Computational Thinking in the Making: Lessons for Second Graders in a STEM Computer Science Immersion School

Recently, there has been significant interest in integrating Maker-related experiences into formal education. A challenge is reconciling open-ended making and non-deterministic learning goals with standards that drive traditional education. In the context of our CS-focused STEM magnet school, we designed two 2nd grade lessons that not only align with grade-level standards and our school's computer science-oriented pedagogy, but also incorporate 3D printing and the philosophy of Makerspaces. The integrated Maker experience serves to scaffold computational thinking practices such as abstraction, modeling, and decomposition, which are essential for long-term success in STEM learning. To bring these aspects together, we created a rubric based on existing evaluation tools. Using this rubric, we evaluated the two lessons with a small sample of participants. Our pilot study shows promise of mastery in standard-related content, evidence of a making mindset, engagement in the activity, innovation in design, and solidarity in working with peers. Aligning state standards with open-ended Maker activities has potential for fostering student growth and engagement in the classroom. An additional component of our research was reflecting on our experience as teachers with no Makerspace experience who were newly submerged in the digital fabrication world. We present the two 3D printing-based lessons, one addressing extreme weather standards, the other incorporating understanding of urban, suburban, and rural communities. We also present the rubric we designed, the literature that guided this work, and reflections and recommendations from our experience of learning digital fabrication for the first time and integrating it into curriculum.