Supporting teachers' maker education in the 2020's
Laura Salo, Asta Ansolahti, Tiina Korhonen, Leenu Juurola · 2020
Educating resilient makers in accordance with the demands of the 21st Century requires relevant professional development programs (PDP) for teachers. Finnish learning starts with play based early childhood education (ECE) where the makers and innovators of the future start to acquire 21st Century Competences. [email protected] Innokas Network works with schools and stakeholders to develop these competences in education. In this paper we present preliminary results from a questionnaire answered by Finnish ECE and basic education teachers who are taking part in a PDP with the theme of maker pedagogics and Innovation education. Preliminary results highlight a positive view toward creativity in education and teachers who are accustomed to working with inquiry-oriented approaches. There is room to support teachers in their competence in robotics, programming and digital fabrication as well as making real-life connections with technology.