ERIC Number: EJ1254565
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Jan
Pages: 27
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1069-4730
EISSN: N/A
An Assessment Instrument of Technological Literacies in Makerspaces and FabLabs
Blikstein, Paulo; Kabayadondo, Zaza; Martin, Andrew; Fields, Deborah
Journal of Engineering Education, v106 n1 p149-175 Jan 2017
Background: As the maker movement is increasingly adopted into K-12 schools, students are developing new competences in exploration and fabrication technologies. This study assesses learning with these technologies in K-12 makerspaces and FabLabs. Purpose: Our study describes the iterative process of developing an assessment instrument for this new technological literacy, the Exploration and Fabrication Technologies Instrument, and presents findings from implementations at five schools in three countries. Our index is generalizable and psychometrically sound, and permits comparison between student confidence and performance. Design/Method: Our evaluation of distinct technology skills separates general computing, information and communication technology (ICT), and exploration and fabrication technologies (EFTs) into nonoverlapping areas of technological expertise required to perform their respective sets of tasks. The instrument also tracks student confidence in EFT skills and assesses how that confidence relates to actual task performance. Results: Exploration and fabrication technologies constitute a new and distinct set of technology literacies arising from fabrication settings. The EFT instrument compares students' self-reported confidence with their performance on complex design tasks and demonstrates that, for students, exposure to general computing and ICT tools differs from exposure to EFT tools. Conclusion: The EFT instrument captures a new and distinct set of technology literacies that arise within fabrication settings and are independent of both general computing and digital content production skills.
Descriptors: Technological Literacy, Engineering Education, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Information Technology, Learning Processes, Evaluation Methods, Kindergarten, Elementary Secondary Education, Psychometrics, Comparative Analysis, Task Analysis, Student Evaluation, Self Esteem, Correlation
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Kindergarten; Primary Education; Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A