UTeach Maker Showcase - National Reviewers
UTeach Maker partners with national leaders in Maker education to review and provide feedback on each student's final Maker Showcase. The feedback provided by the reviewers is used by each UTeach Maker to revise and refine their work. The review process helps ensure that the work produced by graduates of UTeach Maker meets high standards and reflects up to date Maker tools and skills.
Stephanie Chang - Maker Ed, Director of Youth Engagement
Stephanie has been working within maker education since 2011. She initially started running Education Days at Maker Faires and then joined the MENTOR Makerspace project with Maker Media where she worked closely with 15 high school teachers in the greater Bay Area. Since 2013, she has worked with Maker Ed, where she oversees national efforts, alongside many separate workshops, research projects, and small initiatives.
Stephanie has chosen to serve as a reviewer for UTeach Maker because she leads the Open Portfolio Project at Maker Ed and is interested in the growing field around alternative assessments and the evaluation of maker-centered learning.
Jessica Parker - The Exploratorium, Director of Teaching and Learning
Jessica's experience with Making includes working in higher education and launching the Maker Certificate Program at Sonoma State University (Northern California). She worked at Maker Ed, a national non-profit dedicated to supporting educators and institutions with the training, resources, and community of support they need to implement maker education. Jessica now works with The Exploratorium as the Director of Teaching and Learning and oversees their professional development programs for STEM educators
Jessica has chosen to review for UTeach Maker to get a glimpse into the portfolios of preservice teachers and their passion for making and learning. She sees the review process as an opportunity for her to learn more about the teachers’ perspectives on Making and how teachers plan to infuse Making into their professional practice.
Dr. Shaunna Smith - Assistant Professor of Educational Technology, Texas State University
Shaunna's experience with making includes teaching art and graphic design at the high school and community college levels. She now works in higher education as an Assistant Professor of Educational Technology at Texas State University where she prepares preservice and inservice teachers to integrate design and making into a variety of disciplines. Through a service-learning initiative, she and her students facilitate a mobile makerspace, The MAKE Lab, in which they provide free workshops to local area teachers and students.
Shaunna has chosen to review for UTeach Maker to get a glimpse into how these preservice teachers reflect upon and derive meaning from their experiences with making and learning. She sees reflective practice as an essential component of teachers’ development of confidence with these non-traditional instructional strategies so that they are better equipped to meaningfully integrate them into future professional practice.