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

通过制作解决现实世界的问题是一种新的和流行的方式，让年轻人参与STEM教育。由于很难将创客课程融入学生的日程安排中，这经常发生在课外活动中。不幸的是，由于经济压力，并非所有青年都能够参加课外活动，他们可能会在食品服务或零售等非技术领域工作。这些非技术性的工作会占用制作、设计和修修补补的时间，这可能会让他们落后于那些正在为技术职业道路磨练技能的同龄人。我们建议在巴尔的摩的数字港基金会（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验如何保持他们与STEM的接触。该项目的结果将是一个新的模式，以保持服务不足的青年在通往STEM职业生涯的道路上。虽然在正式和非正式学习的整合是一个积极的研究课题，很少有人知道如何支持青年就业的决策。这项研究将回答加深青年参与制作的关键问题，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)真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)一家年轻人经营的3D打印店对当地社区有什么影响？4)对于设计和教授具有不同技能的个人的数字制造软件，有哪些可推广的建议？我们将通过与DHF青年、支持人员和打印店的客户进行访谈、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。我们将跟踪青年在印刷厂的参与，并衡量他们对技术就业，STEM领域的态度，并通过研究做出改变。我们将分享我们的经验，工具，培训材料和策略，以继续使制造多样化，并为制造商和学术界提供新的就业机会。

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.