Who’s Making in Our Spaces: Examining Equity, Accessibility, & Sustainability in Maker-Centered Learning

Presented by Paula Mitchell, Teacher on Special Assignment, Oakland Unified School District, CA
Sponsored by Digital Promise and Maker Ed

Watch the Recording

This edWebinar on Maker Ed was live-streamed from the Maker Educator Convening at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California.

In this talk, Paula Mitchell discusses some of the most timely issues facing maker education. She shares personal stories from her experience as an educator and instructional coach in maker-centered learning at Grass Valley Elementary School and with Agency by Design Oakland. Participants will have the opportunity to interact and reflect on their own practice and the spaces they are creating for young people.

The Maker Educator Convening is an annual gathering of the maker educator community. Maker education is a comprehensive educational approach that reflects and incorporates the diverse, complex, and ever-changing nature of our world; builds critical technical and social skills for students; and respects the individual and collective agency of all learners.

This recorded session will be of particular benefit to K-12 teachers, librarians, and school and district leaders.

About the Presenter

Recognizing the importance of working with the hands and body to increase engagement and understanding, Paula Mitchell has incorporated hands-on learning from the beginning of her 25+ year career as an Oakland educator. Since Paula was a small child, she has enjoyed exploring, designing, constructing and deconstructing and has witnessed the same joy and excitement in the children she teaches. Paula believes in fostering equity and providing access to high quality educational STE(A)M programs to historically underserved and underrepresented populations through a focus on culturally responsive making and authentic inclusion for students with disabilities. She is delighted that her job as a teacher on special assignment for Maker-Centered Learning at Grass Valley Elementary School allows her to bring more hands-on, minds-on learning to the community she loves. As a part of this work, Paula developed her school’s very first maker education/project-based learning program and its very first makerspace, the Wonder Workshop—where low tech meets no tech and imaginations run wild.

Paula has also participated in the Agency by Design Oakland Fellowship, first as a fellow and then as part of the senior leadership team. AbD focuses on the theory and practice of maker-centered learning. What began as a Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Project Zero research project is now its own entity looking at the promise of maker based education for Oakland youth. Paula is now excited to be continuing her journey with AbD Oakland as its Fellowship Director in the 2018-2019 school year. In addition, Paula facilitates workshops for educators and presents at conferences and seminars, including SXSWEdu, the Maker Educator Convening, and Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Project Zero Perspectives, on the topics of culturally responsive making and authentic inclusion in maker-centered learning, and creating sustainable makerspaces.

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The Maker Promise is a campaign to equip more schools with the resources and support they need to provide quality maker learning experiences for their students. We are challenging school leaders, educators, and community advocates to sign the Promise, and commit to being a champion for making; supporting spaces to make and learn; and sharing and showcasing what students make.