Marten Westerhof researches how spatial understanding can be enhanced by using maker education. He is doing this from his PhD at Technological University Dublin. For the European project SellSTEM, he is investigating how children's spatial insight can be enhanced by using makereducation. One of Waag's starting points is that you learn by making. Makereducation enables people to learn by doing and to develop a critical attitude towards technology. They discover, test and try, learning to express their creativity. In this blog, Marten traces his experiences while teaching an origami workshop to primary school students.
Spatial insight is important in many situations we experience in everyday life: from assembling an IKEA cabinet to finding our way on holiday. In psychology, spatial insight, spatial ability, is measured through tests that require you to rotate objects in your mind, for example, or find the right 2D diagram to go with a drawing of 3D object. The better your spatial ability is according to these tests, the more likely you are to achieve success in the disciplines we call Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM).
