Makerspace practices at high school level: STEAM driven experiences in Canadian and Mexican curricula

Competency-based initiatives such as the ProfilTIC framework in Quebec, and the Mexican educational reforms of 2008, promote that high schools may focus their curriculum on the development of competencies such as collaboration, creativity or critical thinking, including a number closely related to innovation. However, there is virtually no data or precedent to aid us in assessing the potential value and impact of 21st-century makerspace practices with respect to the pursuit of the innovative competencies described in these initiatives, without which any assessment of the competencies’ probable success must remain tentative. It is important, then, to characterize the learning process of students in such practices, to aid teachers and facilitators in the creation of projects that foster these innovative competencies, such as the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) approach. This document addresses this need, through the documentation and analysis of the creative processes involved in high school level makerspace practices, to identify successful implementations from a technological and educational perspective in both Canadian and Mexican systems. Ultimately, the study aims at characterizing the findings and designing innovative pedagogical processes and learning methods to achieve development of the innovative competencies mandated by the ProfilTIC framework and the 2008 reforms.