Designing a Space for Making

Educator designs an environment that is conducive to maker-centered education and based on the needs and
experiences of their community members.

Key Method
Educator leverages guiding questions and interviews students to begin developing a physical space for
making.

Method Components
Any space can be a makerspace if used intentionally. You don’t need a whole new room specifically devoted
to being the makerspace. A corner of your classroom, a rolling cart, an unused computer lab, a part of the
library – all of these spaces can be your makerspace.

Successfully planning a makerspace requires careful attention to the following key areas:
These descriptions have been drawn from the Making + Learning Framework
§ Parts & Pieces
- How is the layout of your space conducive to making? How is it now?
- What kinds of tools and materials will support making in your space?

§ People
- Who is making in your space?
- What kinds of relationships will be fostered in your space?

§ Purpose
- What are the goals in developing a makerspace?
- What are the values that drive making in your space?

The Makerspace Planning Sheet (See Resources section) will walk you through a series of key questions that
will help guide you as you introduce a space for making into your learning environment. As part of your
makerspace planning process, you will need to take some time to interview your students. Collecting interests,
hopes, and ideas from the youth who will be using the space will help drive its ability to be youth-centered.

Sample interview questions for youth:

§ What do you enjoy doing most when you have free time?
§ Is there anything that you’d really love to build, make, and/or invent?
§ What are the things you see yourself as good at when it comes to helping others?
§ What are the ways you most enjoy helping people out?
§ What are you curious about?
§ What are some things you’re most excited to learn or get better at?
§ Is there anything that makes you nervous that you’d like more practice and help with?
§ Think about your favorite space (a room in your home or school, or even a space outside). Why is it
your favorite? What do you like about it? If you could add anything to your favorite space, what would
it be and why? (Chang et al. 5)

Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under:

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
1
As all communities are unique, it is important to develop interview questions that are specific to the
community being served. Use the questions above for guidance, but be sure to craft your own interview
questions, or adjust the sample questions in a way that will get at the specific needs and interests of your
community of learners.

The answers provided by students during the interview process, along with your answers to the questions
posed on the Makerspace Planning Sheet, should guide the steps you take when implementing your
makerspace. What kinds of data can you pull from your interviews? Are there any clear patterns or themes that
you see emerging from your discussions with learners?

Let your students’ insights give you a sense of what the space should look like and how materials might be
arranged to best meet their needs and interests. Perhaps your interviews with learners will reveal that you have
more of the parts and pieces necessary to start your makerspace than you had originally thought.

Supporting Research
§ Chang, Stephanie, Steve Davee, Maker Ed, Goli Mohammadi, Lisa Regalla. Youth Makerspace Playbook.
Maker Education Initiative, 2015.

§ Martinez, Sylvia Libow, and Gary Stager. Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the
Classroom. Constructing Modern Knowledge Press, 2013.

§ Nair, Prakash, and Randall Fielding. The Language of School Design: Design Patterns for 21st Century
Schools. DesignShare, 2005.
Resources
§ Making + Learning Framework
This framework is intended to enable museum and library professionals to thoughtfully consider key
elements of makerspace and program design to support visitor and patron learning, and to grow staff
capacity.
https://makingandlearning.squarespace.com/about/

§ Maker Ed’s Makerspace Planning Sheet

http://makered.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Makerspace-Planning-Sheet.pdf

§ Makerspace Playbook School Edition, Ch. 2, “Places”

http://makered.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MSPB-SE-Places.pdf

Submission Guidelines & Evaluation Criteria

Following are the items you must submit to earn this micro-credential and the criteria by which they will be
evaluated. To earn the micro-credential, you must receive a passing evaluation for Parts 1 and 3 as well as a
“Yes” for each component in Part 2.

Part 1. Overview Questions

(200-word limit total per response):

§ In what type of learning environment do you work? (school, after-school, library, museum, etc.)
§ Ages of learners?
§ What subject(s) do you teach?
§ In what type of space will you be incorporating making? (new makerspace, classroom, library,
repurposed space)
§ Why are you interested in creating a dedicated space for making in your learning environment?
- Passing: Educator includes a description of the learning environment, the age/grade level of the
learners, as well as the educators instructional subject(s). The educator also provides a description

Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under:

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
2
 of their intended space for making, as well as their rationale for creating a dedicated space for
making.

Part 2. Work Examples/Artifacts

A. Completed Makerspace Planning Sheet
B. Include records of interviews with youth
- Feel free to utilize some of the sample questions presented in the method components, but earner
must develop at least three original, community-specific questions.
- Form of documentation is up to earner.
C. Documentation of the space in which you plan on implementing making
- Remember that any space can be a makerspace if used intentionally.
- Documentation can take on the form with which earner is most comfortable (layout drawing,
video, photo collection, etc.)
D. Graphic organizer that explores and examines the parts and pieces, purpose, and people that comprise
their community, and how the educator plans to ground their makerspace in these interrelated parts.
- Look to analyze and describe any common themes and patterns that emerge from student
interviews.

“Yes” “Almost” “Not Yet”

Educator submits Makerspace Educator Submits Makerspace Educator does not submit
Planning Sheet that reflects Planning Sheet that does not reflect completed Makerspace Planning
conversations with conversations with Sheet.
learners/community members. learners/community members.

Educator submits records of
interviews with learners that reflect
at least three original, community-
specific questions, and these
records have been anonymized to
protect learner identities.
Educator submits records of Educator does not complete or
interviews with learners that do not does not submit records of
reflect at least three original, interviews with learners.
community-specific questions.

Educator submits documentation
of space that will be used for
making.
Educator does not submit
documentation of space that will be
used for making, or the
documentation is ambiguously tied
to their space for making.
Educator does not submit
documentation of space that will
be used for making.

Educator includes a graphic
organizer that explores and
examines the parts and pieces,
purpose, and people that comprise
their community, and includes a
rationale for how the educator
plans to ground their makerspace
in these interrelated parts.
The educator either includes a The educator neither includes a
graphic organizer exploring the graphic organizer nor a rationale
parts and pieces, purpose, and for the identified stakeholders’
people that compromise their interrelated needs.
community or a rationale for how
the educator plans to ground their
makerspace in these stakeholders’
interrelated needs.

Part 3. Educator Reflection

(300-word limit per response):

§ How did the needs/interests/hopes/passions expressed by students surprise you?

Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under:

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
3
§ What are some next steps you plan on taking to develop and prepare your makerspace?
- Passing: Educator describes the needs/interests/hopes/passions that surprised them with regards
to the space for making. Additionally, the educator uses these insights to inform and describe
meaningful next steps, which they have listed and/or described.

Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under:

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
4