Negotiating Tensions of Autonomy and Connection in Makerspace Cultures: A Qualitative Examination of a University's Makerspaces

Abstract

design cognition including systematic methods and tools for innovative design with a particular focus on concept generation and design-by-analogy. Her research seeks to understand designers' cognitive processes with the goal of creating better tools and approaches to enhance engineering design. She has authored over 100 technical publications including twenty-three journal papers, five book chapters, and she holds two patents.Dr. Robert L. Nagel, James Madison University Dr. Robert Nagel is an Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering at James Madison University. Dr. Nagel joined the James Madison University after completing his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at Oregon State University. He has a B.S. from Trine University and a M.S. from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, both in mechanical engineering. Since joining James Madison University, Nagel has helped to develop and teach the six course engineering design sequence which represents the spine of the curriculum for the Department of Engineering. The research and teaching interests of Dr. Nagel tend to revolve around engineering design and engineering design education, and in particular, the design conceptualization phase of the design process. He has performed research with the US Army Chemical Corps, General Motors Research and Development Center, and the US Air Force Academy, and he has received grants from the NSF, the EPA, and General Motors Corporation. Mr. James Deverell Watkins Dr. Melissa Wood Aleman, James Madison UniversityDr. Melissa Aleman (Ph.D. University of Iowa) is Professor of Communication Studies at James Madison University and has published research using qualitative interviewing, ethnographic and rhetorical methods to examine communication in diverse contexts ranging from aging families to university campus cultures. She has advised undergraduate and graduate students in ethnographic and qualitative interview projects on a wide-range of topics, has taught research methods at the introductory, advanced, and graduate levels, and has trained research assistants in diverse forms of data collection and analysis.c American Society for Engineering Education, 2017 Negotiating Tensions of Independence and Connection in Makerspace Cultures: A Qualitative Examination of an Interdisciplinary Student Team AbstractFor engineering students, the culture and development of university makerspaces is highly driven by tensions of independence and connectedness between and among students and faculty. These tensions are a result of the power dynamics and perceptions pertaining to engineering students' relationships with those of authority, such as faculty and other engineering students. While makerspaces seek to foster a feeling of autonomy and create an educational environment that inspires creativity and collaboration, there remain underlying tensions that constrain students' abilities to take full advantage of the resources that are available to them. Such tensions and their impacts are not easily measured through quantitative ...

Making Improvements: Pedagogical Iterations of Designing a Class Project in a Maker Space

“…The popularity of makerspaces is confounded by the lack of clarity in describing what constitutes the actual act of making which has been intentionally left vague (Tomko, Linsey, Nagel, Watkins, & Aleman, 2017). What is clear in the literature are the descriptions of where making occurs (i.e., makerspaces) and the subsequent maker movement and maker mindset.…”

“…and "What does learning look like?" It is important to recognize that while qualitative research is occurring in university makerspaces (e.g., Tomko et al, 2017;Tomko et al, 2018), quantitative methodologies, such as survey analysis dominate the research regarding experiences within makerspaces. In a review of research on Academic Makerspaces, Rosenbaum and Hartmann (2017) identified only 5 studies that used qualitative methods, one of which used a case study approach to study student experiences in an extracurricular makerspace (O'Connell, 2015).…”

Women in Engineering: 3D Printing Interests, Habits, and Persistence

“…Makerspaces are becoming an increasingly important part of academics in undergraduate engineering programs. As of 2017, 40 of the top 127 highest ranking U.S. colleges and universities had publicly available makerspaces, shifting on-campus resources from traditional machine shops to more high technology, digital design and rapid prototyping spaces 12 .…”

“…According to a study completed at University of Texas at Austin, 72% of students return to makerspaces after their first makerspace experience. Coursework is the most common reason students visit a makerspace for the first time; therefore, it is important that undergraduate engineering courses incorporate makerspaces into their curriculum to ensure that all students have equal opportunity to thrive in campus makerspaces 12 . Extracurricular engineering clubs and organizations make use of campus makerspaces quite often.…”