artistic map and timeline of Crown Heights, Brooklyn

Summer 2026

Maker Lab 1: Design Lab

Keywords: art, aesthetics, politics, creativity, design, STEAM, maker education, geography, collage, micro:bit, raspberry pi, qtpy, hard fun

STEAM Teaching and Learning ESM 501, 3 credits

Instructors:
Meetings:
  • Monday-Friday, June 22-July 2
    • Section 001: 9am-12noon
    • Section 002: 1pm-4pm
Location:

Adelphi Manhattan Campus Third Floor Maker Lab

Materials:

There are no required textbooks for this course. All course materials will linked to through this site and readings are available in the course reader. All required software is Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) or no-cost commercial software.
There may be fees associated with the museum visits.

In the Design Lab students encounter the big ideas in Maker Education and STEAM as well as the practices of the maker lab. Emphasis is placed on engagement in and critique of the practice of “making” through foundational literature and hands on studio culture with a focus on creativity and learning.

Goals

  1. Students will explore and analyze foundational and contemporary theories and approaches of Maker Ed and STEAM texts and respond through a series of written, audio and video prompts.
  2. Students will engage conceptual, aesthetic, and practical aspects of Maker Ed and STEAM through the generation and production of a series of material and digital prototyping and final projects. This includes creative problem-solving, collaboration and critical inquiry as they ‘make’ with others. Both processes and final work will be included in student-created digital portfolios.
  3. Students will analyze and evaluate the role of Maker Ed and STEAM theories and practices in educational settings through a final interactive online zine that curates their learning across the course.value
  4. Students will have fun and experience joy in learning, understanding and demonstrating the role of play, risk-taking and experimentation in making and creating in Maker Ed and STEAM environments.

Software

Student are encouraged to bring a laptop to each class meeting. If you do not have a laptop, you will be able to borrow one. You will not be able to complete class assignments using a phone, tablet/iPad, or Chromebook. If you are using a work laptop, please make sure that you have permission to install software.

Required software:

  • Inkscape vector graphics
  • Krita and (optional) GIMP photos & raster graphics
  • Discord chat–install on your phone and laptop

Class schedule

This is an intensive, summer course where we squeeze a full semester’s worth of work into two weeks! In addition to class meetings, you will need to spend time outside of class in the maker lab, and arrange time to complete your museum visits. There are also readings and museum visits that must be completed on your own time. Please plan your schedule so that you can accommodate all of the course requirements.

Readings

All readings are available in the course reader.

Readings listed below are due for that class session, including our first meeting.
Please come to class prepared to discuss the readings.

Reading Schedule:

  • Mon, Jun 22: Martinez & Stager; Blikstein
  • Tue, Jun 23: Freire
  • Wed, Jun 24: Fishman
  • Thu, Jun 25: Delpit
  • Fri, Jun 26: Noddings; Ladson-Billing
  • Mon, Jun 29: Greene
  • Tue, Jun 30: Ranciere
  • Wed, Jul 1: Cipolla
  • Thu, Jul 2: -

Bibliography:

Blikstein, P. (2018). Maker Movement in Education: History and Prospects. In M. J. De Vries (Ed.), Handbook of Technology Education (pp. 419–437). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44687-5_33

Cipolla, C. (2019). Build It Better: Tinkering in Feminist Maker Pedagogy. Women’s Studies, 48(3), 261–282.

Delpit, L. (2012). Picking up the broom: demanding critical thinking (Chapter 2). In Multiplication Is for White People: Raising Expectations for Other People’s Children. The New Press.

Forensic Architecture, & Poitras, L. (Directors). (2019). Triple Chaser [Documentary, Short]. Praxis Films.

Freire, P. (1971). Pedagogy of the Oppressed (M. B. Ramos, Trans., Chapter 2). Herder and Herder.

Fishman, E. (2026, May 20). For the Obama Center, Mark Bradford Paints a Fierce and Luminous Chicago. The New York Times.

Greene, M. (1977). The Artistic-Aesthetic and Curriculum. Curriculum Inquiry, 6(4), 283–296.

Ladson-Billings, G. (2011). “Yes, But How Do We Do It?”: Practicing Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. In White Teachers / Diverse Classrooms (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Martinez, S. L., & Stager, G. (2013). Chapter 1: An Insanely Brief and Incomplete History of Making. In Invent to learn: Making, tinkering, and engineering in the classroom. Constructing Modern Knowledge Press.

Noddings, N. (2013). Standardized Curriculum and Loss of Creativity. Theory Into Practice, 52(3), 210–215.

Rancière, J. (2004). Artistic Regimes and the Shortcomings of the Notion of Modernity. In The Politics of Aesthetics (pp. 22–23).

Assignments

Assignment Due Date Points
Participation Jun 26 & Jul 2 10
Artist’s Journal Ongoing 10
Museum Visits Ongoing 10
Public Art Encounters Ongoing 10
Reading responses Ongoing 10
Maker Lesson Jun 29 15
Online Portfolio Jul 2 15
Mural Panel Jul 2 20

Participation

A class is a place where we study together. Your participation will help make this a great class.

To get full participation points:

  1. Attend every class session. This is a short course and there are no excused absences outside of medical exemptions with a doctor’s note, modification from the Student Access Office, or a religious holiday.
  2. Don’t be late. Don’t leave early.
  3. Do the readings. Come to class prepared to discuss the readings. If it’s obvious that you didn’t do the readings, or made little effort to engage with or try to understand them, you will lose participation points.
  4. Maintain the lab. We are all responsible for maintaining the maker lab, closet, and our materials. Help us set up, help keep things clean and organized, help us put things away.
  5. Be bold. This is a class about creativity and “making”. We want you to take risks, to try new things. This is not an easy thing!
  6. Be kind and respectful. We love a spirited debate, strong opinions, and learning new things from each other. But those practices only work if we offer our respect to the other participants and assume they are operating in good faith, too.
  7. Keep an open mind. Disagree with the instructors and other students after fully attempting, engaging, and considering the materials and context.
    Try first, argue later.
  8. Communicate. Read your emails. Post on Discord. Talk to your partners. Let the instructors know if there’s a problem or question. Tell us how to make things better.

You will reflect on your participation in your artist’s journal. Write a little bit about your accomplishments, goals, and things your would like to improve in how you engage with the course.

Post your reflections to your portfolio. You are welcome to make these pages only visible to the instructors, but you can also think of this as a public, personal reflection like you might find in a blog post.

Online Portfolio

You will create an online portfolio that will be used throughout the Master’s in STEAM Teaching and Learning. While the portfolio will house many of your assignments, you are also responsible for designing a site that reflects your identity as a maker and educator.

The portfolios will be created using Google Sites with your Adelphi email account. You will be responsible for maintaining the site permissions and making sure that it is available to the instructors and other students in the class, and that some aspects (at least) are fully public. Everyone is encouraged to use Google Sites, but if you have a strong preference for another platform, you can use it once you have instructor approval.

Your portfolio will be evaluated on how well you demonstrate your ability to use the features of your online platform, you ability to achieve a consistent and professional design and user experience, the quality of your content (well edited writing, thoughtful images, clear audio, etc), and the overall creativity and originality of your site.

Check out these examples:

Gillian Hagen Emilia Hogg
Chuhyon Corwin Rob Perrone
Anika Bristol  Milo Roth 
Rob Schwartz Marco Suarez 
Mike Gerber Erika Lanfranchi
Alicia Minervini Maggie McGowan

Artist’s Journal

Everyone will keep an artist’s journal during this course (and after, we hope). The Journal is a place for you to record thoughts, plan designs, sketch ideas, and reflect. There will be some “assigned” journal entries (see above and below), but mostly it is meant for your own benefit. Journaling might not be for you… but for the purpose of this course, try it out with an open mind.

To “grade” your journal, you will upload photos of key pages to your online portfolio and post a brief (300-500 word) reflection about how you used it, and what you thought of the journal.

Public Art Encounters

New York is full of public art: famous sculptures, big shows, street art, hidden and half forgotten works, and more. You will document at least 3 public art works that you encounter. At least one of these should be “sanctioned” work and at least one should be “unsanctioned” work.

Document your encounter in your journal with at least one sketch of each work, and notes on the context, your experience, and thoughts on the work. Further document your encounter with photos and/or videos. Consider things like the medium of the work, the scale (aka size), the materials, when it was created, how it was funded (or not).

Upload your documentation to your online portfolio.

Maker Lesson

You will read the New York State and professional standards for your content area (Math, Biology, Physics, Comp Sci, etc.) as well as the Art Standards. You will create your own lesson plan that addresses one of the standards from your content area and one of the art standards. Your lesson must incorporate key ideas of maker education and STEAM learning. The instructors will provide links to sample lesson plans as well as example templates for creating a lesson plan.

Plan a lesson for a 45 minute class.

At the very least, your lesson plan must include the following items:

  • a brief narrative describing what happens before and after this lesson
  • learning goals and standards covered in the lesson
  • materials list
  • a timeline of activities
  • how the lesson will be assessed
  • any instructor created materials (slides, handouts, examples)

You will submit your lesson as a Google Doc shared with the instructors, with links to all external materials and resources.

The lesson will be evaluated on the following criteria:

  • creativity of the lesson
  • alignment with standards
  • integration with maker and STEAM learning
  • viability of the lesson in a classroom setting

Add your lesson plan to your portfolio to submit it.

Museum Visits

You will visit (at least) 3 museums outside of course hours. Each visit must be at least one hour long. You must keep journal entries for each visit that logs the museum, the date and time of the visit, and key exhibitions or works that you engaged with. You should also document your visit with sketches, photos, and videos. You will create an entry on your online portfolio for each visit. Your entries should reflect on the visit in terms of course readings and discussions, including considering how the museums work as public pedagogy, the learning design, the aesthetic experience, politics of the museum, etc.

You can use your library card (New York, Brooklyn, or Queens) to get a free culture pass to many museums in the city. Even if you can’t take advantage during our short course, it is a great resource. IDNYC is another great resource for museum and other cultural access in NYC, and it can double as a library card.

The instructors will post other interesting museum exhibits and events on Discord as well as invitations to join us for informal, optional field trips during the course. You can also check out the NYC Arts Calendar for further ideas and events.

STEM Museums

You must visit at least one of the following “STEM” museums:

Art Museums

To dive deeper into our study of art, creativity, and aesthetics, you should visit an art museum. You can hit one of the “big” ones (Met, MoMA) or look for a place you haven’t visited yet.

Living geographies and museums

New York has many museums that might help inform our study of “living geographies”. Consider visiting one of these museums:

Museum Field Trip

We will host an optional field trip on Sunday, June 28 where we will visit the Museum of the City of New York and El Museo del Barrio.

Living Geographies Panel

You are going to work in a team of 3 or 4 students to create a panel for a group art exhibit around the theme: Living Geographies of New York.

Your panel will combine traditional arts with some methods and techniques of the maker lab. Under the direction of teaching artist Eric Miles, we will co-design themes, content, and a style for the exhibit.

As a project based “studio” course, the major project will be your team’s contribution to the exhibit. The instructors will giver you feedback on your work at many points during the course. You will work through the design process in many steps, including:

  • initial paper collage on the first day
  • digital design prototype your team’s panel
  • sketches and partial work for critique
  • the final panel
  • the integrated exhibit

Reading Responses

Use your journal while completing the course readings:

  • take notes
  • write down quotes/citations
  • note sections to discuss
  • write a paragraph or two reflecting on the reading
  • this must be your own work entirely, using AI for these responses is a violation of the academic integrity policy

Resources:

Curriculum standards:

Software:

Photos and drawings:

Music/Sound Effects:

Free Video/Stock Video:

Fonts:

Icons:

3D Models

AI Generated:

Tutorials/Docs:

Adelphi University Services, Policies, and Regulations

Student Access Office and Disability Accommodation

If you have a disability that may significantly impact your ability to carry out assigned coursework, please contact the Student Access Office (SAO) at (516) 877-3806 or send an email to sao@adelphi.edu. The staff will review your concerns and determine, with you, appropriate and necessary accommodations. Please allow for a reasonable time frame for requesting ASL interpreters or transcription services.

Reasonable accommodations are available in online classes for students with a documented disability. Please note that due to the nature of online courses, some accommodations approved for on campus classes may not apply. If you have a disability that may significantly impact your ability to carry out assigned coursework, please contact the SAO at (516) 877-3806 or send an email to sao@adelphi.edu. We will review your request and determine with you appropriate and necessary accommodations.

University Libraries

The Adelphi University Libraries provides education, information resources, services and spaces that advance teaching, learning, research and creative activity. The Libraries provide semester-long support to assist with research assignment development, skills assessment, research readiness and more. Our goal is to equip learners with the information literacy skills necessary to become effective lifelong consumers of information. For more information visit the Libraries homepage or contact us for help.

Student Counseling Center

The Student Counseling Center (SCC) provides confidential and professional virtual mental health counseling services, resources, and referrals to support the academic and personal success, health, and well-being of Adelphi students without additional charge. Counselors are available to help students cope with a variety of stressors and personal issues that may interfere with their academic and personal experiences. The SCC also supports students who may be feeling suicidal or in crisis. To schedule an appointment, call (516) 877-3646 or email scc@adelphi.edu. If you need immediate assistance, walk-in services are available during the fall and spring semesters Monday-Friday, 9:00 a. m.–5:00 p.m. Additional information can also be found at .

Need support when the SCC is not available? For 24/7 emergency counseling, referral, or assistance, please contact:

Center for Academic Support and Enrichment (formerly the Learning and Writing Centers)

Website: http://adelphi.edu/case Email: CASE@adelphi.edu
Phone: (516) 877-3200 Location: Nexus 132

The Center for Academic Support and Enrichment (CASE) offers programs and services—like individual tutoring in writing and subjects across the curriculum, small group study sessions, academic coaching and targeted workshops—that help students explore, deepen and extend their classroom learning. Support programming focuses on establishing foundational skills and techniques of studentship, like time management and note-taking. Enrichment services develop higher-order critical thinking skills and problem solving skills inherent in both abstractions and applications of curricular study. Contact us via email, phone or via eCampus to review our full slate of real-time (in person and remote) and asynchronous services. These are included in your tuition, so you’ve already bought them! Don’t miss out on the opportunity to supercharge your college experience. Many services require reservations, especially late in the semester. Reserve a spot on our scheduling portal and/or join the self-directed virtual CASE LAB. Get on the CASE, and take your Adelphi experience to the next level.

Generative AI (GenAI) Usage Policy

Definition of GenAI:

Generative AI refers to a class of artificial intelligence techniques that create new content, such as text, images, or music, by learning patterns from existing data. These models use machine learning algorithms to generate novel outputs based on input data.
ChatGPT is the best known example of GenAI, along with Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini, but tools like Quillbot and Grammarly also use GenAI technologies.

Students’ Responsibility:

Students must ensure they understand the tools they are using to complete course assignments. By handing in work, students are accepting responsibility for following all University and course policies concerning academic integrity and will be reported for violations.
Turnitin’s AI detection software returns a score reflecting the percentage of text that is likely to have been generated by AI—it does not determine whether that text was generated by tools like ChatGPT from a prompt or by tools like Grammarly from existing text. Therefore, students who regularly use Grammarly and similar tools should ask permission from the instructor beforehand and should save versions of their work by using Google Docs or by enabling MS Word’s version history feature. Doing so will provide a record of each stage in the process of completing the assignment.

The Adelphi Honor Code

“The University is an academic community devoted to the pursuit of knowledge. Fundamental to this pursuit is academic integrity. In joining the Adelphi community I accept the University’s Statement of Academic Integrity and pledge to uphold the principles of honesty and civility embodied in it. I will conduct myself in accordance with ideals of truth and honesty and I will forthrightly oppose actions which would violate these ideals.”

Code of Academic Integrity

The Code of Academic Integrity prohibits behavior that can broadly be described as lying, cheating, or stealing. Academic dishonesty or violations of the Code of Academic Integrity include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Fabricating data or citations
  2. Collaborating in areas not approved by the professor
  3. Unauthorized multiple submission of one’s own work
  4. Sabotage of others’ work, including library vandalism or manipulation
  5. Plagiarism
  6. The creation of unfair advantage
  7. The facilitation of dishonesty
  8. Tampering with or falsifying records
  9. Cheating
  10. Other forms of academic dishonesty

Copying and pasting from any source into your assignments or exams without quotation marks, citations and references, constitutes plagiarism. Students are expected to produce and submit original work and to cite all sources appropriately. Unauthorized collaboration on any work, or the presentation of someone else’s work as your own, is plagiarism. Content generated by an Artificial Intelligence third-party service or site (AI-generated content, e.g. ChatGPT) without attribution or authorization is also a form of plagiarism. Unless explicitly stated, artificial intelligence-based technologies, such as ChatGPT or word mixing software, cannot be used to generate responses (partial or otherwise) for student assignments or exams.

If you are unsure about what plagiarism or another form of academic dishonesty are, please reach out to me to discuss it as soon as possible. An allegation of an academic integrity violation of this section may be referred for further review and could result in disciplinary action.

Student Course Evaluations

During the last two weeks of the class, you will receive notification, via email and eCampus, that the course evaluation is available for your input electronically. Your feedback is valuable and students are strongly encouraged to respond. Please be assured that your responses are anonymous and the results will not be available to the instructor until after course grades have been submitted after the semester ends.

Religious Observance Policy

Adelphi University welcomes diversity in its community and respects various religious observances. Students who anticipate being absent due to their religious observance are required by Adelphi University to notify their professors at the start of the semester. This will allow faculty to take these observances into consideration in light of their course exam and assignment schedules. Students absent from class, clinical experiences, practice, labs, etc. on those days, after prior notice to the professor, will not be penalized for any exam or assignment deadline missed because of those absences. Students must contact the instructor to work out suitable arrangements for make-ups or other satisfaction of academic requirements. Adelphi’s Exam/Assignment Absence Policy can be viewed here.

Attendance Policy

Only students who are registered for courses, and whose name appears on the Official Class Roster may attend courses at the University. Adelphi students make a commitment to be active participants in their educational program; class attendance is an integral part of this commitment. Students are expected to be present promptly at the beginning of each class period, unless prevented by illness or by other compelling cause. In the event of such absence, students may request that faculty members be notified by the Office of Academic Services and Retention. Students are responsible for learning course content and completing coursework missed through absences.