Design Challenges in Makerspaces: How to Spark Student Creativity

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Design Challenges in Makerspaces: How to Spark Student Creativity

Design challenges have the power to encourage creativity in your students – by providing limitations and guidelines, students can actually become more creative. Learn how you can use open exploration, workshops and design challenges in your makerspace. I’ll discuss strategies for creating design prompts, running challenges, and incorporating the design process into projects with your students. This presentation will help you find inspiration and feel equipped to lead your students through design challenges that will spark their creative genius. I’ll share about some of the problems that educators face when running challenges, how to help your students focus, and balancing guided projects, design challenges and open-ended exploration. We’ll look at specific examples of design challenges and the prompts used for them. Whether you’ve had a makerspace up and running for years or are just getting started with the Maker Movement, you will leave this session feeling equipped to lead your students through design challenges that will spark their creative genius. (Updated version of previous presentation)

Design Challenges in Makerspaces: How to Spark Student Creativity from Diana Rendina

Resources

Challenge Based Learning in the School Library Makerspace

My book that I co-wrote along with Colleen and Aaron Graves. Much of this presentation is based off of the content of this book, so if you find this presentation valuable, you’ll probably like the book too.

In this book, we go into depth about how to create a maker culture within your school, develop an interactive learning space and more. We discuss the logistics of hosting maker workshops, creating design challenge prompts and documenting the learning process.

Design Challenges in Makerspaces: How to Spark Student Creativity