Maker learning first entered schools with the support of a grassroots coalition of teachers, students, and community advocates who wanted learning to be more hands-on, personalized, and relevant. To date, superintendents and principals representing more than 1,700 schools have signed the Maker Promise — a clear signal that this movement has grown beyond the grassroots.
Administrators are launching and expanding programs that are sustainable for schools and equitable for all students, and working with teachers to change what happens in classrooms. To continue this momentum, education leaders need support to create lasting change and ensure students continue to have more opportunities to make.
Today, Digital Promise is publishing the Maker Learning Leadership Framework to address these challenges. The Framework offers resources, strategies, and models to help school and district leaders Establish their Vision, Build their Culture, and Make their Program.
Superintendents: draw inspiration from other schools to help you chart the right course for your district.
Principals: use our worksheet for envisioning culturally relevant maker learning in your school.
Instructional leaders: support teachers with our instructional guides and conversation starters.
Technology leaders: use our scatterplot to help you identify appropriate tools as your program evolves over time.
We created the Framework through a year-long collaborative process with school districts from around the country. Each element of the Framework is grounded in the work of pioneering educators and researchers, and has been vetted by a cohort of teachers and administrators from six school districts across the country, who have used tools from the Framework in crafting their own programs. We are grateful for their support and feedback in ensuring the utility of the resources the Framework provides.
Even with the resources in the Framework, we understand that integrating maker learning school- and district-wide is an ambitious challenge. We can work with you in using the Framework to craft the right maker learning program for your school.
