At the root of problem solving, Tishman and Clapp assert, is a sense of agency. The impetus to engage with a problem starts with a sense that it's possible to reshape something by directing one's actions purposefully. The authors--who participated in a long-term project observing how the "maker movement" is being implemented in schools--believe practices connected to maker-centered learning increase students' sense of being capable of shaping their world through tinkering, designing, building, and redesigning objects or systems. They identify skills teachers should nurture to make students aware of the designed nature of the world and increase students' feeling of agency.