Examining two learner approaches in a making activity with university students

As the maker movement has introduced children and adults to learning by making, researchers have begun to explore different approaches to learning by making and ways that participants take up new fabrication techniques. This work examines instruction in a making activity as a way to scaffold learning in a making activity. University students are introduced to a new-to-them fabrication technique using two learning approaches, learning via step-by-step instructions and open ended exploration. This study examines how students privileged the disciplinary ideas and practices of their major, mechanical engineering.