Our Research

Worldwide Impact Our Research

Lifelong Kindergarten:
Cultivating Creativity through Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play

By Mitchel Resnick

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Drawing on experiences from more than thirty years at MIT’s Media Lab and as co-founder of The Clubhouse Network, Mitchel Resnick discusses new technologies and strategies for engaging youth in creative learning experiences. He tells stories of how young people are programming their own games, telling their personal stories, and creating inventions authentically grounded in their lived experience (for example, a diary security system created by a twelve-year-old Clubhouse member so her little brother would stop snooping). Resnick also describes the power of human interaction and digital learning to support and encourage learners who may feel alienated by traditional school experience. By providing young people with opportunities to work on projects, based on their passions, in collaboration with peers, in a playful spirit, we can help them prepare for a world where creative thinking is more important than ever before.

The Computer Clubhouse:
Constructionism And Creativity In Youth Communities

Edited by Yasmin Kafai, Kylie A. Peppler, and Robbin N. Chapman

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So much of the social life of young people has moved online and participation in the digital public has become an essential part of youth identities. The Computer Clubhouse makes an important contribution not just in local urban communities but also as a model for after-school learning environments globally.This book showcases research by scholars and evaluators that have documented and analyzed the international Computer Clubhouse Network, and considers the implications of their findings in the context of what it means to prepare youth to meet the goals of the 21st Century.

• Detailing the successful, scalable model for providing at-risk youth a rich array of media design and computing experiences.
• Interviews with stakeholders in the Clubhouse Network, from the director to coordinators at various international Clubhouses.
• Diverse examples of media created in the Clubhouse, ranging from digital stories, video games, interface designs, and digital art projects.

Papers

When the Clubhouse Doors Close: Discord Opens New Spaces to Create and Connect
Connected Learning Lab
Krithika Jagannath, Remy Cross, Katie Salen Tekinbas

Design From Within: Transformative and Culturally Responsive Co-Design Pedagogy During a Pandemic
Connected Learning Alliance
Maria J. Anderson-Coto & S. Rose O’Leary

Leveraging STEM Investments for Long-Term Impact: The Clubhouse Network as Case Study
STEM Ready America
Gail Breslow, Mark St. John

Origins and Guiding Principles of the Computer Clubhouse
The Computer Clubhouse: Constructionism and Creativity in Youth Communities
Natalie Rusk, Mitchel Resnick, Stina Cooke

Computer as Paintbrush: Technology, Play, and the Creative Society
Play=Learning: How Play Motivates and Enhances Children’s Cognitive and Social-Emotional Growth;
Oxford University Press
Mitchel Resnick

Who Knows Whom in a Virtual Learning Network? Applying Social Network Analysis to Communities of Learners at the Computer Clubhouse
Elisabeth Sylvan

The Computer Clubhouse: Technological Fluency in the Inner City
High Technology and Low-Income Communities; MIT Press
Mitchel Resnick, Natalie Rusk, Stina Cooke

References

Bridge21 – exploring the potential to foster intrinsic student motivation through a team-based, technology-mediated learning model
Technology, Pedagogy and Education
Volume 25, Issue 2 (2016)

Coding For Middle Schoolers
THE Journal
Vol. 40, No. 5 (2013)

Global Competition Demands Education Transformation
Digital Learning
Vol.1 (2012)

An Investigation of the Artifacts and Process of Constructing Computers Games About Environmental Science in a Fifth Grade Classroom 
Educational Technology Research and Development
Vol. 59, No. 6 (Dec. 2011)

Informal Learning and Social Capital in the Dublin Computer Clubhouse
Geography
Vol. 96, No. 3 (Autumn 2011)

Changes, Community and Growth in the Future
Journal of Science Education and Technology
Vol. 18, No. 1 (Feb. 2009)

New Pathways into Robotics: Strategies for Broadening Participation
Journal of Science Education and Technology
Vol. 17, No. 1 (Feb. 2008)

Teaching and Learning: Whose Computer Is It?
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy
Vol. 44, No. 4 (Dec. 2000)

What Children Think About Computers
The Future of Children
Vol. 10, No. 2 (Autumn-Winter 2000)

Spaces for Change: Gender and Technology Access in Collaborative Software Design
Journal of Science Education and Technology
Vol. 9, No. 1 (Mar. 2000)

The Girls Have It: Gender Issues in Science, Math, and Technology
Instructor Magazine
March 2000

Situated Support for Learning: Storm’s Weekend with Rachael
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy
Vol. 9, No. 3 (2000)

Beyond Black Boxes: Bringing Transparency and Aesthetics Back to Scientific Investigation
The Journal of the Learning Sciences
Vol. 9, No. 1 (2000)

Helping Minorities Bridge ‘Digital Divide’
Christian Science Monitor
Vol. 91, No. 170 (July 29, 1999)