MAKERSPACE RESOURCES FOR K-12 EDUCATORS
Facilitation Strategies
You have designed and planned a Maker project, and you're ready to bring it to life in your classroom.
Your role will shift from instructor to facilitator. Even for an experienced teacher, teaching through
Making can present new challenges:
This shift can also be hard on students who are used to direct instruction:
For a Maker project to be a rewarding experience for all, both the teacher and students will likely need
to develop new practices. We have compiled 8 different strategies for facilitating Maker projects in the classroom.
These strategies are classroom moves that can help the Maker project experience be a success.
There's alot of good practices here, take the time you need to get up to speed.
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
Your role will shift from instructor to facilitator. Even for an experienced teacher, teaching through
Making can present new challenges:
- Teachers have difficulty tracking students’ progress
- Teachers need to manage more classroom materials and technologies than they are used to
- Teachers and students alike have 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
- Students are reluctant to engage
For a Maker project to be a rewarding experience for all, both the teacher and students will likely need
to develop new practices. We have compiled 8 different strategies for facilitating Maker projects in the classroom.
These strategies are classroom moves that can help the Maker project experience be a success.
There's alot of good practices here, take the time you need to get up to speed.
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