College of Education and Human Development
Maker Faires and Maker Spaces
June 30, 2014
CEHD professor Kim Sheridan studies the ethnography and design of makerspaces, places where people build and create projects using STEM skills, in order to translate their successes to other learning environments.
Professor Kimberly Sheridan’s research project, “Learning in the Making: Studying and Designing Makerspaces,” took on a new kind of significance when President Obama declared June 18, 2014 to be a National Day of Making.
The White House hosted its first-ever Maker Faire, in recognition of the creative movement happening throughout the nation. Makers are youth and adults who imaginatively employ science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills to create goods and to solve problems.
The research by Dr. Sheridan, who holds a joint appointment in the Educational Psychology program in the College of Education and Human Development and in the Art Education program in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, and Dr. Erica Halverston at the University of Wisconsin-Madison examines what and how people learn from participation in maker spaces. Funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, Sheridan and Halverston are working with the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and its “MAKESHOP” to conduct design experiments.
Sheridan’s project aims to utilize information gained about the emergence, function, and educational opportunities of makerspaces to support student learning in the classroom and other environments. The White House hopes that fostering a national enthusiasm for making will inspire a new era of cutting-edge manufacturing and entrepreneurial innovation.
About CEHD
George Mason University's College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) includes two schools: the Graduate School of Education, one of the most comprehensive education schools in Virginia, and the School of Recreation, Health, and Tourism. CEHD offers a full range of courses, certificates, and degree programs on campus, online, and on site to more than 4,000 students each year. CEHD is fully accredited by NCATE and all licensure programs are approved by the Virginia Department of Education.
For additional information:
- CEHD Communications: cehdnews@gmu.edu
- Graduate School of Education: gse.gmu.edu
- Educational Psychology program: gse.gmu.edu/educational-psychology
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