A Comparison of Tool Use Rates in Two Makerspaces During Covid
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Banks, Henry David
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Abstract
Makerspaces have rapidly established themselves in engineering education as a valuable means to enhance design confidence and learning outcomes. As these spaces continue to grow in popularity, it is pertinent to understand exactly how makerspaces are being used. This knowledge ensures that engineering learning outcomes are being enhanced effectively and equitably.
This work presents the results of a survey-based characterization of two makerspaces at two different institutions. The goals of this work are to better understand how makerspaces are being used and of the factors that influence how students interface with the space. Findings show that between institutions there are differences in the extent students engage with the space, as well as between what tools and activities students engage in while using these facilities. Interestingly, for students who are already using the space, we did not find differences for men versus women or Hispanic/Latinx compared to non-Hispanic/Latinx in the extent to which students use the space, or the rates they use tools at. The current data only measures students who are already using the space. The survey also received higher response rates for underrepresented minority (URM) and women students. Considering prior literature reporting that women experience substantial barriers in STEM and makerspaces. In future work it will be necessary to collect data regarding students’ satisfaction with the space to further investigate URM students’ experiences in these spaces.
Using makerspaces to support engineering coursework can have mixed effects on students’ tool use. There is a general trend that students who use the space for class use a greater variety of tools. This trend, however, is not consistent across tools or institutions, potentially because the tool training requirements, types of projects, and curriculum of making related courses varies substantially from course to course, as well as between institutions.
The Covid-19 pandemic saw many restrictions placed on makerspaces that reduced the number of students that used the space as well as the number of tools those students used. Said restrictions however provide an interesting opportunity to study a less effective makerspace, the resilience of makerspaces, and to potentially identify which tools in the makerspace students are easily deterred from use and which they are not. A notable activity that students continued doing in makerspaces during Covid were social activities, despite social distancing policies. Furthermore, students that used the space for social activities interacted with the rest of the makerspace to a much greater extent than their peers. Whether socialization is just correlated, or a cause of increased makerspace engagement remains uncertain.
There are undoubtedly factors other than those identified in this work that are contributing to how these two makerspaces are being used by students. This work however provides a detailed empirical characterization of how these makerspaces are being used that has highlighted several factors of interest worthy of further investigation. This represents an important step in developing a broader understanding of how makerspaces are used, and how they can be designed and managed for optimal making and learning outcomes.
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2023-05-02
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