Board 238: Designing this Space for Whom? Characterization of Makerspace Non-users

Abstract Makerspaces are sites of creativity and engineering ingenuity. Students have the unique experience of being able to walk into a space and learn informally through experimentation in team or individual settings. Participation in these settings fosters the enhancement of engineering design skills, the development of a strong engineering identity and self-efficacy, and the cultivation of a supportive community that nurtures a sense of belonging. According to Astin's student involvement theory, the extent to which these outcomes are achieved by makerspace users varies, with higher levels of involvement correlating with greater levels of personal growth and learning. An influential factor in the level of involvement students reach is whether the makerspace environment is conducive to learning and whether the makerspace feels psychologically safe. An emerging body of literature has critiqued the "democratizing" nature of makerspaces and calls for the intentional design of a truly "boundary crossing" space characterized by the disruption of barriers to access and an increased sense of belonging of users in the space. One of the specific recommendations commonly found in the research literature is to design for those not using the space. This can be extremely difficult to do with most spaces being designed for the current population of members; this acts as a "closed loop" where the makerspace culture is reinforced, which can exclude those not currently participating in the makerspace. To improve the design process of inclusive makerspaces, this study focuses on the characterization of non-users of the makerspace for makerspace designers and decision-makers to consider and reflect upon when improving/changing the space. Data was collected using two quantitative surveys distributed at the beginning and end of the 2021-2022 academic year for first-year engineering students. The surveys measured students' motivations to engage in makerspaces, psychosocial scores like engineering identity, and makerspace usage. Results show that makerspace usage cannot be divided or differentiated based on gender, race/ethnicity, and ability status. Differences in makerspace participation based on first-generation status and parent education were significant. It was also found that non-users have low perceived comfort levels while users have higher levels for both timestamps. The strength at which non-users and users agreed to the usefulness and enjoyment of makerspaces was also different, with non-users being less enthusiastic in these motivation scores. Over time, non-users exhibit drops in their motivation scores, opposite to what is present in the user sample. Makerspace designers and researchers should use perceived comfort as a potential marker of who is a non-user and explore ways to redesign the environment where their perceived comfort is prioritized. To improve the design process of inclusive makerspaces, this study is focused on the creation of personas of possible makerspace members that are not being considered for the ongoing design, or evolution, of the makerspace. These personas were developed from a combination of qualitative and quantitative data sources. A quantitative survey was conducted with the aim of capturing first-year engineering student's perceptions of their engineering identity, self-efficacy, and sense of belonging along with their familiarity with different making processes. Student's attitudes towards engaging or participating in makerspaces was also captured. In order to capture further information on the experiences of first-year students, qualitative interviews were conducted with 10 students. The interviews were focused on understanding their engineering and making backgrounds, as well as their pathways to actively participating in the makerspace. The emerging themes from the qualitative data set were used alongside the quantitative survey data to inform the design of the personas. Results from this study provide an interesting point of reflection for makerspace staff to consider when creating a makerspace that encourages belonging to all, even those who are not current users.