Social Competence and STEM

Abstract

We study the experiences of high school student volunteers as mentors in a public makerspace for children. Based on interviews, we present the teenagers' varied backgrounds, doubts, and lessons learned. While most studies around maker activities have focused on learning of STEM subject matter, our findings point to an additional outcome, an empowerment in social competence. We discuss our insights about teenage mentorship in makerspaces and propose future research directions.