Developing a makerspace learning and assessment framework

The makerspace movement is an effective approach to STEM/STEAM education. As well as equipping children with knowledge and skills in areas such as electronics, digital fabrication, and crafts, it is also key to supporting other important habits of mind such as creativity, critical thinking and collaboration. Assessing such habits of mind is not straightforward but can be helpful in seeing the value of makerspaces in formal and non-formal educational settings. This paper presents the development of a tool, the ‘Makerspace Learning Assessment Framework’ that discerns the characteristics of effective learning present when children (aged 3-10) engage in making through an after-school makerspace in the north of England.