Forms of Emergent Collaboration in Maker-Based Learning

Abstract

This paper is a work-in-progress where we discuss the ways in which collaboration can be identified and understood in the context of maker-based activities. While the importance of collaboration is often identified as crucial to successful project-based learning activities, there is not much empirical work that describes: a) what these collaborations look like and b) what happens for learners as they engage in collaborative activities. Here, we draw on data from three different studies of maker-based activities to explore the following question: What forms of collaboration are made possible in maker activities? In asking how collaboration develops through making we shift from collaboration as a design feature of learning environments to both a process and an outcome of learning. We take up an emergent perspective on collaboration focusing on the collaborative interactions that occur naturalistically in maker activities.