LEARNING TO MAKE, MAKING TO LEARN: STEAM MEETS MAKER MOVEMENT

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the potential advantages of integrating principles and methods from STEAM education and the maker movement into the teaching and learning process. The transition of the maker movement from informal to formal education, such as schools and colleges, is encouraged by STEM, and even more so by STEAM education. The maker movement, characterized as a community fostering creation based on science, technology, art, and craft, along with STEAM education, is rooted in the tradition of learning by doing and has experienced significant growth in recent years, even within Serbian schools (13 makerspaces were opened last year). Why is this collaboration between makers and education so fruitful? It aims to cultivate creativity, problem-solving skills, communication, social, and other competencies that schools typically struggle to develop. Our main goal is to address the lack of theoretical discussions regarding the connections between the nature of learning and the nature of a making process. Thus, we explore how learning emerges from STEAM education and the maker movement from the perspectives of socio-constructivist theory, progressivism, and critical pedagogy. This analysis led us to propose seven principles of learning by making that, if employed, can serve as a foundation for bridging STEAM, makers, and everyday teaching practice. They are as follows: tinkering – active thought, transdisciplinarity, real-life problems and project-based learning, community of learners, playfulness, metacognition and a hacking mindset, and mistakes-based learning. Finally, we outline both potential pitfalls and resources for implementing the maker movement in Serbian schools.