Scafalle: From Teacher Needs to Design Implications
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Recommended form of citation (APA)
Waibel, C., Smit, R., Gütersloh, C., Longhitano, M., Studer, D., & Arnold, J. (2026, January 15-16). Scafalle: From Teacher Needs to Design
Implications [Poster presentation]. Dinat DiNat Forum VDG/ADG, Fribourg, Switzerland.
Implications [Poster presentation]. Dinat DiNat Forum VDG/ADG, Fribourg, Switzerland.
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Mathematische, Naturwissenschaftliche und Technische Bildung
Fields of Science and Technology (OECD)
Social sciences
Abstract
Open learning environments such as makerspaces and inquiry-based learning promise rich opportunities for creativity, collaboration, and self-regulated learning, with particular benefits for inclusion and engagement in STEM (Bosse et al., 2024). Yet these formats also shift teachers’ roles from content deliverers to facilitators and orchestrators of diverse, concurrent student projects often under constraints of time, class size and technical reliability (Kajamaa et al., 2020). Within the DEEP consortium, the Scafalle project investigates how digital scaffolds can foster the sustainable implementation of such open formats in everyday educational practice.
This contribution reports on the design and evaluation of three co-design workshops (N = 15 teachers) that aimed to elicit concrete needs in makerspace and inquiry-based learning. It further describes on how participants co-ideated scaffolds and derived design principles for a supportive application. Each workshop combined focus-group discussions, collaborative sketching of tool concepts, and evaluation of early digital-interface prototypes. All sessions were audio-recorded and transcribed. The qualitative content analysis is primarily based on the first workshop, while materials from later sessions were used to refine codes and design requirements.
The results cover five major topics, namely (1) orchestration load and teachers’ role shift: Teachers reported high cognitive and logistical load when supervising concurrent student projects while at the same time ensuring safe machine/tool use by other students. Tensions emerged between professional identity and enacted role. Many teachers see themselves as the ‘sole knowledge source,’ but the setting requires a facilitator role that enables student autonomy. (2) Structural constraints: Large classes, limited preparation time, and intermittent technical issues amplify support demands, especially in open-ended tasks. (3) Underused infrastructure: Even where equipment is available, schools often lack strategies and knowledge for effective, curriculum-aligned use. (4) Student readiness, self-regulation and foundational skills: Foundational skills, such as working independently, planning and troubleshooting, are unevenly developed, increasing dependence on teacher assistance. Building these skills is seen as essential in reducing bottlenecks. (5) Professional learning: Teachers seek for practical, context-sensitive guidance and exemplars to integrate making and inquiry into everyday practice (Stevenson et al., 2019).
From these needs, the workshops derived concrete design implications for a digital tool: (a) student-facing scaffolds to foster independence; (b) structured project templates that keep inquiry open; (c) a teacher administrative view for quick oversight of progress and support needs across groups and students. Collectively, these features target both sides of the classroom ecology: reducing teachers’ immediate load while strengthening students’ autonomy. The workshops also produced a first low-fidelity prototype embodying these principles. We will present the co-design process and requirements, as well as exemplar screens, and outline the next steps towards translating these into a digital application.
References
Bosse, I., Maurer, B., & Schluchter, J.-R. (2024). Inklusive und nachhaltige Maker Education an Schulen: Ein Scoping Review. MedienPädagogik: Zeitschrift für Theorie und Praxis der Medienbildung, 56, 155–194. https://doi.org/10.21240/mpaed/56/2024.01.10.X
Kajamaa, A., Kumpulainen, K., & Olkinuora, H. (2020). Teacher interventions in students’ collaborative work in a technology‐rich educational makerspace. British Journal of Educational Technology, 51(2), 371–386. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12837
Stevenson, M., Bower, M., Falloon, G., Forbes, A., & Hatzigianni, M. (2019). By design: Professional learning ecologies to develop primary school teachers’ makerspaces pedagogical capabilities. British Journal of Educational Technology, 50(3), 1260–1274. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12743
This contribution reports on the design and evaluation of three co-design workshops (N = 15 teachers) that aimed to elicit concrete needs in makerspace and inquiry-based learning. It further describes on how participants co-ideated scaffolds and derived design principles for a supportive application. Each workshop combined focus-group discussions, collaborative sketching of tool concepts, and evaluation of early digital-interface prototypes. All sessions were audio-recorded and transcribed. The qualitative content analysis is primarily based on the first workshop, while materials from later sessions were used to refine codes and design requirements.
The results cover five major topics, namely (1) orchestration load and teachers’ role shift: Teachers reported high cognitive and logistical load when supervising concurrent student projects while at the same time ensuring safe machine/tool use by other students. Tensions emerged between professional identity and enacted role. Many teachers see themselves as the ‘sole knowledge source,’ but the setting requires a facilitator role that enables student autonomy. (2) Structural constraints: Large classes, limited preparation time, and intermittent technical issues amplify support demands, especially in open-ended tasks. (3) Underused infrastructure: Even where equipment is available, schools often lack strategies and knowledge for effective, curriculum-aligned use. (4) Student readiness, self-regulation and foundational skills: Foundational skills, such as working independently, planning and troubleshooting, are unevenly developed, increasing dependence on teacher assistance. Building these skills is seen as essential in reducing bottlenecks. (5) Professional learning: Teachers seek for practical, context-sensitive guidance and exemplars to integrate making and inquiry into everyday practice (Stevenson et al., 2019).
From these needs, the workshops derived concrete design implications for a digital tool: (a) student-facing scaffolds to foster independence; (b) structured project templates that keep inquiry open; (c) a teacher administrative view for quick oversight of progress and support needs across groups and students. Collectively, these features target both sides of the classroom ecology: reducing teachers’ immediate load while strengthening students’ autonomy. The workshops also produced a first low-fidelity prototype embodying these principles. We will present the co-design process and requirements, as well as exemplar screens, and outline the next steps towards translating these into a digital application.
References
Bosse, I., Maurer, B., & Schluchter, J.-R. (2024). Inklusive und nachhaltige Maker Education an Schulen: Ein Scoping Review. MedienPädagogik: Zeitschrift für Theorie und Praxis der Medienbildung, 56, 155–194. https://doi.org/10.21240/mpaed/56/2024.01.10.X
Kajamaa, A., Kumpulainen, K., & Olkinuora, H. (2020). Teacher interventions in students’ collaborative work in a technology‐rich educational makerspace. British Journal of Educational Technology, 51(2), 371–386. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12837
Stevenson, M., Bower, M., Falloon, G., Forbes, A., & Hatzigianni, M. (2019). By design: Professional learning ecologies to develop primary school teachers’ makerspaces pedagogical capabilities. British Journal of Educational Technology, 50(3), 1260–1274. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12743
| Name of the event | Conference Host | Place of the event | Start date of the event | End date of the event |
DiNat Forum VDG/ADG | Université de Fribourg | Fribourg | January 15, 2026 | January 16, 2026 |
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