Reconceptualizing Pedagogical and Curricular Knowledge Development through Making

Authors

Steven Greenstein, Montclair State UniversityFollow
Justin Olmanson, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2017

Citation

Greenstein, S., & Olmanson, J. (2017). Reconceptualizing Pedagogical and Curricular Knowledge Development through Making. Emerging Learning Design Journal, 4(1), 10–18.

Comments

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0]

Abstract

While making is typically tethered to narratives of entrepreneurship and business, it can provide a gateway to meaningful interaction and deepened understanding of both content and pedagogy. In this article we provide descriptions of two courses—one each at the pre-service and in-service levels—that engage teachers in making and design practices that we hypothesized would inform their pedagogical and curricular thinking. With a focus on the design of new tools to support teaching and learning through the use of human-centered design practices and digital fabrication technologies, these courses have teachers exploring at the intersection of content, pedagogy, and making. Specifically, they inquire about theories of how people learn in interaction with physical tools and how these tools shape and guide content-specific thinking and learning. Several of their final projects are presented along with pedagogical and curricular inferences we made about them that suggest the promise of a making-oriented experience within teacher preparation and professional development.