Adapting Maker Education to pupil's abilities: How clear bordered tasks can lead to discovery behaviour

Maker education uses the concept of learning through interaction of the hand and the mind and is therefore a good instrument for Design and Technology education. However it appears to be difficult to engage all pupils in a class. Still, it is in all pupils’ interest that all pupils are enabled to engage, because only then a strong community of makers can emerge.

Engagement can be hindered by the absence of abilities, needed to accomplish a task. When this leads to passiveness or frustration, it may disturb the group process of collaboration.

In earlier research we found out that adjusting simple challenges to pupils’ abilities and adding clear success criteria to create a manageable ‘cognitive conflict’ is a way to border a task. Within these borders there is room for freedom. This freedom can result in ongoing discovery behaviour. A joint evaluation of the various results of the task will lead to joint development of knowledge, leading to a next level of familiarity. This joint knowledge together with the by discovery behaviour expanded abilities, outlines the base of a next task.

When for some pupils the devised borders fail, diagnosis of the failing border will be simple; is it a failing adjustment to pupil’s abilities, or is it a too complex challenge, or is it a vague success criterium or is it a failing joint evaluation? After diagnosis offering proper support is easy.

In this study we researched the actual effect of a series of clear bordered tasks on the discovery behaviour of the pupils. In the tradition of lesson-study we focused on if and how this approach was useful to get disruptive pupils active in discovery through making.

The results showed that the tasks turned out to be useful in changing the observed pupils’ behaviour towards active making and discovery. As a result of the improved discovery behaviour the teacher-pupil relationships and the pupil-pupil relationships improved as well.