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University of the Arts London

Works of heart: Revisiting creativity and innovation through maker pedagogies

Abstract

This qualitative research case study advances both theory and practice related to the use of maker pedagogies by examining the creative trajectory of one Master’s level graduate student in an online critical making course at a Canadian Faculty of Education. It discusses the contemporary maker movement and traces the student’s transformation from consumer of digital products to producer of innovative digital artefacts, which we refer to as ‘works of heart’. The article shares the framework ‘Movement to Maker’, developed by the authors, which offers a way to track the development of student creativity in addition to other transferable skills and global competencies.

Keywords

creativity, innovation, maker pedagogies, global competencies, transferable skills, makerspaces

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Author Biography

Dr Janette Hughes

Dr Janette Hughes is Canada Research Chair, Technology and Pedagogy in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. Her research in the field of digital literacies has been featured in numerous education journals and recognized nationally and internationally. She is the recipient of several research and teaching awards and grants. Janette is the author of The Digital Principal, a book for school administrators who want to promote innovation and creativity in the learning environment through digital technologies.

Laura Morrison

Laura Morrison is a sessional instructor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. She currently teaches the course Learning in Digital Contexts to primary/junior and intermediate/senior teacher candidates. She completed her Master's of Arts at UOIT, with a focus on the impact of digital literacies in education. Her favourite ways to communicate are through poetry, narrative and image. 

 


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