Promoting maker‐centred instruction through virtual professional development activities for K‐12 teachers in low‐income rural areas

Abstract With an increased interest in makerspace in K‐12 education, professional development (PD) is needed to equip teachers with the knowledge, skills and dispositions to effectively incorporate makerspace and maker technology in teaching. This study examined a virtual PD programme to improve K‐12 teachers' knowledge, attitudes and beliefs in teaching with maker technology. Data were collected from 43 in‐service schoolteachers through project artefacts, survey questionnaires and reflection journals. Results of the qualitative and quantitative analyses show that the PD experience effectively improved participants' knowledge in maker technology and the associated pedagogy, as well as their attitudes and beliefs towards teaching with maker technology. Implications for designing and implementing a virtual maker‐centred teacher PD programme and directions for future research are discussed. Practitioner notes What is currently known about this topic Makerspaces and maker technology have been increasingly introduced to K‐12 settings to promote student learning. Teachers struggle to effectively design and implement maker‐centred instruction. Empirical research was very limited on preparing in‐service teachers for maker‐centred instruction. Maker resource deficiency in rural areas and the COVID‐19 pandemic added pressure for researchers and educators to develop alternative models for digitalizing maker‐centred professional development (PD). What this paper adds This study designed and implemented virtual maker‐centred PD activities to prepare K‐12 schoolteachers for integrating maker technology in classroom teaching. Both quantitative and qualitative results show that virtual maker‐centred PD activities significantly improved teachers' knowledge of maker technology and the associated pedagogy, and also improved their attitudes and beliefs toward teaching with maker technology. This paper provides a practical example of how maker‐centred PD for in‐service teachers could be accomplished through a virtual programme. Implications for practitioners It is beneficial for teachers to have hands‐on experience through making to better understand what maker technology can do and what the learning process is in making. Domain and context‐specific making contributed to the development of making‐associated pedagogy skills, as well as attitudes and beliefs towards maker technology. PD programmes should focus on maker knowledge and skills first to improve teachers' attitudes and beliefs. For at‐a‐distance making, it is important to provide access to a collection of tools and give teachers an immersive experience in an authentic makerspace.