ABSTRACT
Creating technological artefacts through hands-on practice has gained traction as a means to rethink educational approaches. This study reports the effectiveness of the maker pedagogy on students’ interest in literacy. An evaluation study was conducted involving 112 primary school children, aged 11, in two primary schools in Malaysia with the aim of improving students’ reading interest. The study involved an experimental group of participants creating augmented storybooks using paper-based circuitry and programming. Participant results reveal a significant increase in interest while learning by making augmented storybooks in comparison to just reading using augmented storybooks. The study demonstrates how learning by making can be implemented in primary school settings and highlights key challenges and opportunities for applying the approach in everyday teaching and learning contexts.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the primary schools in Selangor, Malaysia for their collaboration in this project.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Kher Hui Ng
Kher Hui Ng is an Associate Professor in the School of Computer Science at the University of Nottingham Malaysia. Her research interests are in educational technology and Human–Computer Interaction.
Hanisah Mohd Radzi
Hanisah Mohd Radzi is a Research Assistant in the School of Computer Science at the University of Nottingham Malaysia. Her research interests are in educational technology and constructivist learning.
Kean Wah Lee
Kean Wah Lee is a Professor in the School of Education at the University of Nottingham Malaysia. His research interest is in computer-assisted language learning.