When making is a choice: Institutional framing and emotional experience across learning environments

Making is shaped by the institutional conditions in which it occurs, including expectations about competence, the visibility of mistakes, and opportunities to work through uncertainty. This paper explores how these conditions may shape learners’ emotional experiences of making across two contexts: a formal technical drawing classroom in Abuja, Nigeria, and an informal design and technology workshop in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Using interpretive practitioner inquiry, it examines two illustrative episodes from the author’s teaching practice, focusing on learners’ responses to error, difficulty, and revision. Informed by Self Determination Theory and constructionism, the paper develops a conceptual argument about how institutional framing may shape making as performance, exploration, or a combination of both.