ADVERTORIAL Creating spaces for creative minds The maker movement is about teaching and
learning that is focused on student centered inquiry. This is not the project done at the end of a unit of learning, but the actual vehicle and purpose of the learning. Makerspaces come in all shapes and sizes, but they all serve as a gathering point for tools, projects, mentors, and expertise. They can be personalised to any project that involves group collaboration - from wood- working to art projects, library reference points to science experiments.
Gratnells MakerSpace in education The Gratnells MakerSpace trolley offers many features and benefits, encouraging collaborative working in the classroom for improved learning outcomes and promoting tidy working areas by encouraging replacement of unused items. In the school environment, Gratnells believes
the goal of a MakerSpace is to empower students to see themselves as inventors, builders and creators, allowing for the learning of new skills through trial and error by experiencing failure, exploring alternatives and problem-solving to improve on ideas and most importantly by promoting collaborative learning. In STEM subjects, investigation and
experimentation are an important part of learning, building confidence and inquisitiveness. Practical experience is already proven to have greater learning outcomes and better retention amongst students than structured teaching and lecture models, bringing the theoretical to life. Gratnells MakerSpace trolleys provide a focal
point for collaborative working and also a resource centre for the management and control, as well as storage, of technical resources. They allow practical activities to be carried out anywhere, even in regular classrooms, and are not confined to specialist technology workshops. MakerSpace studios offer a broad range of
opportunities for the widest range of students, with all benefiting from the opportunity to explore new activities and express their manual dexterity at many different levels of competence. Activities are particularly beneficial for those
L
ast year, Education Secretary Damien Hinds challenged the technology industry to ‘launch
an education revolution’. Whilst technology is playing a major role in supporting and inspiring learners of today and tomorrow, we must not lose sight of the need to provide children with the means to enjoy the ‘hands on’, collaborative learning experience provided by the Maker Space philosophy.
A growing maker movement The origins of the maker movement can be traced back several years to the USA. Following years of decline and increasing unemployment in
traditional industrial sectors, many public buildings, including libraries, started to repurpose spaces in a bid to provide a new style of educational space. These became known as Maker Spaces. Traditionally geared towards reskilling in STEM, Maker Spaces have embraced a wider spectrum of skills included in the arts. They create a collaborative work space for making, learning, exploring and sharing where anyone can learn new skills or share existing ones in a non-judgmental way. Maker Spaces cover high tech to no tech and everything in between and are now extremely popular with children, adults and entrepreneurs.
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choosing a more practical career path and support a move into apprenticeships, as well as supporting higher level research and development and highly academic and technical careers. These can be typified by a range of activities and skill sets from the practical and construction based, to the academic and theoretical, suiting a mix of students. Students get to work in a mixed skill group, each with a positive contribution and activities can be stretched and developed to reach greater heights pushing the students to explore new limits. Outside the traditional classroom, STEM
learning can be encountered in a myriad of educational spaces in heritage and cultural sites, museums and visitor attractions around the UK. From activities with the Learning and Communities Officer at the Museum of Army Flying to STEM events run in conjunction with the University of Middlesex at Thorpe Park, it feels like STEM learning is entering a new phase. This is something borne out by the buzz around the
February 2019
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