Maker Pedagogy: A Paradigm for Teaching, Learning, and Leading in the Modern School

Traditionally, teachers have emphasized language literacy in primary and secondary schooling and particularly in early childhood years. For this reason, significant immersion in ‘content areas’ such as science, social studies, and world languages, is typically delayed. In a makerspace setting, the emphasis is on students developing empowering problem solving and communication skills, entering a creative flow state, and engaging with productive struggle. Bridget Looney presents maker pedagogy as a transdisciplinary approach to teaching and learning that does not emphasize one discipline over the other, or require a separate course, classroom, or discipline of its own. Instead, it embraces natural child development and the ways in which children make sense and interact with the world around them, whether it be in the classroom, outdoors, or at home. Looney discusses thinking and learning in makerspaces, drawing on empirical research to showcase how K-12 teachers have implemented maker pedagogy, examining instances of successful and unsuccessful schoolwide integration. Maker pedagogy’s focus on democratic participation, equity, and empowerment extends to school leadership where it calls upon teachers, students, and those in formal school leadership roles to examine and develop school policies and practices together.