University of Buffalo: Researcher Secures Grant to Study Learning in Public Library Makerspace

From the U. of Buffalo:

All human beings make stuff, UB faculty member Sam Abramovich says. So imagine making something that satisfies a personal, customized need, or solving a problem for your family, or finding a way to express yourself through an art that is as fulfilling as it is fun.

And now look at this through the eyes and thinking of an educational researcher. How does this creative process help people learn? What motivates people to make stuff? How can educators use the desire to make stuff to help people learn?

That’s the essence of a three-year, $346,000 grant secured by Abramovich, assistant professor in the departments of Learning and Instruction, and Library and Information Studies in the Graduate School of Education. He will collaborate with the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library to develop reliable and valid ways to measure the learning and associated benefits of making in libraries.

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The research grant, awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, notes the importance of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library’s makerspace efforts. And for both Abramovich and the library, evaluation and assessment are crucial.

“Evaluating creative, hands-on learning activities in our public makerspace is critical as libraries continue to evolve and expand services to meet community needs,” says Mary Jean Jakubowski, director of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library.