Bay Area CRAFT Network Gatherings for Collective Visioning and Action
Aaron Vanderwerff
Hello all -
Are you interested in thinking about equity and maker education with a mixed group of educators and researchers? If so, read on and fill out the survey linked below. The focus of these gatherings is to co-develop research partnerships that are community connected and center questions, focused on equity, that are important to the maker-educator community.
Dear Colleague,
You are invited to participate in a local, Bay Area, series of gatherings of educators and researchers focused on maker-centered learning and equity research. This work is a Bay Area extension of the CRAFT Network, an NSF funded Research Coordination Network (RCN). NSF’s funding supports networking and the spread of ideas for those working in collaboration to amplify their outreach.
Please read on for more details and if you are interested be sure to share your interest and thoughts with us on this short survey by October 25th.
We believe it is through the connections of researchers, educators, and communities that the most transformational, close looking, and impactful collaborative work and research can happen given a goal of transformative research and partnership building.
The goals of these gatherings are to collectively:
Connection: Build Bay Area connections among researchers and educators for collaboration of all kinds (collegiality, fortifying ourselves and the work, learning from one another, etc)
Partnerships: Have discussions to develop partnerships for collaborative research projects through acts of solidarity and care
Equity: Document and share how we all understand, think about and act on maker-centered learning and equity
Need Identification: Participate in broad conversations to identify needs of various groups, share resources to meet those needs, and think about future needs
Agenda Setting: Set agendas for upcoming areas of making and equity research
To extend the safe spaces to work and coalesce that you have all created; for meetings, for makers and learners of all kinds
We will gather in person 3-4 times during the 2024-25 academic year to have focus discussions about equity and making. Artifacts from our discussions will be shared widely in different forms to support others colleagues nationally who are engaged in similar work.
Artifacts from our discussions may become: blog posts, newsletter features, educator guides, podcasts, or other creative products that can be shared widely (based on group member interest that is in line with collective ownership and sharing in different forums and in different ways).
We are particularly excited to think together with our Bay Area community because of the richness in the work around equity, liberatory practices, and maker-centered learning.
In true collaborative spirit, this group of colleagues coming together to network and share ideas is designed to be open-ended with your creative thinking and input central to what it can be and become.
And of course we want your input. Please share your thoughts, needs, and interest on this short survey by October 25th. Your responses will help us to better tailor these meetings to our collective needs.
Have questions? Join us for an open space for questions and discussion about the project on Monday. Oct. 21 at 4:30pm Pacific. Join us on zoom.
Please reach out with any questions or to learn more. If there is someone who you think would be interested in participating, please forward them this request.
In community,
Jill Castek and Aaron Vanderwerff
Jill and Aaron are longtime Bay Area residents who are deeply committed to equity in educational spaces and are dedicated to building momentum around deeping equity practices in maker-centered learning. Jill’s work with teachers and community members is grounded in pluralism, de-colonizing literacies perspectives and focuses on learning-through-making and community involvement. Aaron is an educator, facilitator, and leader, who works with youth and adults, shifting power through learner-driven, liberatory practices and has worked on maker-centered educator-researcher partnerships with Agency by Design Oakland and the Tinkering Studio.
Aaron Vanderwerff
Meetings will all take place in person (at different locations).
Meeting #1: Monday Feb. 24th 6-9pm in - SF
Meeting #2: Tues. March 18 6-9pm in - SF
Meeting #3: Monday April 21 6-9pm location - TBD
Meeting #4: Saturday May 10 2-5pm POTLUCK and CELEBRATION of Connection - location TBD
Meeting in person is more important than ever to build our connections across the Bay and to work to meet the collective needs of our communities. It is our hope that by providing dates for the rest of the school year, more of us will be able to be present to make those connections. This is a time of uncertainty for many of us and the communities in which we work, and our plan is that CRAFT Bay Area will be a space for us to discuss and take action around the things we value in order to fortify each of our visions, efforts, programs, and funding to serve our collective communities.
If you know others who would like to be involved, just have them email me (Aaron).
Much appreciation,
Aaron and Jill