Makerspace Mondays

Makerspace Mondays are structured, optional learning experiences designed to extend literacy, engagement, and student agency beyond scheduled class time. These experiences are intentionally connected to reading, PBIS, and independent learning goals, rather than functioning as stand-alone rewards.

Access to Makerspace Mondays is intentionally structured across the school year, with multiple pathways that connect literacy, behavior, and skill development to hands-on learning in consistent and meaningful ways.

Quarter 1: Students qualified by completing a book of their choice from the library. There were no restrictions on genre, format, or reading level. Choice and access were prioritized to support reading engagement and stamina.
Quarter 2: Students earned access through PBIS incentives or completion of i-Ready goals, reinforcing responsible behavior, effort, and persistence.
Quarter 3: Students qualify through completion of independent literacy challenges available to all students through Google Classroom, allowing flexible pacing and multiple entry points.
Quarter 4: Students earn access through completion of structured STEAM design challenges in the makerspace. Projects emphasize planning, problem-solving, and refinement, with defined goals and timelines. Students apply skills introduced throughout the year while maintaining voice and choice within a guided instructional framework.

These varied pathways insttructional pathways ensure that access is not limited to a single metric or system. Students can earn participation through reading, effort, behavior, or independent work, reinforcing the idea that learning happens in different ways and at different times.

Because Makerspace Mondays are optional and grant-funded, they function as an enrichment layer, not the sole opportunity for hands-on learning. Core classes, PLTW, art, and collaborative instruction regularly utilize the makerspace area during the school day, ensuring that all students have access to making, problem-solving, and creative work within instructional settings.

During Makerspace Mondays, students engage in activities that reinforce:

Design thinking and planning
Collaboration and communication
Creative problem-solving
Responsible tool use

Over time, these experiences help students build confidence as learners and makers, while strengthening the literacy and self-management skills that transfer back into classroom learning.

Equity, Access, and Low-Floor Entry

Equity in the makerspace starts with design. Activities are planned with low-floor entry points and flexible options so students can participate in ways that make sense for them, regardless of prior experience, confidence level, or language proficiency.

Clear routines and visual modeling help students know what to expect and how to get started, reducing language and confidence barriers.The focus is on process rather than a finished product. Students are encouraged to try, revise, and problem-solve without pressure to “get it right” the first time. This creates space for students who may be hesitant to jump into technical or language-heavy tasks and allows creativity and thinking to take the lead.

Choice is an important part of access. Students can select materials, approaches, and outcomes that play to their strengths while still pushing their thinking forward. Making is framed as participation, persistence, and learning, not technical perfection.

By designing the makerspace with low-floor entry and room to grow, the library becomes a place where students feel comfortable taking risks, asking questions, and sharing ideas. These choices support an inclusive environment where all students can engage meaningfully and see themselves as capable learners and makers.

Makerspace Experiences

Makerspace experiences vary throughout the year and are designed to provide multiple entry points for students with different interests, strengths, and levels of confidence. Activities are selected based on instructional purpose rather than tools alone, with an emphasis on thinking, problem-solving, communication, and reflection.

Students are guided through planning, making connections to prior learning, exploring ideas from multiple perspectives, revising their work, and reflecting on outcomes. The focus remains on process and learning transfer rather than completing a product.

Examples of Makerspace Learning

Design & Communication
Students engage in digital design and visual communication through projects such as infographics, posters, and other media that require them to organize information, make design choices, and communicate ideas clearly.

Engineering & Problem-Solving
Low-tech and hands-on challenges using materials such as duct tape, paper, and simple construction tools encourage students to plan, test, revise, and persist. These activities emphasize iteration, collaboration, and creative problem-solving.
Technology & Wearable Projects
Students explore introductory circuitry and wearable technology, including micro:bit-based projects, to investigate how technology can be used to solve problems and communicate information in meaningful ways.
Fabrication & Iterative Design
Through 3D design and printing, students experience the full design cycle, from initial idea to revision and improvement. Emphasis is placed on testing, feedback, and refining designs rather than producing a single finished object.
Creative Expression & Connection
Activities such as paper crafts and friendship bracelet projects provide accessible entry points that support creativity, focus, and collaboration while reinforcing that making and learning can take many forms.

Instructional Design and Learning Focus

Makerspace instruction is structured to help students learn how to learn. Before building or creating, students are supported in breaking ideas into manageable steps, making connections to prior knowledge, and considering multiple approaches to a problem.

As students work, they are encouraged to examine their ideas from different perspectives, revise based on feedback, and reflect on what is working and what needs adjustment. This process helps students move beyond trial-and-error toward more intentional problem-solving and deeper understanding.

Learning is reinforced through discussion, reflection, and repeated opportunities to apply skills across different contexts, helping students build confidence and independence as learners.

Innovation, Partnerships, & Special Projects

nnovation in the library makerspace is driven by purpose, not novelty. My role is to identify meaningful opportunities that expand student access, strengthen instruction, and connect classroom learning to real-world experiences. All partnerships and special projects are selected to directly support instructional goals, DESE library standards, and student access to meaningful learning experiences.

Because district funding for makerspace consumables is limited, the growth of the Library & Innovation Center has been made possible through targeted grants, community partnerships, and special programs. These opportunities allow students to engage in hands-on learning, emerging technologies, and design-based thinking that would otherwise be unavailable.

Key areas of innovation include:

Grant-Funded Learning Opportunities
Through competitive grants and donations, I have secured resources that support hands-on exploration in areas such as introductory circuitry, wearable technology, fabrication, and digital design. Grant funding is used strategically to support instructional goals, ensure equitable access, and maintain sustainability over time rather than one-time experiences.

Community & Industry Partnerships
Partnerships with local organizations, STEM professionals, and educational institutions extend learning beyond the school walls. These collaborations expose students to real-world applications of problem-solving, engineering, and creative thinking while reinforcing the relevance of literacy and inquiry skills.

Special Programs & Extended Learning Experiences
Special projects such as student STEM competitions, design challenges, and conferences provide authentic contexts for collaboration, communication, and perseverance. These experiences are intentionally connected back to classroom learning and library instruction, reinforcing that innovation is a process grounded in thinking, reflection, and revision.

Flexible, Student-Centered Implementation
Not all innovation happens during scheduled library classes. The makerspace area is actively used by PLTW, art, and core content teachers during the school day, ensuring that all students engage in hands-on learning as part of instruction. Optional enrichment opportunities, such as Makerspace Mondays, function as an added layer rather than the sole access point.

By leveraging innovation, partnerships, and special programs strategically, the Library & Innovation Center serves as a hub where literacy, inquiry, and hands-on learning intersect. These efforts reflect both instructional leadership and a commitment to expanding opportunities for students in thoughtful, sustainable ways.

Instructional Alignment and Access

All makerspace experiences are designed to support literacy, inquiry, and STEAM learning while remaining accessible to all students. Clear routines, visual supports, and flexible options help reduce barriers and ensure students can participate meaningfully regardless of prior experience.

Materials and activities are intentionally selected and adapted to align with instructional goals and DESE library standards, supporting ethical use of information, creation and communication of ideas, and responsible engagement with tools and resources.

Literacy, STEAM, and Inquiry Connections

Makerspace experiences support literacy by requiring students to:

Read and interpret instructions and information
Communicate ideas clearly through discussion, design choices, and reflection
Use vocabulary connected to science, technology, and design

STEAM learning is embedded through exploration of materials, tools, and systems, with an emphasis on curiosity, experimentation, and iterative thinking rather than perfection. Students learn that revision and persistence are expected parts of the process.

Inquiry is central to makerspace work. Students are encouraged to ask questions, test ideas, analyze outcomes, and adjust their thinking as they move forward.

Girls in Tech Conference at Oracle 2025

ABMS was invited to bring a group of students to the Girls in Tech conference at the Oracle campus, and I attended alongside Kim to support our girls throughout the day. The experience was designed to introduce young women to careers across technology and offer a hands-on look at what’s possible. Many of our students arrived unsure of what to expect, but they left with new confidence, thoughtful questions, and a clearer sense of how their interests and strengths might connect to future opportunities.

Throughout the morning, students built circuits, tackled engineering challenges, and heard directly from women working in technology about the skills and mindsets that support success in the field. Watching our students test ideas, troubleshoot, and encourage one another reinforced how quickly they rise when they are invited into authentic, real-world problem-solving.

For many of our girls, exposure to tech-driven workplaces is limited. This conference offered a genuine window into pathways they may not have previously imagined. The work they did connected naturally to the values we emphasize in the Innovation Center: creativity, collaboration, curiosity, and the willingness to try something new, even when it feels unfamiliar.

I’m grateful for partners who extend opportunities like this to our students, and proud of how confidently our girls stepped into the experience. Invitations like this affirm the importance of building strong relationships beyond our building and ensuring students have access to experiences that help them see what they can do next.

Partnering with colleagues made this experience possible. Grateful for the community support that helps open STEM pathways for our students.

Students experimenting with LED circuits during the Girls in Tech challenge—applying creativity, teamwork, and a whole lot of persistence.

The look of someone discovering they actually love this kind of challenge. (Future engineer unlocked.)

Collaborating to complete the circuit challenge, students pushed their thinking and supported one another as they worked through each step.

Battle of the Brains - Science City 2025

I guided a team of ABMS students through this year’s Battle of the Brains competition, a citywide design challenge that invites students to imagine and plan new exhibit experiences for Science City. For many of our students, this was their first time working through a formal design process that included research, brainstorming, iteration, and collaborative decision-making. Students used tools such as Tinkercad, Canva, and shared planning templates to develop and refine their ideas.

Throughout the project, our team studied how interactive museum exhibits are designed and explored real-world STEM concepts connected to engineering, problem-solving, and user experience. Students were asked to think beyond “cool ideas” and consider audience needs, functionality, and feasibility as they developed their concepts.

Students practiced future-ready skills that are central to our work in the Innovation Center: researching ideas, revising designs, communicating clearly, and working through disagreement as a team. They learned quickly that strong design rarely happens on the first try. Progress came through testing ideas, listening to one another, and staying open to new approaches.

Over time, students gained confidence, found their voices, and began to see themselves as creators and innovators. Watching them support one another, negotiate decisions, and celebrate small wins along the way was a highlight of the experience.

Programs like Battle of the Brains give students space to stretch their thinking and apply what they’ve learned in meaningful contexts. I value opportunities that invite students to imagine what’s possible when creativity, collaboration, and STEM come together.