Making Makers: Tracing STEM Identity in Rural Communities
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| Title: | Making Makers: Tracing STEM Identity in Rural Communities |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Nixon, Jessie, Stoiber, Andy, Halverson, Erica, Dando, Michael |
| Source: | Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research. 2021 11(1):214-229. |
| Availability: | Purdue University Press. Stewart Center Room 370, 504 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907. Tel: 800-247-6553; Fax: 419-281-6883; e-mail: pupress@purdue,edu; Web site: http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/jpeer/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 18 |
| Publication Date: | 2021 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | High Schools Secondary Education Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | STEM Education, Identification (Psychology), Rural Schools, Engineering Education, Interpersonal Relationship, Mentors, Informal Education, Teaching Methods, High School Students, College School Cooperation |
| DOI: | 10.7771/2157-9288.1296 |
| ISSN: | 2157-9288 |
| Abstract: | In this article, we describe efforts to reduce barriers of entry to pre-college engineering in a rural community by training local teens to become maker-mentors and staff a mobile makerspace in their community. We bring a communities of practice frame to our inquiry, focusing on inbound and peripheral learning and identity trajectories as a mechanism for representing the maker-mentor experience. Through a longitudinal case study, we traced the individual trajectories of five maker-mentors over two years. We found a collection of interrelated factors present in those students who maintained inbound trajectories and those who remained on the periphery. Our research suggests that the maker-mentors who facilitated events in the community, taught younger community members about making, and co-facilitated with other maker-mentors were more likely to have inbound trajectories. We offer lessons learned from including a mentorship component in a pre-college maker program, an unusual design feature that afforded more opportunities to create inbound trajectories. A key affordance of the maker-mentor program was that it allowed teens to explore areas of making that were in line with their interests while still being a part of a larger community of practice. Understanding learning and identity trajectories will allow us to continually improve pre-college engineering programming and education opportunities that build on students' funds of knowledge. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2021 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1303478 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | In this article, we describe efforts to reduce barriers of entry to pre-college engineering in a rural community by training local teens to become maker-mentors and staff a mobile makerspace in their community. We bring a communities of practice frame to our inquiry, focusing on inbound and peripheral learning and identity trajectories as a mechanism for representing the maker-mentor experience. Through a longitudinal case study, we traced the individual trajectories of five maker-mentors over two years. We found a collection of interrelated factors present in those students who maintained inbound trajectories and those who remained on the periphery. Our research suggests that the maker-mentors who facilitated events in the community, taught younger community members about making, and co-facilitated with other maker-mentors were more likely to have inbound trajectories. We offer lessons learned from including a mentorship component in a pre-college maker program, an unusual design feature that afforded more opportunities to create inbound trajectories. A key affordance of the maker-mentor program was that it allowed teens to explore areas of making that were in line with their interests while still being a part of a larger community of practice. Understanding learning and identity trajectories will allow us to continually improve pre-college engineering programming and education opportunities that build on students' funds of knowledge. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2157-9288 |
| DOI: | 10.7771/2157-9288.1296 |
