Event

In December the National Science Foundation convened nearly 60 Principal Investigators from projects funded through the Dear Colleague Letter (NSF-086) “Enabling the Future of Making to Catalyze New Approaches in STEM Learning and Innovation.” The NSF EAGER Maker Summit: Charting the Future of Making in STEM Education tasked these projects with exploring topics of interest to NSF and the Maker community.

Organized by the themes listed below, each group spent time synthesizing their collective work and envisioning the future of Making by:

• capturing current issues in the Maker movement with respect to education
• identifying important research issues and trends
• discussing NSF’s investments in the Maker movement
• recommending future directions for NSF research and development

Groups then developed a webinar series to serve as report-out from the event, to be shared with the broader Making community. These webinars were followed by an NSF-hosted webinar summarizing the efforts to continue this work.

Learn more about the event and view the conference materials and resource library on the EAGER Maker Summit event page: http://stelar.edc.org/nsf-eager-maker-summit

Webinar 1: Workforce Development

Make the Force be With You: Workforce Development through Making
Participants learned how their research in making is related to workforce development as a broader impact or as a direct intervention. This webinar examined how skills developed in making relate to imminent workforce needs. Presenters also discussed the need for longitudinal K-12 systemic preparation for STEM work and learning fields, and the connection between making and the future STEM workforce.

Presenters: 
Anthony Dean, Old Dominion University, Batten College of Engineering and Technology
Gul Okudan Kremer and Richard Stone, Iowa State University
Date: Friday, April 12 from 12-1 pm ET
Slides: Workforce Presentations
Recording: http://stelar.edc.org/videos/maker-webinar-workforce-development

Webinar 2: Process and Pedagogy 
This webinar discussed how making looks across different settings such as higher education, informal learning environments, and schools with high and low tech. The focus of the discussion was on pedagogical practices, practical challenges, and opportunities to broaden and sustain the participation of people with diverse backgrounds in Making. The presenters highlighted different aspect(s) of their projects relevant to the discussion.

Presenters: 
Micah Lande, Arizona State University
Kristin Searle, Utah State University
Sinem Siyahhan, California State University San Marcos
Date: Friday, April 26 from 12-1 pm ET
Slides:  Process and Pedagogy Presentations
Recording: http://stelar.edc.org/videos/stelar-webinar-maker-process-and-pedagogy

Webinar 3 - Research & Evaluation
During this webinar we examined the challenges in designing assessments and measuring cognitive and non-cognitive learning outcomes in a maker-based project.

Presenters: 
Jennifer Albert, Citadel Military College of South Carolina
Cynthia Tananis, University of Pittsburgh
David Reider, Education Design
Date: Tuesday, April 30 from 1-2 pm ET
Slides: Research and Evaluation Presentations
Recording: http://stelar.edc.org/videos/stelar-webinar-maker-research-evaluation

Webinar 4 - Partnerships & Broadening Participation

This webinar provided individual and group strategies to help to support your work - current and future. Presenters highlighted both Making Partnerships and Broadening Participation. Essential for most projects, strong partnerships are key to Making because of the scope of outcomes and the distributed expertise present across individuals. In addition to supporting these partnerships, NSF is committed to broadening the participation of those underrepresented in STEM. The research community has an opportunity to address the challenges of understanding key differences of access versus equity, individual and local contexts, and co-creating research with communities. Discussions included how the making community can work together to develop guiding principles for future research, and generate ideas on how projects can design for transformative change.

Presenters: 
Bradley Barker and Dagen Valentine, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Dorothy Jones-Davis, Nation of Makers
Date: Tuesday, May 14 from 2-3 pm ET
Slides: Partnerships and Broadening Participation Presentations
Recording: http://stelar.edc.org/videos/stelar-maker-webinar-partnerships-broadeni…

Webinar 5: An NSF Summary of the EAGER Maker Summit
NSF Program Officer Robert Russell and Einstein Fellow Brenda Carpenter joined STELAR for this summative webinar on the 2018 EAGER Maker Summit. The presentation provided an overview of NSF's commitment to making, reviewed key highlights from the December meeting, and provided a recap of the previous four webinars in our series. Learn more about plans for continuing these conversations, and future opportunities for collaboration by watching the video.

Presenters: 
Robert Russell, NSF Program Officer
Brenda Carpenter, Einstein Fellow 
Date: Tuesday, May 21 from 2-3 pm ET
Slides: NSF Presentation  
Recording: http://stelar.edc.org/videos/nsf-summary-eager-maker-summit