Makerspaces, Girls and STEM

Wendy Fasso, Karena Menzie and Alana Sinnamon

A CQUniversity LEAP Research Centre and Bundaberg Regional State High Schools Careers Project collaboration

Introduction The interim data - Qualitative

A designed and facilitated Makerspace is engaging Year 7 girls in the creation of artefacts using
Barriers to engagement are more confidence than skill-related
High Tech and Low Tech materials to design and make programmed paper circuits and
wearables. Significant gains in the Four Cs
In a six week program, girls engage in a community space Collaboration and skill is distributed across the whole group, not just friendship
w within the school, and work through a range of scaffolding groups
a activities. A creative approach is ta ken, using a variety of A strong sense of collaboration and community responsibility (all of the girls
r craft materials to create LED illuminated artefacts made engaged in making sure that all others were progressing and completing their
w with paper and sewable circuits. projects (facilitator))
Critical thinking and problem solving significantly greater (eg. questions were
Programming of circuit components is enabled through general in early weeks: I dont know how to do this. Questions in later weeks are
t the use of microcontrollers and Arduino software. focused after critical thinking: I have tried (this strategy) and cannot make that
part (this particular element) of my circuit work.
Girls produce a designed and coded artefact of their choice Creativity is valued and developed as a central element of the entire project.
f for their final project. Engagement is always 100%. The creative focus is an important integrator of all activities. A
reflection stated I love it. I just love it. I love it all.
The made artefact is of critical importance
to engagement and ownership, as is learning by
Research Objectives doing. With relevance to pedagogy, explaining
and talking was not as effective as letting the
girls explore, trial, practice and do.
Design of an effective Makerspace using low-cost high-
and low-tech suitable for regional, rural and remote schools Barriers to coding are negligible when focus is
on creative artefact (How can I change this
Produce research data into Makerspace design elements
code so that my lights will flash more rapidly
and student participation and engagement
and in sequence?)
Use research data to document the use of creative
Barriers to participation are negligible with
approaches to engage girls in areas of personal interest
support and leadership roles informally
(Bilkstein, 2013; Resnick & Rosenbaum, 2013)
recognized on expertise and understanding alone.
Use research data to the design and refine scaffolding
Confidence grew. Early comments were Im dumb, I dont think I can do it. and changed in
activities leading to a design project
later weeks to I can do it on my own. I am an independent woman!
Investigate roles of facilitator and participants in a
The space is a happy space for all involved (A comment from a teacher: You mean Chloe?
Makerspace
The one with high behaviours (Chloe was identified earlier as having the longest behaviour
Support the documented development of insight into record in the school)? She was upset when I found her at lunch because some kids had been
pedagogy of facilitated makerspaces mean to her. I convinced her to come in anyway and was so happy to come back in 10 mins to
Produce research data to influence of makerspaces on see her whole demeanour change.)
attitudes, behaviours and dispositions of Year 7 students Effective facilitation where time-frames are limited is a complex balancing act support vs
Produce empirical research data into the potential of makerspaces to reduce barriers to independence, information vs thinking, intervention vs exploration.
participation in STEM. (Vossoughi & Bevan, 2014) Resourcing for creative design is important the more the better! For early engagement,
preparation is critical.
The girls engaged in heuristic and physical design when creating their artefacts, but
The interim data - Survey algorithmic thinking when coding.
The girls engaged in heuristic and physical design when creating their artefacts, but
algorithmic thinking when coding.

Discussion Questions
All of these outcomes have developed across the facilitated weeks of the Makerspace. The
question that remains to be answered in the second phase of the Makerspace is whether these
attributes and skills persist, so that they underpin and support ways of working and engaging
when the girls are left to create their own designed and programmed artefact.

Girls are undecided about STEM careers References

Interest in STEM and confidence in perceived ability are correlated (r = 0.69)
Persistence and enjoyment of problem solving are correlated (r = 0.64)
Perceived ability in IT and career aspirations in IT are weakly correlated (r = 0.28)
An interest in Engineering and in Science are not seen to be correlated (r = 0)
An interest in creative arts and STEM is negatively correlated (r = -0.29)
Problem solving enjoyment and perseverance, and perceived skill in IT are correlated (r =
0.55, 0.64)
An interest in problem-solving and Science (r = -0.02) and IT (r = -0.09) are not seen to be
correlated.
Discussion Questions:
How effective are cartoon-strip female, creative STEM role models in informing career insight?
Can a growth in confidence lead to higher perceived ability in STEM?
Can blending creative arts with STEM in Makerspaces lead to greater correlation of STEM and
creativity?
Blikstein, P. (2013). Digital fabrication and making in education: The democratization of
invention. In J. Walter-Herrmann & C. Bching (Eds.), FabLabs: Of Machines, Makers and
Inventors. Bielefeld, Germany: Transcript Publishers, pp. 1-21.
Gu, J., Tofel-Grehl,C., Fields, D., Sun, C. & Maahs-Fladung, C. (2016). Sewing Electronics in
Science Class: Improving Student Interest in Science. Paper presented at AERA, 2016
Resnick, M. & Rosenbaum, E. (2013). Designing for tinkerability. In M. Honey & D. Kanter
(Eds.), Design, make, play: Growing the next generation of STEM innovators (pp. 163-181).
New York: Routledge.
Vossoughi, S., & Bevan, B. (2014). Making and tinkering: A review of the literature. National
Research Council Committee on Out of School Time STEM, 1-55.
Acknowledgements and Contact
The support of the Department of Education and Training through a Horizon research grant is
gratefully acknowledged. The support of the CQUniversity LEAP Research Centre is
acknowledged. For more information, please contact Wendy Fasso at w.fasso@cqu.edu.au

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