Abstract
We review the development of a mobile makerspace platform focused on digital fabrication in particular additive manufacturing (AM) or what is more commonly referred to as 3D printing. We engage in a reflexive analysis of our curriculum development as a part of the iterative process of this design-based research project. We review the component parts of our Material to Form curriculum, reflecting on the events of the makerspace platform as they symbiotically informed and catalyzed the iterative development of the curricular component. Our analysis is focused on thematic curricular ideas stemming from the uncertain material and disciplinary possibilities of digital fabrication. Our reflexive method draws from our own identity as arts education researchers working within STEAM frameworks to analyze researcher-participant knowledge of the mobile makerspace events. We also draw upon a mixed method dataset that offers insight into participant engagement to better understand iterative development of curriculum. In our analysis of this curriculum development, we highlight both implications for engaging interdisciplinarity and connecting across disciplines through culturally responsive teaching. The outcome is a unit of curriculum for using digital fabrication in classrooms that offers theoretical and practical considerations concerning design thinking and digital fabrication for STEAM practitioners.
Highlights
Digital design and fabrication create opportunities for new material expression and design innovation for artists and engineers alike
Combining the excitement from the maker movement and the novel creation of deployable makerspaces, we review the development of the Mobile Atelier for Kinaesthetic Education (MAKE) 3D and the Material to Form curriculum resource1
We review the component parts of our Material to Form curriculum exploring thematic connections between the maker movement, art education and arts-integrated approaches to curriculum such as science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) initiatives
Summary
Digital design and fabrication create opportunities for new material expression and design innovation for artists and engineers alike. Combining the excitement from the maker movement and the novel creation of deployable makerspaces, we review the development of the Mobile Atelier for Kinaesthetic Education (MAKE) 3D and the Material to Form curriculum resource. MAKE 3D is a mobile makerspace platform that can be deployed anywhere there is electricity to create a curricular spectacle of digital fabrication, in particular additive manufacturing (AM) or what is more commonly referred to as 3D printing. Our interdisciplinary designbased research project combines this notion of curricular spectacle and a mobile makerspace platform to develop. The purpose of our analysis is to share and discuss the development of a free online instructional resource developed as part of a research study involving a mobile makerspace that introduces digital design and fabrication for interdisciplinary contexts of learning. The outcome is a unit of curriculum for using digital fabrication in classrooms that offers theoretical and practical considerations concerning design thinking and digital fabrication to meaningfully inform an interdisciplinary teaching resource designed for STEAM practitioners
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
