The State of Makerspace Research: a Review of the Literature
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ORIGINAL PAPER
The State of Makerspace Research: a Review of the Literature Shannon Mersand 1 Accepted: 13 November 2020 # Association for Educational Communications & Technology 2020
Abstract This literature review identifies the content and scope of empirical academic research on making, makerspaces, and fablabs. Using an overview approach, 150 peer reviewed studies were analyzed using expanded activity theory as a framework to examine how researchers have explored various components in a makerspace (subjects, tools, community, rules, division of labor and objects) as well as the outcomes (cognitive, psychomotor, affective, and behavioral) for their users. This review indicates that despite the wide-spread discussions describing makerspaces and making in school library practitioner publications and conferences, there is a lack of research related to making, makerspaces, and fablabs in PreK-12 school libraries in the United States. Keywords Fab lab . Fablabs . Makerspace . Making . School libraries
Making and makerspaces are heralded as a way to democratize access to the ideas and tools to enable people to become producers, rather than consumers, and allow everyone an opportunity to create and learn (Gershenfeld, 2010; Harron & Hughes, 2018; Martinez & Stager, 2013, 2019). It has been proposed that “making” holds the key to revolutionizing education and society (Dougherty & Conrad, 2016). Proponents of makerspaces believe that makerspaces have a positive effect on physical, social, emotional, and academic outcomes (Dougherty & Conrad, 2016; Martinez & Stager, 2013). Museums, community spaces, universities, academic, and public libraries, as well as PreK-12 schools, classrooms, and libraries, are creating makerspaces at a rapid pace. As making and makerspaces spread throughout the world researchers are beginning to explore what they are, and the effects they may have. A review of the existing makerspace literature was conducted to identify empirical peer reviewed research on making, makerspaces, fablabs, and maker-related activities. Grant & Booth (2009) describe this type of literature review as an overview, “a summary of the literature that attempts to survey
the literature and describe its characteristics” (p. 94). This is a thematic review, which uses the components of expanded activity theory as a framework for organization. First, a definition of makerspaces is provided, including examples of what happens in a makerspace. Then, the methodology used to identify existing makerspace research is presented. A brief explanation of expanded activity theory is provided, as well as a rationale for why the theory was selected as an analytical framework for organization. Then, using expanded activity theory as an analytical framework, the review examines how researchers have explored the various components in a makerspace (subjects, tools, community, rules, division of labor and objects), as well as the outcomes (cognitive, psychomotor, affective, and behavioral) for users of the spaces. The framework will be used t
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