Children's Museum of Pittsburgh

The children's Museum of Pittsburgh will develop and test a reliable and valid suite of observation tools for identifying, documenting, and evaluating learners' engagement in maker programs and makerspaces. In partnership with Chicago Public Library, Science Museum of Minnesota, and Millvale Community Library, the museum will lead a three-phase initiative which includes the creation of a suite of observation tools, refinement of these tools to be valid and reliable across various informal learning environments, and dissemination of the tools through in-person and online professional development workshops, a resource guide, and publications. This study will significantly advance a research-based understanding of the assessment of making as a learning process and will support evaluators, researchers, and practitioners by providing tools for advancing theory, assessing impact, and improving design for learning.