The Effect of Thinking Routines on 4th and 5th-grade Students’ Sense of Agency

This action research project has studied the effects of implementing Agency by Design thinking routines and makerspaces on the development of student agency. The study was conducted in two upper-elementary school classrooms: one fifth-grade suburban classroom in Florida, and one fourthand fifth-grade rural, gifted and talented classroom in Minnesota. During the study, researchers collected baseline data from a pre-assessment related to student perceptions around their own sense of agency and sensitivity to design. This data was compared to the post-assessment data that was collected using the same survey at the end of the project. Throughout the study, students used sketchbooks to engage in the thinking routines of looking closely, ​exploring complexity, and finding opportunity. They then used their sketchbooks as inspiration as they participated in four separate makerspace experiences. After each makerspace experience, students assessed their projects for elements that would indicate that agency was present in their product. The compiled and coded data indicated that there was not a strong correlation between the implementation of the thinking routines and makerspace opportunities on the development of student agency. However, positive outcomes were present, and recommendations were made accordingly. Running head: THE EFFECT OF THINKING ROUTINES ON STUDENT AGENCY 3 In an ever-evolving society where perspectives, priorities, and new technologies are in constant fluctuation, consumerism has grown (Bee-Gates, 2007; Hill, 2011). New technologies, and the services those technologies provide, have put the world at our fingertips. With a mere swipe or click, problems can be solved, and questions can be answered. In addition to convenience, these technological advances are increasingly efficient and affordable, resulting in an interconnected world that is accessible to most. Such liberties have shifted the upperand middle-class American experience from one built on patience to one of instant gratification (Bee-Gates, 2007; Hill, 2011; Louv, 2005). Ideas and products are in constant interchange, creating a culture of growth and haste towards the newest updated version. Items that once were cheaper and more sensible to fix if broken have become more affordable and simpler to replace. This ease of access and affordability of merchandise and services for middleand upper-class customers has fueled the concept of consumerism, the idea that purchasing goods and services is necessary to the success of the economy. While adults watched this progression unfold, a majority of today’s youth were born into it, offering concerns about the implications for our world’s future tenants (Bee-Gates, 2007; Hill, 2011; Louv, 2005). Where children once used their imaginations to explore make-believe worlds, create games, and invent toys, digital technologies now do these things for them (Louv, 2005). We are beginning to see the impact of this transformation in childhood anxieties and identity concerns (Hill, 2011; Kazanjian & Choi, 2014). There is sufficient research suggesting that perseverance, risk taking, and sense of agency are at risk in today’s youth (Bee-Gates, 2007; Hill, 2011; Louv, 2005). There is a need to seek solutions to these risks not only for the betterment of our children, but for the betterment of our world. Running head: THE EFFECT OF THINKING ROUTINES ON STUDENT AGENCY 4 To address this concern, society has looked to schools, as it often does. To this end, strategies and programs have been implemented to guide students through the development of the skills for which they are predicted to be deficient. The purpose being to minimize the risks mentioned above. However, with the pressure of curriculum and testing requirements, such programs are typically pushed to the wayside by teachers and administrators. Additional research related to the effectiveness of these programs and strategies for their implementation is needed. Until successful reports from teachers and administrators are produced, such program implementations will not be a priority. Therefore, data must be collected on strategies that can reverse the negative ramifications of the consumerist society in which our youth are growing up. Research suggests implementing makerspaces (spaces that are equipped with the tools and resources that enable problem-solving by creating and physically prototyping solutions) is one such solution to the consumerism response. By helping learners see the world as designed and alterable, the hope is that they are empowered with the skills to and understanding that they are capable of shaping the world. The literature suggests a positive correlation between student problem-solving through making and the development of the life-long habits of perseverance, risk taking, and sense of agency ( ​Agency, 2015; Clapp et al., 2017; Tishman, 2008; Tishman, 2014) ​. To encourage and support the implementation of makerspaces in the classroom, more documentation is needed related to beneficial outcomes of makerspace implementation. Agency by Design is a research initiative developed to investigate maker-centered learning and develop resources to aid in its implementation (Agency, 2015; Clapp et al., 2017). The ​initiative is dedicated to providing information and research on effective implementation of makerspaces. The thinking routines associated with makerspaces as proposed by this initiative Running head: THE EFFECT OF THINKING ROUTINES ON STUDENT AGENCY 5 suggest a clear formula for counteracting current student deficiencies as related to consumerism (Agency, 2015; Clapp et al., 2017). Therefore, the purpose of this action research project was to observe the effects of implementing the Agency by Design thinking routines (herein referred to solely as ​thinking routines ​) and makerspaces on students’ sense of agency. Review of Literature In this literature review, theoretical support for developing agency in students within a maker-centered learning context will be developed. Then, a review of maker-centered learning and thinking routines within formal education will be conducted. Finally, a discussion, summarization, and evaluation of the findings will be provided. Support for Developing a Sense of Agency Through Maker Empowerment A sense of agency refers to the feeling of control one has to make choices, take action, and create change in one's life (Clapp et al., 2017; Moore, 2016). It is imperative for educators to encourage the development of agency in students for the sake of achieving the highest levels of student learning, cognitive functioning, and community involvement through problem-solving (Chu, Quek, Bhangaonkar, Ging, & Sridharamurthy, 2015; Clapp, Ross, Ryan, & Tishman, 2017). Individuals who exhibit a sense of agency are empowered to take problems into their own hands, take risks, and have an impact on the people, objects, and systems that surround them (Chu et al., 2017; Clapp et al., 2017; Moore, 2016). Within a maker-centered context, a sense of agency is a dispositional outcome, sometimes referred to as maker empowerment, or having a maker mindset (Chu et al., 2015; Clapp et al., 2017; Horton, 2017). In their book Maker-Centered Learning: Empowering Young People to Shape their Worlds ​, Clapp, Ross, Ryan, and Tishman (2017) define maker empowerment as "a sensitivity to the designed Running head: THE EFFECT OF THINKING ROUTINES ON STUDENT AGENCY 6 dimension of objects and systems, along with the inclination and capacity to shape one's world through building, tinkering, re-designing, or hacking" (p. 103). Maker empowerment is a central value of maker-centered classrooms (Clapp et al., 2017). Two of the most prominent educational theories to support the development of maker empowerment in students are Situated Learning Theory and the Theory of Constructivism. Situated Learning Theory distinguishes learning as situated rather than deliberate (Clancey, 1995; David, 2007). Authentic learning happens naturally when learners are provided authentic conditions for gaining that particular new knowledge (David, 2007; OTEC, 2007). Collaboration and social interaction are essential components to Situated Learning Theory as learners seek to discover, comprehend, and construct their experiences and knowledge within a space that is real to that field (Clancey, 1995; OTEC, 2007). Makerspaces are situated learning environments that provide the opportunity, but not necessarily the explicit instruction, for learners to explore and discover new knowledge. The Theory of Constructivism, developed by independent contributions from John Dewey, Jerome Bruner, Jean Piaget, and Lev Vygotsky, states that learning by doing, collaborating, and reflecting on one’s own experience is the most natural and beneficial way to acquire information and engage in the process of thinking (Ackerman, 2001; Fosnot & Perry, 2005). Children who seek to solve problems through play, interaction, and creation develop new knowledge and schemas more quickly and more comprehensively than when they are simply told information (Fosnot & Perry, 2005). Learners begin to develop a sense of agency as they start to see themselves as producers within their society. As learners work through trial and error to fix and improve, they innately shape their knowledge and understanding of the world by Running head: THE EFFECT OF THINKING ROUTINES ON STUDENT AGENCY 7 internalizing what they have learned to make this knowledge accessible for future situations (MakerEd, 2015). When the learner is the catalyst of their own learning, they will gain more than if they are the bystander to it (Clapp et al., 2017). The Theory of Constructivism supports makerspace opportunities and agency development by validating the process of identifying a problem and seeking to solve it through creation, collaboration, and reflection. As learners engage in makerspaces, the outcomes should reflect an increased and