44 Since 2006, and the inaugural Maker Faire in San Mateo, California, the maker movement has allowed individuals of all backgrounds to have access to a wide variety of tools while learning new skills (Bajarin, 2014). Juxtaposing the concepts of making and design thinking, which is an approach to creative problem solving using resources available to the designer (Turnali, 2013), it can be argued that one cannot be done without the other. Typically, learning through design thinking and making have taken place in specialized learning environments called makerspaces. According to Dougherty, founder of Make Media, makerspaces are areas that promote learning through exploration, are interdisciplinary, and provide tools that promote creation rather than consumption (Krueger, 2014). Hlubinka (2011) stated that it only made sense that school communities would see the budding potential for students to tap into their own inner innovator, asserting that students crave these same experiences. The opportunities makerspaces provide for students to create while exploring the world around them are ones that not all students experience in their classrooms (Zimmerman, 2018). As more schools seek ways to engage students and prepare them for the future, makerspaces, and the various approaches to design thinking and problem solving they foster, may become more prevalent in new school construction and curriculum design. Review of the Literature With the projection that 65% of today’s school-age children will grow up to work in careers that do not yet exist (Jamalian, 2018), many schools and school districts are looking for ways to prepare students. Kangas et al. (2011) discuss design as a means for students to learn math and science concepts. This attention to teaching engineering design, for example, is seen nationally. Many states have adopted standards that require students to learn design processes as well as the ability to investigate the connections between technology and engineering methods that contribute to design (Kelley et al., 2015). With heightened attention to educating students in design practices, makerspace programs are becoming increasingly popular. In addition to increased focus on design, engineering, technology, and scientific thinking, environments for makerspace learning support student engagement. According to Nguyen et al. (2018), previous research supported the idea that student engagement reflects the learning environment established by the school and teacher, and the activities and opportunities that are facilitated in the classroom. Further research into the behavioral engagement of students suggests that much of how students engage in classroom learning is evidenced by their willingness to persevere over challenging material, focus on the task at hand, ask questions, and contribute to class discussion (Nguyen et al., 2018). This behavior, paired with student-to-student interactions and collaboration, and real-world rigorous tasks, engage students more (Nguyen et al., 2018). Mixed with the growing interest in providing makerspace and design learning to facilitate students’ opportunities to learn and explore as an answer to technological skills students must master (Blikstein et al., 2017), the research suggests the continued need for THE PROCESS AND FUNCTION OF MAKERSPACE LEARNING THROUGH DESIGN THINKING: A MULTI-SITE CASE STUDY Leah R. Mann, EdD Journal of K-12 Educational Research 2021 VOL. 5, ISSUE 1 www.dbu.edu/doctoral/edd
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