Investigating the Spatial Arrangements of Makerspaces and its Impact on Diverse Student Populations

… Welcome. everybody will start in about 90 seconds Thanks for joining us. We’ll get started in about a minute. Great Why why don’t we go ahead and get started. Because I’ve want to make sure he gets as much time as possible. Welcome. I’m Cliff Lynch I’m the director of the Coalition for networked information and you’ve joined us for one of the project briefing sessions on the first day of week three of our fall 2020 virtual member meeting.

Week 02:54 - Three is devoted to developments around technology infrastructure standards and related A couple of logistical things. I want to just mentioned that with week three we are not only doing live sessions, but we’ve released a number of pre recorded videos and I invite you to enjoy those as your time and interest permit. We are recording this session and it will be subsequently available both to meeting attendees and then to the general public. There is closed captioning if you’d like to make use of that There is also a chat. And feel free to use that as we go along.

There’s a q&a 03:40 - tool at the bottom of your screen and you can ask questions there will deal with all the questions at the end of the presentation but you can put them in at any time. Diane Goldenberg-Hart from CNI will come back at the end of the presentation and moderate the q&a session. Now, let me introduce our speaker. Professor Maggie mellow from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Information library science is. She’s in the professor and it’s also directing the equity in the making lab and she’s going to report on some preliminary findings from a national science Foundation funded grant that she received this summer.

A dealing with 04:58 - how to make makerspaces more equitable more welcoming to a greater diversity of undergraduates, and what factors Dealing with how to make makerspaces more equitable more welcoming to a greater diversity of undergraduates, and what factors influence this and can improve it. And as with a few other folks in the research enterprise. I think when she first conceived this project, she was dealing with that somewhat different world and has had to go through some very droid adaptation and will probably say a little bit about that as she goes along too, so I’m delighted to welcome, Maggie. thanks for joining us and over to you. Awesome. Thank you so much for that introduction clip and once again welcome everyone to the project debrief today, which is entitled investigating the spatial arrangements of makerspaces, and its impact on diverse populations.

And of 05:44 - course before getting started, I want to extend gratitude to the National Science Foundation, for supporting this research program. Alright, So, an overview of this deep reef. There are some key elements that I want to make sure that we cover. The first is to provide some context around the project design, and also the current status, what it is looking like at the moment in terms of its kind of early stages of project appointment. And then we’ll spend most of our time talking about some of the early preliminary findings.

And when I mean, 06:20 - early I really want to emphasize that. It’s pretty preliminary and the project is really in its infancy. And then we’ll kind of just round the debrief out. by closing by talking about next steps for the project, and then opening it up for questions and answers, which I have allocated about 10 minutes for. Okay, so that’s the overview Now in terms of some of the context surrounding the project.

Now this research 06:49 - program focuses on this right here. Let me turn on my laser pointer here at the threshold of a maker space Now, I’ve been working in with makerspaces for the past seven years, and it’s pretty common to see these behaviors, a certain behavior happening at the threshold. You’ll notice that a student will walk up to the doorstep. Look inside, and then in a matter of moments decide it’s not for them, and they walk away Now, for an outsider this behavior may seem pretty trivial or pretty commonplace right someone just walked in and walked away. But as a researcher who has been embedded in maker spaces and other stem rich learning the threshold has become a really generative site for As a researcher I’m interested in what’s happening in those moments right what everyday life information seeking practices, our students, particularly undergraduates in this research program.

What 07:52 - decision, are they making at that moment to decide whether to go in, or not. So. as I’m doing this research I recognize that this narrative or these behaviors are not unique to me, but is a behavior that happens across the hundreds of makerspaces across the US. So this research program seeks to understand, a couple of major things. Number one is trying to investigate how a makerspace facially communicates to undergraduates, specifically undergraduates from underrepresented communities who belongs to the maker space and also who doesn’t. how can they are the threshold, kind identify the values of the space, the audience for the space, and also the purpose of this space.

So that’s a 08:39 - major piece of it, getting an understanding of those decisioning. The other bit of it as alluded to is how a space, a maker is configured configured spatially to communicate that messaging, and I’m talking about like macro features looking at the technologies in place to also down to the micro features thinking about like the wall color pain to what you hear in the makerspace and also it you smell as well, which we’ll talk about in a moment. So that’s the context. governing this research program. Now, pulling us up about like 3000 feet and looking at the project design. This is how the context distills into a research question for this project. So the question is this. Why do marginalize undergraduate populations turn away at the threshold of a university makerspace. So there are two approaches to kind of.

09:35 - entry points that we’re examining this question. First, of course, is through the deployment and application of theory. We’re looking at from these three knowledge domains from stem equity. At the Las theory everyday life information seeking practices and makerspaces and spatial equity, So this question is really examine through the prism of these theories together but also separately. Now of course there’s also the project piece of it what will we be doing for the next five years, So this research program is carved into three different phases, and each phase has an aim aim one theme an aim three.

And so for 10:18 - this project debrief who will spend a a lot of time on a one because that is where the project currently is. But I want to talk about the project holistically so we could see the larger kind of puzzle, and how these, these pieces fit together. Alright, so the research question right we are trying to examine why students turn away at the threshold of a university makerspace, and so the first question that needs, examination is, well, what is the university makerspace. So in the first phase of the project, we are interviewing makerspace leadership across the UNC system. So there are 17 institutions within this network.

And we identified 11:01 - makerspace leadership within this network. And we have been interviewing them for two months well, interviews are, are done. We’ve interviewed them with the intent to figure out and be in conversation with them to answer one question for the space. What are the defining features of a university makerspace not only what you see but also what do you smell. What do you hear as well. So that’s for Phase One, we want to get that baseline understanding of what the university makerspace is.

11:33 - So the data generated from phase one will then feed into phase two phase two, we’re going to take all of those features after we analyze them. And we are going to build out a virtual reality maker And so, The intent for for this makerspace is to provide a consistent baseline for participants to navigate. Now you’re now you’re, I need to take a step back. So what are they navigating. Well, once this virtual reality makerspace is built out. We are going to have participants undergraduates from underrepresented communities.

We’re going to invite 12:10 - them to engage with this VR makerspace and think aloud, there oppressions their thoughts and their feelings well being in that space. So if you can imagine. an undergraduate student, we put all their HTC Vive headset. And then right away. They’re presented with a makerspace that’s maybe about 20 feet away. And as they’re approaching this virtual makerspace will prompt them to stop. And then we’ll begin asking think aloud protocol questions. Looking at the makerspace what catches your attention. What do you think happens in this and What do you think the values are, are the audiences. And so having that data collected from undergraduates experiencing this baseline makerspace will then in turn offers insight in regards to how a makerspace communicates inclusion and communicates who belongs. But also, it’ll give us an opportunity for participants at the spot to provide potential design interventions. So we’ll also ask them, What is it that is available, and makerspace that communicates the sense of inclusion for diverse communities.

Also what parts 13:24 - of the makerspace don’t And what parts are missing as well. So, a one aim to well then culminate in aim three, which we then it at UNC Chapel Hill, build out and redesign one of the makerspaces with the data collected and analyzed from the first four years of the project. Okay, so that is a very kind of like high level overview of the project. And now what I want to do is spend more time talking about where we’re at with the project. So, in terms of of our current status. Just to reiterate some points that cliff me briefly.

This 14:03 - is part of an NSF Career Award, which means it’s spans four spans across five years. So those three phases will be happening across five years, the directory that it is in is in education in human resources. And when I said that it is a project in its infancy, it really is the project was awarded in late June, and the project began in early July. And since then we have been able to launch the equity and making lab, which has, which I get to work with two incredible PhD students very brilliant smart and sharp, Kimberly Hirsch and also Lord March. And we have been conducting the interviews and doing data collection and analysis at this moment, And also as Cliff mentioned COVID-19.

14:56 - Wow, what a time to put it an application or to apply for any type of funding right now. I won’t spend a lot of time talking about it during this debris, but I highly encourage you if you’re interested to talk about it or have a sounding board I’d be happy to be that person because the application process was different And, Yeah, I would love to talk to you more about that if that’s of interest. Now a little bit finer point before landing on to the findings. Okay, the interviews, as mentioned, we interviewed makerspace leadership within the UNC system. We identify them through purpose of purposive sampling.

So it was a 15:38 - way for us to target specific folks that are in the makerspace and also have some connection with his this kind of day to day operation. And of course the question we asked them across the board was what are the defining features of a makerspace of the 17 institutions, we fortunately were able to chat with 15 of the institutions and at this current moment we have coded and began to analyze nine of the 15th so once again these findings are still rather rather early. Now in terms of how the collection and analysis has been unfolding. We have been doing something I haven’t done before, collaborative coding. Yeah, I’ve usually done it before but I have a stellar team and we’re working through max q da a software program we’d love to chat with folks more if they’re interested in that.

And since 16:33 - then, since July we have developed a weekly cadence of checking in discussing the memos that we have written as we’ve been coding and also engaging in discussions around coatings codes to collapse to expand and all that. So that is where we are currently, which is also a long way for me to say that, once again, these findings are really early. Okay, let’s talk about the findings. The first bit I want to talk about our kind of the fundamental findings that were important for this research program. So as you remember for the second phase of the project we are building out and VR environment of a conventional makerspace.

Now in order to 17:18 - do that, we really needed to have a three idea of what folks saw in the space, but also what they could smell, and also what they would here. Okay, So, to prime participants for this question, we started out the interview by saying this. Now I want you to imagine that it’s September 2019. So we are pre COVID. And you are at a generic University in North Carolina. And as you’re walking around campus you come across a room. And as you get closer to the room. You recognize that it’s a makerspace. What do you see in the room and how could you tell it is a makerspace. And so this question frames. The interview guide, but also helps us to get right away what their first impressions are And so in terms of site. Almost almost automatically for all maker space leaders tools were readily available, they saw tools, they saw machine, and also probably to no one’s surprise in terms of folks that are working with maker spaces, a printer across the board. Now I will come back to this because there were a handful of folks that did say that there’s a 3d printer, but we’re very reluctant to say that one existed in that space.

And I’ll talk 18:39 - more about that in the next slide. So you saw a lot of tools alongside the tools across the board, all nine makerspace leaders also noted that people were working or making with the tools available. And that’s my dog, very excited about this as well. Okay, Hold on one moment, as I, I’m just gonna hold them one Apologies for that. Okay. And so people are working and making they’re seeing the different machines in the space.

Now, 19:35 - another interesting thing that came from the data collection was that when asked about the users, and also the staff in this space. There was this kind of intentional blurring that makerspace leadership was trying to achieve. That is when I asked them, as someone that’s building up the VR environment, how can I tell which person is a student which person is a staff member, many of them mentioned that they were intentionally trying to blur the two so that blur the two so that they wouldn’t have folks wearing a lanyard or a name tag. And so I thought it was a very interesting way folks to say that they want to communicate Inclusion to students by making it look like there isn’t a type of like hierarchy happening. And of course for the last bit of what is being seen many folks notice that there were projects on display.

And 20:26 - the projects, ran the gamut from research projects to personal gifts and of course pop culture products as well as one of the participants they said they they mentioned that you want to present projects that give people what they want. So they talked a lot about projects from Doctor Who, from Mandalorian right. Baby Yoda, also known as the child so they have these different elements in terms of what you can see now smell. I think this is my favorite question, because it was just so interesting to see, or not to see. but to envision what people would smell in a maker and.

21:05 - the main smell that came up was something that was burning. No, no like burning like there is a fire but burning in terms of different materials, so the smell of like a campfire or burning wood came up a bunch for folks that worked in a makerspace with a laser cutter, and also the smell of burning plastic, so many folks mentioned, the smell of something sweet, like Sarah, or waffles. And this makes sense. considering that peel a filament for 3d printer is a byproduct of corn and sugar. So what a midst this kind of sweet smell as well. So you smell a lot of things in this makerspace, and it’ll be interesting to kind of try to replicate that in the VR environment or within the space where the beer is taking place.

And then the 21:55 - last bit was disinfectant which wasn’t quite surprising to see. I also want to sneak in a couple of honorable mentions in terms of smells because I thought they were super kind of interesting. The first one was generic library smell, which for some reason is a very big phrase but for me I just kind of get exactly what they’re saying. The other one is by one of the locations had was close to a Bojangles so many of the users and students would bring Bojangles into the space so that in essence created kind of the smell scape of it. And then another part just like this smells like a lot of things it’s project dish or whatever you’re close to or whatever’s happening during that during that day.

22:38 - So that site that smell, and then the sound, nothing surprising here, you hear a lot of conversation, you hear a bunch of machines, and also you hear sometimes music as well. Okay, So as of the pie and. as a researcher. These early findings make me really happy. And the reason being is because this is exactly what we need in order to build out the second part of this project. So we’re feeling good we’re making good progress. This is awesome. But not but but end.

They’re really other 23:17 - interesting themes that are emerging from the data that are quite surprising to me that I wanted to share right now. So two things that come to mind in terms of the major themes are tension attention, and also effect. Okay, so when we were developing the interview guide for this project. I thought it was a pretty benign. Ask to ask leadership to think about what these defining features are right.

What do you 23:50 - see what do you smell What do you hear, but what we were finding was as we were asking them to our these different defining features. It was a bit of a tense moment because in the act of defining. They’re also extending a value statement that they have personally, I mean values around what they consider to be making Consider values around their pedagogy. So at that spot there was this kind of tension of like, Okay, this is a generic makerspace, but I’m also revealing something about myself that I’m articulating at the moment. And it’s a little uncomfortable. So for example, with the 3d printers across the board all nine said that there is a 3d printer in this generic makerspace However, there were about three participants that wanted me to know that their qualifying that a bit, So they would say say something along the lines of M i see a 3d printer in this makerspace, but I also want you to know that a 3d printer doesn’t make it a makerspace, and that maker spaces can exist without them.

So there was a 24:58 - lot of kind of tension around how they were defining this space, and how it aligns with them personally. Also there are moments of tension that arises with the questions that I thought were just super fascinating, where I asked participants, you know, can you tell me more about the materials, or the technologies in this space. And so, I remember participants saying Well, you see 3d printers as a technology, you see a laser cutter, but I also want to be mindful that a needle is a technology paper as a technology as well. So it was very interesting to see this kind of tension emerge, when we’re prompting maker space leadership to do the work of definition which I thought was fascinating. And the last bit for the tension piece that goes along with envisaged Invisalign envisioning a generic makerspace is that participants we’re toggling between these different domains, to create this space that they’re talking about, and many times it toggled between their idealize space, and a space that they are currently experiencing.

26:04 - So one of the questions in the interview where I feel kind of a total shift in the dynamic is where I asked this question. I asked participants. All right. I have an idea of what it looks like in there. I need a better idea of what the users and students look like in there for the VR environment. Can you tell me more about the racial the gender the age demographics of the folks in there. And you can kind of feel this moment of like who.

Okay, we’re gonna 26:37 - to talk about race, I suppose we’re gonna talk about gender, and its interesting because folks have responded in this way saying well, in my idealize environment so in this everyone is diverse, there’s a diversity of age there’s diversity of race and gender. But in my experience that’s not what it has been. And so it’s interesting to kind of get a sense of how does envision space is being created from these different domains that they’re pulling from And so that’s the big part of this early finding theme around tension that we’re further exploring. And the last finding that I want to share has to do with an effect. And it’s so fascinating to see how ethics, as a non linguistic force that shapes the way that people move a place and how they behave is coming up so readily in the findings in the, in the data.

And 27:34 - so an example of this is when we ask makerspace leaders at the beginning, to describe this room that they’ve recognized as a maker many times they don’t start off by naming the different tools or people, but instead their describing different feelings, so they would say, Oh, I look in the room and it’s very open, there are good vibrations, it’s bright, it’s inviting And so at times we found ourselves, having to retrack and re ask the question, but asking for more specificity around. Okay, that’s great. Good Vibrations, but what does that look like, how could you tell her Good Vibrations happening in this space. And so that leads to kind of the last bit for the early findings, which is a challenge that I’m kind of excited about. And it’s that as we think about this VR environment. Not only are we looking to create this three emulate. of the sight, sound and smell.

But we’re also 28:36 - going to try to reflect a set of ethics, or feelings that are also readily like attributed to a maker space, which I think will be complicated, but I think fun as well. So, those are early findings we got our site sentence smell ready to go. These are some emerging themes that we want to share today in terms of the debris. Now in terms of what happens next. We are going to continue with our coding and analysis portion of phase one and then we’re going to compile a list and then hand it over to horizon productions, which is a local VR development group.

And 29:18 - we’re going to begin building out the environment, Also last bit that I want to plug in, is that we’re also looking to recruit a new PhD student into the equity and making labs so if that’s you or, you know, someone who may be interested please feel free to reach out. I will say that I’m applications close in two weeks. But, I mean, if it’s an interest of interest, please let me know I’d be happy to contact you. All right. So, that is it. Thank you again for hanging in there with me with my barking Doug for his right here right now, but like to open it up for any questions and answers. Well, questions and I will Terrific. they.

Thank you so much, 30:05 - Maggie that was really great. I know we’re all waiting with great anticipation for an update to your research, and as Cliff points out dogs are always welcome. And so the floor is now open for questions. We have a little bit of time and can probably fit in a couple of questions here. So, please type your questions in the q&a box and we’ll take them now and I also just want to point out that I did put in the chat the link to the equity in the making, website which I believe has that posting for the PhD student in there, I believe so if you want more information about that, please visit that site.

30:51 - While we’re waiting to see what questions. we might get from our audience. I was curious to know. Did you detect any distinctions about the, the kinds of reactions that people had the kinds of descriptors depending upon where the makerspace was located on campus. Yes, So, for this project we specifically focus on makerspaces that we’re open to all disciplines, so it’s public facing usually they’re in a library and it kind of agnostic disciplinary space like that. But yeah, it did very we had a couple of makerspace leaders participate that were from the same institution, and it was remarkably different. We had one that had a entrepreneurship maker space and also one with an art based one and although they were different, and many ways, in many ways, the overlapped. Quite consistently. Mm hmm. Interesting.

31:52 - Well be be curious to see how that plays out as well in your as you continue to dig into all of this. I see that we’re at time now and I want to be mindful and respectful of your time and our attendees time so I’m going to propose now bringing the live portion of the presentation, or the public portion to a close. I will turn off the recording and just invite any attendees who are still with us to hang around and if you raise your hand I’ll be happy to turn on your microphone and you can ask a question live or make a comment or just join the conversation And with that I just really want to express our gratitude to you, Maggie for coming and sharing your preliminary preliminary results of this really interesting research and thank you to all of our attendees for spending some time with us here today at CNI We hope to see you back soon. Thanks so much. Thank .