A Shared Language: Two Worlds Speaking to One Another through Making and Tinkering Activities

Making and tinkering is being viewed as an interdisciplinary approach to promote learning of knowledge, practices, and skills across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines in informal (e.g., science and art museums) and formal (e.g., school-based makerspaces) contexts. In this chapter, we present two frameworks for mapping the overlap between making practices developed by Wardrip and Brahms (2015) and standards-based practices developed for PreKindergarten to Grade 12 education. We apply the two frameworks to a making task of one youth who constructed a car using LEGOs and littleBits, electronic building blocks that snap together with magnets. Through the case of Bailey, we highlight how informal and formal learning environments speak to one another to promote STEM learning for students of all ages.