Research Article

Exploring Teachers' Understanding of Collaborative Learning and Teamwork Strategies in Makerspaces

Volume: 10 Number: 1 January 3, 2025
EN

Exploring Teachers' Understanding of Collaborative Learning and Teamwork Strategies in Makerspaces

Abstract

Makerspaces are interactive learning environments that provide students with opportunities to improve life and career skills. The importance of these spaces has grown over the years. In Türkiye, the Ministry of National Education has established makerspace-like environments, known as Design and Skills-Labs (Tasarım Beceri Atölyeleri or TBA in Turkish) in public schools. This study was conducted to explore public-school teachers’ understanding of collaborative learning (CL) and teamwork strategies in the design and skills labs. The sequential exploratory design was applied for this mixed method research to collect data in two phases: qualitative interviews with experts working on makerspaces, followed by quantitative survey data collection from public school teachers who work in TBAs. The qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews from 13 national and international field experts to understand what collaboration and teamwork mean in makerspaces. The themes and subthemes that emerged from this phase guided the quantitative data collection phase. The latter was conducted in the form of an online survey with 101 public school TBA teachers. The results indicated that teachers know the importance of CL, its application, and strategies in the learning environment. However, CL strategies, assessment techniques, and resources continued to be one of the major challenges faced by teachers in TBAs. The factors that interfere with teachers’ competencies include the lack of prior training on TBA environments. As for resources, financial and funding factors were speculated to be challenging as well.

Keywords

makerspaces, design and skills labs, collaborative learning, teamwork, collaborative strategies.

Ethical Statement

Ethics and Consent: Ethics committee approval for this study was received from the Ethics Committee of Cukurova University (Date: 06/10/2023; Approval Number: 05/10/2023-E.814027).

References

  1. Abowitz, D. A., & Toole, T. M. (2010). Mixed method research: Fundamental issues of design, validity, and reliability in construction research. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 136(1), 108-116. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000026
  2. Bencze, J. L., Bowen, G. M., & Alsop, S. (2006). Teachers’ tendencies to promote student-led science projects: Associations with their views about science. Science Education. 90(3), 400-419. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.20124
  3. Banks-Hunt, J. M., Adams, S., Ganter, S., & Bohorquez, J. C. (2016). K-12 STEM education: Bringing the engineering maker space, student-centered learning, curriculum, and teacher training to middle schools. 2016 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE). https://doi.org/10.1109/fie.2016.7757531
  4. Barrett, T., Pizzico, M., Levy, B. D., Nagel, R. L., Linsey, J. S., Talley, K. G., Craig, R. F., & Newstetter, W. C. (2015). A Review of university maker spaces. 2015 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Proceedings (pp. 26-101). ASEE PEER. https://doi.org/10.18260/p.23442
  5. Barkley, E. F., Cross, K. P., & Major, C. H. (2014). Collaborative learning techniques: A handbook for college faculty. John Wiley & Sons.
  6. Bensenouci, A., & Brahimi, T. (2017). Powering makerspace wirelessly: Opportunities and challenges. 2017 IEEE Learning and Technology Conference (L&T). https://doi.org/10.1109/LT.2017.8088119 Blaz, D. (2013). A collection of performance tasks and rubrics: Foreign languages. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315852836
  7. Brookhart, S. M. (2013). How to create and use rubrics for formative assessment and grading. ASCD.
  8. Bullock, S. M., & Sator, A. J. (2015). Maker pedagogy and science teacher education. Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies, 13(1), 60-87. https://doi.org/10.25071/1916-4467.40246
  9. Burke, J., & Kroski, E. (2018). Makerspaces: A practical guide for librarians. Rowman & Littlefield.
  10. Butler, D. L., & Winne, P. H. (1995). Feedback and self-regulated learning: A theoretical synthesis. Review of Educational Research, 65(3), 245-281. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543065003245
APA
Amayou, J., Sadık, O., & Paul, K. (2025). Exploring Teachers’ Understanding of Collaborative Learning and Teamwork Strategies in Makerspaces. Journal of Learning and Teaching in Digital Age, 10(1), 12-32. https://doi.org/10.53850/joltida.1413883
AMA
1.Amayou J, Sadık O, Paul K. Exploring Teachers’ Understanding of Collaborative Learning and Teamwork Strategies in Makerspaces. JOLTIDA. 2025;10(1):12-32. doi:10.53850/joltida.1413883
Chicago
Amayou, Jihane, Olgun Sadık, and Kelli Paul. 2025. “Exploring Teachers’ Understanding of Collaborative Learning and Teamwork Strategies in Makerspaces”. Journal of Learning and Teaching in Digital Age 10 (1): 12-32. https://doi.org/10.53850/joltida.1413883.
EndNote
Amayou J, Sadık O, Paul K (January 1, 2025) Exploring Teachers’ Understanding of Collaborative Learning and Teamwork Strategies in Makerspaces. Journal of Learning and Teaching in Digital Age 10 1 12–32.
IEEE
[1]J. Amayou, O. Sadık, and K. Paul, “Exploring Teachers’ Understanding of Collaborative Learning and Teamwork Strategies in Makerspaces”, JOLTIDA, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 12–32, Jan. 2025, doi: 10.53850/joltida.1413883.
ISNAD
Amayou, Jihane - Sadık, Olgun - Paul, Kelli. “Exploring Teachers’ Understanding of Collaborative Learning and Teamwork Strategies in Makerspaces”. Journal of Learning and Teaching in Digital Age 10/1 (January 1, 2025): 12-32. https://doi.org/10.53850/joltida.1413883.
JAMA
1.Amayou J, Sadık O, Paul K. Exploring Teachers’ Understanding of Collaborative Learning and Teamwork Strategies in Makerspaces. JOLTIDA. 2025;10:12–32.
MLA
Amayou, Jihane, et al. “Exploring Teachers’ Understanding of Collaborative Learning and Teamwork Strategies in Makerspaces”. Journal of Learning and Teaching in Digital Age, vol. 10, no. 1, Jan. 2025, pp. 12-32, doi:10.53850/joltida.1413883.
Vancouver
1.Jihane Amayou, Olgun Sadık, Kelli Paul. Exploring Teachers’ Understanding of Collaborative Learning and Teamwork Strategies in Makerspaces. JOLTIDA. 2025 Jan. 1;10(1):12-3. doi:10.53850/joltida.1413883