Lessons learned from the grassroots spreading of the “maker movement” can help us reimagine schools and foster a mindset of creativity and innovation in educational settings.

Objective: This study examines the validity of Amabile's (1982) consensual assessment technique in measuring creativity in a warm-up activity in fourth-grade drama classrooms and compares the scores between warm-ups occurring in a blackbox theater setting (experimental) vs. a traditional classroom (control). Method: Four professional actors viewed 60 clips of children's drama warm-ups and scored for creativity, using a 5-point scale. After establishing sufficient inter-rater reliability (IRR), we used the average scores of the raters to compare creativity between the experimental and control groups. Results: The raters demonstrated high agreement, with a coefficient alpha estimate of .819. An independent samples t-test between the experimental and control groups was significant at p < .001, with the experimental group receiving higher scores. Conclusions: The results suggested that creativity was significantly higher in the experimental group, and the context correlated with creativity, despite neither group having yet received drama instruction at that time. This paper presents discussions about validity, opinions of the raters, possible implications for the activity itself, and possible effect of setting on creativity.

Connected learning explains how people can build learning pathways that connect their interests, relationships, and formal learning to lead toward future opportunities such as careers. However, most learning systems are not set up ideally for connected learning; for instance, most schools still teach disciplines as discrete units that do not connect to students’ interests outside of school. We do not yet know enough about the structure of naturally occurring connected learning ecologies that do connect youth learning across contexts and help them follow pathways toward careers and other desired outcomes. Learning more about what works well on these pathways will allow us to design connected learning environments to help more youth have access to these desired opportunities. This paper analyzes two case studies of cosplayers –hobbyists who make their own costumes of media characters to wear at fan conventions– who benefited from well-developed connected learning ecologies. Cases were drawn from a larger interview study and analyzed as compelling examples of connected learning. Important themes that emerged included relationships with and sponsorship by caring others; unique pathways that start with a difficult challenge; economic opportunities related to cosplay; and comparisons with formal school experiences. This has implications for how we can design connected learning ecologies that support all learners on unique pathways toward fulfilling futures. El aprendizaje conectado explica cómo las personas pueden construir rutas de aprendizaje conectadas a sus intereses, sus relaciones y al aprendizaje formal que lleven a oportunidades de futuro en una carrera profesional. Sin embargo, la mayoría de los sistemas de aprendizaje no están diseñados para una experiencia de aprendizaje conectado. Por ejemplo, casi todas las escuelas siguen enseñando asignaturas como unidades cerradas que no conectan con los intereses de los alumnos fuera de la escuela. Todavía no sabemos lo suficiente sobre la estructura de los ambientes naturales de aprendizaje conectado que sí activan la experiencia de aprendizaje con diferentes contextos y llevan a los alumnos hacia un camino de crecimiento. Aprender más sobre lo que funciona en estas rutas de aprendizaje nos permitirá diseñar entornos de aprendizaje conectado para ayudar a más jóvenes a obtener los resultados deseados. El presente trabajo analiza dos casos prácticos de «cosplayers» –aficionados que crean sus propios disfraces de personajes ficticios y los llevan a convenciones y eventos– que se beneficiaron de entornos de aprendizaje conectado correctamente desarrollados. Aspectos importantes que surgieron en el estudio incluyen las relaciones con el apoyo y cuidado de y hacia los otros: dos caminos únicos que comienzan con un difícil desafío: las oportunidades económicas derivadas del cosplay y las comparaciones con otras experiencias escolares formales. Todo ello afecta la manera de diseñar entornos de aprendizaje conectado que apoyen a todos los alumnos en sus caminos únicos hacia el futuro.

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