Discover how maker-centered learning prepares students of all ages to thrive in a complex world.
Over the past decade, maker-centered learning has become increasingly popular, providing students and their teachers with new opportunities to build, hack, redesign, and tinker with a variety of materials in a variety of ways. Maker-centered learning offers opportunities to learn about new tools and technologies, but more than that, it fosters important thinking skills—such as adaptability, collaborative thinking, risk-taking, and multiple-perspective taking—that are critical to thriving in a complex world.
Drawing on research from Project Zero’s Agency by Design (AbD) project, Thinking and Learning in the Maker-Centered Classroom offers classroom teachers, maker educators, administrators, and parents an opportunity to explore maker-centered learning practices and the opportunities they afford. Through hands-on, collaborative activities, participants will discover tools to support maker-centered learning in their settings while examining the benefits to both young people and facilitators.
The online course, developed by Project Zero’s Jennifer Ryan & Edward Clapp, begins with a one-week orientation, during which you will explore the online platform and get to know fellow members of the learning community. Six two-week content sessions follow, with an average time commitment of about 3-4 hours per week. In each session you will:
- Learn new ideas
- Review and reflect on key ideas from the previous session
- Plan for trying and/or fully implementing course ideas in the classroom
- Work on a project or curriculum unit
- Reflect and share feedback with a coach and peers
Enrollment is by team, which promotes a deeper and richer learning experience and will help you sustain your use of core ideas after the course concludes. Team members will collaborate on most of the assignments, including the development of a project. Teams meet face-to-face every two weeks.
Although the sessions are structured and coach-facilitated, all the online interactions in the course are asynchronous. You and your team can decide when to work on the course materials as long as you submit the assignment(s) on or before the due dates.
This online course is not linked to a degree program. Academic credit is not available. You will be eligible for a digital certificate representing 45 professional development hours upon successful completion.
View the course outline for additional information on course sessions.
Online Course Schedule
Please review the course schedule to ensure that you and your team will be able to participate fully in the course, taking into account your local holidays and vacations. The average time commitment is about three to four hours per week.
Session 1 (Orientation week), September 17 - September 23
Session 2, September 24 - October 7
Session 3, October 8 - October 21
Session 4, October 22 - November 4
Session 5, November 5 - November 18
Session 6, November 19 - December 2
Session 7, December 3 - December 16
- Develop an understanding of the concept of maker-centered learning, its contemporary origins, and its implications for education
- Become familiar with an instructional framework that supports maker-centered learning
- Learn to thoughtfully develop maker-centered learning experiences to meet the goals of your learning environment
Who Should Attend
This course requires enrollment by teams of 3-6 people. Teams need to be able to meet locally, in person, at least once every two weeks. Teams can be comprised of:
- Educators, administrators, and curriculum designers who want to explore maker-centered learning experiences in formal and informal learning environments (course content is equally applicable to those working with elementary school, secondary school, higher education, and adult learners)
- Out of school educators and museum educators
- Participants with a working knowledge of maker-centered learning and those who are new to the concepts of making and design in the educational sphere