Facilitation Strategies for an Effective Maker Practice
Kathy Malone coaches 1st graders as they use a stop-motion animation app to shoot their first short film.
In a Maker project, your role will shift from instructor to facilitator. Teaching through Making can present new challenges, even for an experienced teacher:
difficulty tracking students’ progress
more classroom materials and technologies to manage
students' widely varying comfort levels using new technologies
This shift can also be hard on students who are used to direct instruction:
Students are stuck and do not know how to proceed
Students are coming back to teachers for help instead of using available resources
Students groups are having trouble working together
For a Maker project to be a rewarding experience for all, both the teacher and students will likely need to develop new practices. We recognize 8 essential practices for effective project facilitation, and we've compiled a variety of facilitation moves to support these practices:
1. Include joy, fun, and non-traditional experiences in the project!
2. Hear all voices
3. Have your resources ready
4. Foster collaboration
5. Foster self-direction
6. Keep the project work flowing smoothly in the classroom
7. Keep all students involved, on-task, and on-track 8. Model an iterative learning process: Try, Test, Reflect, Improve, Try again
Our Maker Methodology Click each step for information and downloadable planning tools.