The below outline of a Maker Unit was conducted by Dr. Beck in sociology. The Makerspace was thrilled to partner/collaborate with him on this!
Focus
Topic: Social Movements
Subtopics: Symbols, messaging, framing, and collective identity in successful social movements
Learning Objectives: Students will be able to:
- Identify key characteristics of successful social movements, including shared identity, messaging, and recognizable symbols.
- Compare how different movements used symbols and messaging to frame issues, mobilize participants and spread awareness.
- Explain how symbols and visual messaging contribute to the growth, visibility, and persistence of social movements.
Ask and Access
Guided by the instructor, students asked questions about prior and current movements:
- What movements are they aware of?
- What movements have become historically significant?
- Are there any symbols of movements they are familiar with?
- How do/did people typically hear about social movements?
- Why are some movements more or less successful?
- What is required to start a movement?
- etc.
Research
Students had lectures, read articles, and found their own sources to answer questions about prior and current social movements, the symbols, messaging and framing of those movements, artifacts associated with movements, and what made those movements successful or not.
The Maker Challenge
Students were given a social issue: A proposed change to university general education requirements that would eliminate a social science subject from the core curriculum.
Students were given a goal for a social movement: Highlight the importance of that subject in a well-rounded education and encourage discussion about its role in the curriculum.
Students were tasked with creating an artifact: Design a bag accessory that could symbolize the movement and invite others to learn more.
This is an example of a Guided Maker Challenge: The students were required to sketch out their design, make a prototype, and then build the final product. The final product was limited to a bag accessory, but materials were not limited. Students would need to justify their designs and material use in the final project, and reflect on material use and construction.
If supplies or time are constrained, more limitations can be made to make this a Structured Maker Challenge. For example, the instructor could say that students needed to make just the prototype of the design out of felt. Students then are still responsible for determining size, color, shape of the design (and be able to justify those choices), but the materials are limited to just felt and hot glue. The reflection would be more about the design choice than the build.
If the instructor had more time and more resources were available (like a larger makerspace), less limitations could be imposed to make this an Open Maker Challenge. Students could then decide what the artifact could be (a bag accessory, sign, t-shirt, flag, etc), in addition to the design and materials the artifact is made from. Students then would reflect on product choice, design, and materials used in construction.
There are also other ways to increase student involvement in the process by allowing them to choose the social issue and/or goal for the social movement. As student agency increases and instructor scaffolding decreases, students engage in higher levels of independent thinking. However, open-ended challenges typically require more time for students to explore ideas and iterate on designs.
Make and Create
This is where students get their hands dirty and are encouraged to ask and/or answer meaningful questions about each phase of the design, while prototyping their product.
- As a wearable artifact, what factors should you consider about durability, visibility, and portability?
- How might these considerations influence your choices about materials, construction methods, and color selection?
- From how far away should someone be able to recognize your design?
- How might this affect the overall size of the artifact and the clarity or simplicity of the design?
- Who is the intended audience for this accessory?
- What design elements should be considered to make the artifact resonate with that audience?
- What symbols, colors, or visual cues are already associated with this issue or with social movements more broadly?
- How might familiar symbolism strengthen your design?
- Consider how your design and material choices affect the scalability of the movement. How easy would it be to reproduce your design at scale? How expensive or time-consuming would production be?
- How will your design persuade or engage others?
- Will it appeal to emotion, curiosity, solidarity, or compassion?
Apply Challenge to Focus
This is where students connect their making experience back to the concepts they explored in their research.
- By designing your own artifact to support a social movement, what did you learn about the challenges involved in creating a successful movement?
- From your research and design experience, what role can a physical artifact play in the success or visibility of a movement?
- How did your research on social movements influence the design of your artifact?
- What message does your artifact communicate about the issue?
- What symbols, colors, or visual elements did you include in your design?
- How do these elements help communicate the movement’s message quickly and clearly?
- How could a small, wearable artifact contribute to spreading awareness for a social movement?
- How does your artifact compare to symbols or artifacts used in historically successful movements?
- Based on your design experience, why do you think recognizable symbols are important in successful social movements?
- Before designing your artifact, how simple did you think it would be to create a recognizable symbol for a movement? How did the design process change your understanding?
Reflect and Evaluate
This is where students evaluate their decisions in the design process and reflect on their physical artifact.
- What trade-offs did you have to make when choosing your design?
- What challenges did you face while building your artifact?
- How effective do you think your artifact is at communicating the movement’s message?
- What aspects of your design work well?
- What aspects of your design could be improved?
- If this artifact were adopted, how easy would it be to reproduce or distribute widely?
- Is there anything about your design that might confuse or limit the message?
- If you had more time or resources, what changes would you make to improve your design?