why it was significant to them, look up the history, how it was made, and, if applicable, search the patent number. There is real power in people sharing their creative process and what objects hold personal symbolic value. 

Burning question(s)

What is an object(s) that you have had since you were in middle school?

What would you share if you had to give an adult show and tell?