Agency by Design
Educational initiatives that emphasize making, design, engineering, and tinkering have been gaining traction in schools and organizations across the country. While maker-centered learning is not a new concept, recent and emerging trends suggest a new kind of hands-on pedagogy—a responsive and flexible pedagogy that encourages community and collaboration (a do-it-together mentality), distributed teaching and learning, and crossing boundaries.
Agency by Design (AbD) is a multiyear research initiative at Project Zero investigating the promises, practices, and pedagogies of maker-centered learning experiences.
A TEDx Talk about the Maker Mind: Why Having a Sensitivity to Design Matters
Agency by Design project manager Jen Ryan describes her experience discussing the “maker mind” at TEDxDirigo.
Making Circuits Work: A Learning Journey
Agency by Design researcher Jessica Ross explores circuitry by engaging in a hands-on journey to build a flashing LED light from scratch.
Maker Empowerment Revisited
Agency by Design Principal Investigator Shari Tishman takes a dispositional approach to redefining “maker empowerment.”
Hacking Simple Systems: The Tale of an Incomplete Soccer Uniform
Oakland Learning Community Tatum Omari’s builds on her experience with system redesign to hack her daughter’s soccer gear.
AbD Framework: A Guide for Educators
A resource for educators to explore the ways you can use the Agency by Design Framework and Making Moves/Indicators.
Design Hunt
This practice first encourages learners to observe the world around them and look for design, “in the wild,” taking a broad inventory of the designs they notice. Then it asks them to focus in on one object or system to consider the designer’s perspective or to propose redesign ideas.
Tinkering Towards a Definition of Tinkering
How do you define tinkering? In this post, Agency by Design principal investigator Shari Tishman tinkers towards a definition of tinkering that considers standard text book definitions, examples from real life tinkerers, and a consideration of the “symptoms” of tinkering.
Curiosities, Collections, and Curating: Considering Maker Portfolios
AbD researcher Jessica Ross elaborates on her role in the Open Portfolio Project by asking the question: What advice can we offer young makers as they document their making throughout their lifetimes?