Review of MOOC: Tinkering Fundamentals: A Constructionist Approach to STEM Learning; Pieter van der Hijden; Fabfuse grassroots conference; Fab Lab Amersfoort, The Netherlands, 8-9-10 August 2014

1. Review of MOOC:
Tinkering
Fundamentals: A
Constructionist
Approach to STEM
Learning
Pieter van der Hijden msc
1 www.sofos.nl
FABFUSE 3, Amersfoort, The Netherlands
8-9-10 August 2014
http://www.fabfuse.org

2. Background
 Pieter van der Hijden
 Sofos Consultancy (Amsterdam, The
Netherlands) – http://www.sofos.nl
 Consultant Fab Lab, Gaming/Simulation,
eLearning
 External consultant / member of the project
team of Fab Lab Paramaribo (Suriname) –
http://fablab.vicepresident.gov.sr &
https://www.facebook.com/FabLabPar
amaribo
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3. Agenda
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www.sofos.nl• MOOC = Massive Open Online Course
• STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics

4. 1. Introduction
4
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5. Fab Lab
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 Great learning
potential
 Motivating
 Empowering
 Social knowledge
constructing
 How to make it
sustainable?
 How to work in
professional way?

6. Knowledge pyramid
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Source: Four-in-Balance Monitor, 2013

7. 2. Learning in Fab Labs
Frame of reference
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8. FabEd = Fab Education
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 Support organization
for Fab Labs and
education
 Partners:
 FabFoundation
 TIES – Teaching
Institute for
Excellence in STEM
Ambitions:
 Fab Lab Start-up Services
 Fab Lab/STEM school Tours
 Planning and Design Services
 Fab Lab Installation
 Curriculum and Assessment
Adaptation and/or Development
 Professional Development for
Teachers
 Fab Lab Manager/Guru Training
 Fab Lab Continuing Services
 Professional Development
 Fab Lab Scaling Services
Source: FabEd

9. FabLab@School
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 Research group with own
concept of Fab Labs at
school
 Digital fabrication and
hands-on learning in
education
 Middle and high school
students
 Paulo Blikstein at
Transformative Learning
Technologies Lab;
Graduate School of
Education; Stanford
University
 It is NOT:
 Traditional school science
lab
 Robotics lab
Source: Website Fablab@school

10. School fab labs
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 Many Fab Labs
have been
embedded into
schools:
 Programmed lab
sessions
 Dedicated courses
 Project group
facilities
Source: Fab Lab, ROC, Bergen op Zoom, NL

11. Other fab labs
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 Fab Lab Paramaribo,
Suriname
 Informal events plus
begin of recurring
group of children
Source: Fab Lab Paramaribo

12. Other fab labs
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 Ateneo Lab Corts
Barcelona, Spain
 Parents develop
STEM projects
Source: Ateneo Lab Corts, Barcelona, Spain Source: Ateneo Lab Corts, Barcelona, Spain

13. Other fab labs
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 FabLabIL, Israel
 Annual program
for youth
Source: FabLabIL, Israel Source: FabLabIL, Israel

14. Museums
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Museo Metropolitano
de Lima, Peru
 Various cultural
events and classes
Both pictures: source FabLabMET, Peru

15. Museums
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Museum of Science and
Industry, Chicago, USA
 Short activities (8+ -
adults, 20-60‘)
 3D printing, Laser cutting,
Vinyl cutting)
 Summer camp (10-17,
one week)
 Community programs
 Science minors, Science
achievers, Youth
development program,
Science minors clubs,
Snoozeum 6-12, Science
in the community
All pictures: source MSI, Chicago

16. Museums
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Exploratorium, San Francisco,
USA
 For Educators
 Professional Development
Programs
 MOOC: Tinkering
Fundamentals: A
Constructionist Approach
to STEM Learning
 MOOC: Re-Engineering
Your Science Curriculum
 Tools for Teaching
 For Learners
 Community Programs
 Tools for Learning
 For the Field
 Learning About Learning
Source: Exploratorium, San Francisco, USA

17. 3. Expectations of the MOOC
= Massive Open Online Course
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18. Expectations of the MOOC
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Personal expectations
 Improve developing
and facilitating
tinkering workshops
aiming at STEM*
learning
 Learning to train
other facilitators
 Being inspired by a
lot of funny and nice
ideas
 Experiencing a
Coursera MOOC
*STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics

19. 4. Course content
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20. Week 1 – Introduction to tinkering
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Observations Comments
Video potpourri on tinkering
activities at Exploratorium
• Activity: one for all, not linear
• Materials: cheap and casual
• Environment: round table
• Facilitator: sparking, sustaining
and deepening
• Children: central and active
The children have a great time; is
there a next step?
• Why are we organizing these
workshops at all?
• If it is for learning, what did they
really learn (and how do we
know)?
• Is it for making STEM jobs more
popular?
“(Electrical) circuits play a central
role in our activities”
Interesting, but why?
Source: Exploratorium, San Francisco, USA

21. Week 2 – Initial explorations with tinkering
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Observations Comments
Various videos on
making circuit
board building
blocks
• Very useful
activity guide
(8 pages)!
• Cheap
materials are
welcome,
collect them
Source: Exploratorium, San Francisco, USA
Source: Exploratorium, San Francisco, USA

22. Week 3 – Identifying learning indicators
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Observations Comments
Various videos on scribbling
machines & activity guide
-
Pedagogical Perspective by Edith
Kaufmann
Recommended reading / watching:
E. Kaufmann
Learning dimensions framework:
• Engagement
• Initiative and Intentionality
• Social Scaffolding
• Development of Understanding
Interesting learning (observation)
framework, but…
• Only generic competencies
• No direct link to STEM curriculum
Source: Exploratorium, San Francisco, USA

23. Week 4 – Personal expression through tinkering
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Observations Comments
Sewn circuits and paper circuits this
week
Again with interesting activity guides
(see references)
Poster on “Tinkering tenets” Two suggestions for extra tenets:
• Choreography (scenario for
tinkering session with plenary,
group and individual time slots)
• Take something home (and
continue tinkering)
Both pictures: source: Exploratorium, San Francisco, USA

24. Week 5 – Computation, Deconstruction, and Reconstruction
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Observations Comments
Toy Take Apart activity Funny, e.g. Furby Autopsy 
Makey Makey Nice, but always the same
examples
Reflection on facilitating
exercise
Good to reflect on facilitating
an activity and to write it
down
Source: Exploratorium, San Francisco, USA

25. Week 6 – Putting it all together
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Observations Comments
Some loose
ends
-
Wrap-up of
the course
Final
assignment
plus peer
review
Source: Exploratorium, San Francisco, USA

26. 5. Course format
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27. Week 1-6
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 Watch
 Read
 Your turn
 Weekly activity
 Reflection question
 Other resources
Source: Shortened screenshot of Coursera course page

28. Last weeks
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Assignment option 1 Assignment option 2
Tinkering design notebook: Tinkering action plan
notebook:
• Initial goals and
expectations
• Midpoint reflection
• Final reflection
• Initial goals and
expectations
• Your SOMEDAY action plan
• Your MONDAY action plan
2 peer reviews 2 peer reviews

29. 6. Course technology
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30. Course technology
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Description Comments
Virtual learning environment (VLE) OK
Every week
• Welcome email
• Course page
• Your turn
• Home tinkering activity
• Reflection activity
Home tinkering activities
• Ordering materials was
expensive / clumsy
Other virtual environments used:
• Weekly hangout (Google)
• Social media wall (via Twitter
and Rebelmouse)
Weekly hangout
• Life: inconvenient due to time
zones
• Archive: boring
Social media wall
• Clumsy and not protected

31. 7. Conclusion
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32. Conclusion
Personal expectations Score Comments
Improve developing and
facilitating tinkering workshops
aiming at STEM learning
+
• The course itself was like a tinkering activity; good
experience!
• Learning general competencies OK. However, the real
link between tinkering and STEM curriculum is still a blank
spot.
• The machine-focussed approach of Fab Labs turned out
to be less important. The machines are great, but only
when we need them. Facilitators do not have to master
"all" tools, techniques and machines.
Learning to train other facilitators
+
• Great to see (videos of) colleagues at work.
• Maybe that is also the way to train volunteers / facilitators
• Library with 100 annotated video fragments of tinkering
sessions (to be figured out)
• Great to see and feel the importance of regular
reflection.
Being inspired by a lot of funny
and nice ideas ++
• Accompanying book “The Art of Tinkering” is beautiful
• Excellent activity guides (see references)
• Useful learning observation framework
• Plenty reading materials
Experiencing a Coursera MOOC
+
• Content well structured
• VLE easy to operate
• Great to slow down video speed (.75); big time saver! 
• Linking to other sites clumsy (Google hangout &
Twitter/Rebelmouse)
• Large group of participants, maybe better to work in small
online groups www.sofos.nl
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33. References
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34. References
All pictures without source: Computerclub Wanica / informal Mini Fab Lab Wanica; Pieter van der Hijden;
http://www.flickr.com
 Ateneu de Fabricació de Les Corts; Barcelona, Spain; http://bit.ly/ateneofabricación
 Coursera; http://www.coursera.org
 Exploratorium; http://www.exploratorium.edu/
 Fab Lab Paramaribo, http://fablab.vicepresident.gov.sr,
https://www.facebook.com/FabLabParamaribo
 FabEd - Fab Education; Fab Foundation; http://www.fabfoundation.org/fab-education/
 FabLabIL, Fab Lab Israel; Ohad Meyuhas; http://www.fablabil.org/
 Fab Lab Museo Metropolitano de Lima; Victor Freundt; https://www.facebook.com/fablabmet
 FabLab@School; http://fablabatschool.org/
 Four in balance monitor 2013; Kennisnet, The Netherlands, 2013; http://bit.ly/1lLN9hc
 Invent to learn; making, tinkering, and engineering in the classroom; Sylvia L. Martinez, Gary Stager;
Constructing Modern Knowledge Press; 2013; http://www.inventtolearn.com/
 The art of tinkering; meet 150+ makers working at the intersection of art, science and technology;
Karen Wilkinson & Mike Petrich; Weldonowen, 2013; http://tinkering.exploratorium.edu/the-art-of-
tinkering
 TIES - Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM; http://www.tiesteach.org
 Tinkering Fundamentals: A Constructionist Approach to STEM Learning;
Coursera; https://www.coursera.org/course/tinkering
 Social media wall; https://www.rebelmouse.com/tinkeringstudio/Tinker-at-Home/
 Activity guides for cardboard automata, circuit boards, light painting, paper circuits, sewn
circuits, toy take apart, wind tubes, marble machines*, scribbling machines* hyperlinks to activity
guides (* also on http://www.instructables.com), see hyperlink at bottom of corresponding
project pages on http://tinkering.exploratorium.edu/
 Transformative Learning Technologies Lab; Stanford University; https://tltl.stanford.edu/
 Wanger Family Fab Lab; Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago,
http://www.msichicago.org/whats-here/fab-lab/ www.sofos.nl
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35. Thank you for your attention!
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Pieter van der Hijden, Sofos Consultancy – 2014 –
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
Unported License.
www.sofos.nl
Pieter van der Hijden
pvdh@sofos.nl