How to Incubate Your Dragon: Methodologies for Collecting and Analyzing Data on Learning in Academic Makerspaces
Abstract
We believe we have successfully developed a sound, while certainly not perfect, methodology for measuring the learning taking place in academic library makerspaces using student self-assessment. As we continue to cultivate our methodology and collect more data, we are confident the data will become more reliable and generalizable, with the ultimate goal of establishing (inter)national standards for assessment of transdisciplinary, hands-on learning experiences. This paper details our data collection, processing, and initial analysis methodologies, as well as a frank discussion of criticisms of our approach, lessons learned, and a first look at trends emerging from that data. We conclude with a listing of use cases for the data that we are currently exploring.