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Nurturing the Maker Mindset in Formal Education : Teachers’ Conceptualization and Facilitation

Year: 2026
Type: dissertation
Abstract: For decades, educators, researchers, and policymakers have circled the same core concern: how to nurture learners who can navigate and shape the uncertain future they face? Given the escalating complex challenges humanity currently encounters, this concern is more pressing than ever; equipping students with the skills and mindset to navigate these uncertainties and challenges successfully is a necessity. Maker education offers an approach that engages students in purposeful making, problem-driven inquiry, and collaborative invention to build agency, ethical understanding, and transferable competencies beneficial far beyond the school environment. However, the field lacks research on how such activities and mindset can be fostered in formal education contexts. The present study investigated how teachers can nurture students’ maker mindsets by facilitating maker activities in formal education. This overarching research question was addressed through two specific sub-questions: How do teachers conceptualize the maker mindset, and how do experienced teachers facilitate students’ maker activities and their maker mindset in the classroom? Data for this qualitative research included open-ended questionnaires from pre- and in-service teachers (N=58), semi-structured interviews with in-service teacher pairs (N=10), and 30 hours of classroom video data observing two experienced teachers and two small groups of 6th-grade students implementing a longitudinal maker project. The questionnaires and interviews were analyzed with qualitative content analysis to answer the first research question. A three-level analysis was applied to the video data to answer the second research question. At the macro-level, temporal analysis and visualization mapped general facilitation patterns of maker activities. At the meso-level, four significant events were selected for the micro-level analysis, which focused on identifying specific facilitation moves that support students’ maker mindset. In the present study, the abstract maker mindset concept was operationalized through four interconnected constructs identified in prior literature: creativity, collaboration orientation, resilience/growth mindset, and willingness to tinker. The findings revealed that, in their conceptualizations, teachers addressed all four constructs of the maker mindset, but their emphasis shifted depending on whether they were discussing perceptions of the concept or its facilitation. In their perceptions, teachers highlighted willingness to tinker and resilience/growth mindset; when describing facilitation, they emphasized collaboration orientation and creativity. Overall, the teachers viewed a willingness to tinker as requiring the development of a “do-it-yourself" attitude and a preparedness to make. This involves facilitating iteration and artifact creation through interdisciplinary approaches while ensuring project ideas fit within logistical time constraints. Nurturing resilience and a growth mindset involves fostering adaptability and the belief that skills improve through learning by doing. This necessitates sustaining student motivation during setbacks, prioritizing time for feedback and documentation, and reflecting on the process to refine future projects. Regarding creativity, teachers must support student innovation by stimulating new ideas and deepening their thinking while providing the autonomy and independence needed for self-directed work. Finally, a collaboration orientation entails facilitating peer learning and collective project discussions. This is achieved by strategically grouping students according to their strengths, assigning peer-mentoring roles, and collaborating with colleagues to enhance the learning environment. The findings also revealed general patterns in teachers’ verbal and embodied facilitation of maker activities. Altogether, the study identified ten verbal facilitation actions, such as supporting innovation and reflection, and six embodied actions, such as material demonstration and supporting model making. A clear progression in teacher roles was evident, shifting from teacher-centered instruction to responsive, learner-centered facilitation as the project advanced. Furthermore, specific facilitation moves were found to nurture each of the four maker mindset constructs. Creativity was primarily supported during the idea generation and elaboration phases through triggering questions that sparked new ideas and deepened student thinking. Resilience/growth mindset was evident when analyzing design situation or constraints or in redefinition of ideas; teachers supported this by maintaining a positive attitude toward student suggestions, modeling adaptability, and instructing peers to provide feedback. Willingness to tinker was supported during the making phase by discussing and demonstrating specific making processes, offering help with challenging tasks, and introducing new materials. The entire project was based on careful planning of students’ collaboration, and sharing and reflection were further supported by prompting groups to present their ideas, promoting active listening, and guiding the exchange for constructive feedback. The findings of this study imply, above all, that, within a formal education context, the teacher’s role in nurturing a student’s maker mindset is critical and inevitable. This research demonstrates that facilitating maker activities is a multifaceted, adaptive process that bridges structured guidance with the cultivation of creativity, collaboration orientation, resilience/growth mindset, and a willingness to tinker. By operationalizing the maker mindset through four interconnected constructs, this study enabled an examination of the abstract, complex, and multifaceted concept from multiple perspectives, offering a model for future research. Methodologically, the study provides a framework for analyzing both verbal and embodied facilitation of maker activities in formal education. Ultimately, nurturing a maker mindset is a deliberate act achieved through intentional teacher attitudes and actions. The maker mindset is not just an abstract concept residing in teachers’ heads; it is an interactional process between students, teachers, artifacts, and the environment. By grounding the maker mindset in observable actions, these findings support teacher educators in their efforts in equipping teachers with the practical capabilities to nurture their students’ maker mindset.
Language: English
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7199059466
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