University makerspaces are designed to be open spaces where students can create, design, and build. Yet, we know little about how the culture and design qualities of maker spaces enable or constrain students’ creative processes and experiences. In order to better understand the impact of university maker spaces on the students that use them, our research team is conducting two key studies that will be discussed in this paper. First is a multi-university longitudinal study designed to quantify the impact of maker spaces by looking at different metrics such as GPA, design self-efficacy, retention, and idea generation ability and how these metrics are affected by different levels of involvement in university maker spaces. This longitudinal study is being performed using a non-intrusive survey instrument. Second, ethnographic methods of participant observation and semi-structured interviews are used to examine the culture of maker spaces and the users of makerspaces at a large comprehensive university and a large research doctoral university. From the longitudinal study, we have noted that students have an increase in their design self-efficacy when they use the makerspaces; however, we have realized through the qualitative studies that there are issues of access, which presumably do not allow these gains in design self-efficacy to be realized equally by all students. This paper will present key results from three years of data collection using the survey instruments as well as our findings on what accessibility means for these spaces on campus, what access looks and feels like, and what are the different types of access that lend themselves to a student entering into and being a part of a space and culture.
Megan E. Tomko is a Ph.D. graduate student in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology under the guidance of Dr. Julie Linsey. She completed one semester in her graduate studies at James Madison University with Dr. Robert Nagel as her advisor. Her B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering is from the University of Pittsburgh where she also worked as a Field Telecommunications Intern for three consecutive summers at EQT, a natural gas company headquartered in downtown Pittsburgh, PA. Megan’s research interests correspond to identifying ways to teach students how to become better designers and learners through creative and non-traditional means.
Dr. Robert Nagel is an Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering at James Madison University. Dr. Nagel joined the James Madison University after completing his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at Oregon State University. He has a B.S. from Trine University and a M.S. from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, both in mechanical engineering. Since joining James Madison University, Nagel has helped to develop and teach the six course engineering design sequence which represents the spine of the curriculum for the Department of Engineering. The research and teaching interests of Dr. Nagel tend to revolve around engineering design and engineering design education, and in particular, the design conceptualization phase of the design process. He has performed research with the US Army Chemical Corps, General Motors Research and Development Center, and the US Air Force Academy, and he has received grants from the NSF, the EPA, and General Motors Corporation.
Dr. Melissa Aleman (Ph.D. University of Iowa) is Professor of Communication Studies at James Madison University and has published research using qualitative interviewing, ethnographic and rhetorical methods to examine communication in diverse contexts. She is particularly interested in multidisciplinary studies of communication, culture, and learning in makerspaces, as well as broadening participation of women and underrepresented minority students and faculty in STEM fields.
Dr Wendy C. Newstetter is the Assistant Dean of Educational Research and Innovation in the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech.
Dr. Julie S. Linsey is an Associate Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technological. Dr. Linsey received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas. Her research area is design cognition including systematic methods and tools for innovative design with a particular focus on concept generation and design-by-analogy. Her research seeks to understand designers’ cognitive processes with the goal of creating better tools and approaches to enhance engineering design. She has authored over 100 technical publications including twenty-three journal papers, five book chapters, and she holds two patents.
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