MAKER: Making Opportunities for Baltimore Inner City Youth in a 3D Print Shop

通过制造来解决现实世界的问题是一种让年轻人参与STEM教育的新方式。由于通常很难将创客课程融入学生的日程安排中，因此这种情况经常发生在课后课程中。不幸的是，由于经济压力，并不是所有的年轻人都能参加课外活动，他们可能会转而从事食品服务或零售等非技术领域的工作。这些非技术工作占用了他们制作、设计和修补的时间，这可能会让他们落后于那些为技术职业道路磨练技能的同龄人。我们提议在巴尔的摩的数字港湾基金会（DHF）技术中心创建一个活生生的实验室“打印店”，以研究创客就业对内城青年的影响。将进行研究，以了解他们在打印店的经历如何保持他们对STEM的参与。该项目的结果将是一个新的模式，让得不到充分服务的年轻人走上STEM职业的道路。将Making融入正式和非正式学习是一个活跃的研究课题，但如何支持青年就业中的Making却鲜为人知。这项研究将回答对深化青年参与制造至关重要的问题，例如：1)青年对STEM职业和STEM教育的看法如何随着创客工作而改变？2)现实世界的客户工作如何影响年轻人对制作的兴趣和他们的“设计思维”？3)年轻人开办的3D打印店对当地社区有什么影响？4)对不同技能的个人设计和教授数字制造软件有什么可概括的建议？我们将通过与DHF青年、支持人员和打印店顾客进行访谈、观察和研讨会来回答这些问题。所有软件、培训工具和支持技术将通过在打印车间的纵向部署进行评估。我们将跟踪青年在打印车间的参与情况，并通过研究衡量他们对技术就业、STEM领域和Making的态度如何改变。我们将与创客和学术界分享我们的经验、工具、培训材料和策略，以继续使创客多样化，并提供新的就业机会。

Real-world problem solving through Making is a new and popular way to engage youth in STEM education. Since it is often difficult to infuse Maker curriculum into students' schedules, this frequently occurs in after-school programs. Unfortunately, not all youth are able to participate in after-school activities due to financial pressures and may instead take jobs in non-technical fields such as food service or retail. These non-technical jobs take time away from Making, designing, and tinkering, which can leave them behind their peers who are honing skills for a technical career path. We propose to create a living laboratory "print shop" at the Digital Harbor Foundation (DHF) Tech Center in Baltimore to study the impact of Maker employment with inner city youth. Research will be conducted to understand how their experiences in the print shop maintain their engagement with STEM. The result of the project will be a new model to keep underserved youth on a pathway towards a STEM career. While integrating Making in formal and informal learning is an active research topic, little is known about how to support Making in youth employment. This research will answer questions crucial to deepening youth engagement in Making such as: 1) How do youths' perceptions of STEM careers and STEM education change with a Maker job? 2) How does real-world client work impact youths' interest in Making and their "design thinking"? 3) What impact does a youth-run 3D print shop have in the local community? 4) What are the generalizable recommendations for designing and teaching digital fabrication software to individuals with diverse skills? We will answer these questions by conducting interviews, observations, and workshops, with DHF youth, support staff, and the print shop's customers. All software, training tools, and supporting technology will be evaluated through longitudinal deployments in the print shop. We will track youth's engagement in the print shop and measure how their attitudes towards technical employment, STEM fields, and Making change through the research. We will share our experiences, tools, training materials, and strategies to continue to diversify Making and provide novel employment opportunities with the Maker and academic community.