Brainstorming Maker-Based Competencies

The outcomes will be based on our own perceived notions of what students can learn in a makerspace, but also on the actual desirable outcomes to meet specific course objectives as outlined (or derived from) within existing course syllabi. [It will be interesting to see where our desires intersect with the reality “on the ground”!]

We’ll continue to brainstorm and identify additional learning outcomes, and at some point we’ll identify overlapping themes and group them into “performance indicators”, for example:

The maker literate student [considers the costs and benefits of acquiring the needed ‘thing’].

• The maker literate student [defines a realistic overall plan and timeline to acquire the needed ‘thing’].
• The maker literate student [group/list additional learning outcomes under this performance indicator].

The previously mentioned learning outcome would be listed as one of several learning outcomes under this performance indicator, because in most situations, in order to consider the costs and benefits of acquiring the needed “thing”, a student must first have defined a realistic timeline for acquiring the “thing”, such as its due date, or their own bank account.

We may be able to continue to group these performance indicators under the even more generalized categories of “standards,” as exemplified in the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. For example, the previously mentioned performance indicator may be grouped with similar performance indicators to create a standard such as:

The maker literate student [determines the nature and extent of the ‘thing’ needed].

• The maker literate student [considers the costs and benefits of acquiring the needed ‘thing’].
  • The maker literate student [defines a realistic overall plan and timeline to acquire the needed ‘thing’].
  • The maker literate student [group/list additional learning outcomes under this performance indicator].

• The maker literate student [group/list additional performance indicators under this standard].
  • The maker literate student [group/list additional learning outcomes under this performance indicator].

For now we are going to focus strictly on the object of the phrase “The maker literate student [does this]” where the “does this” is the thing we are brainstorming. At this stage, nothing is too broad or too narrow. Members of the Task Force who are teaching will think more about their own learning outcomes and what they’d like to see listed as maker literacy outcomes that can map with their own learning outcomes. For those of us working in the FabLab, we focus on what we’ve experienced on the ground, i.e. things you find ourselves trying to teach the most and gaps find ourselves filling.