This study used cultural historical activity theory to make meaning of a digital fabrication project situated in the complexity of a classroom. Using an ethnographic perspective, we observed 14 students (aged 13-14) in a middle school's creative design and engineering class inspired by the Maker Movement. Working with the classroom teacher, a…

This study builds on existing research on school-community partnerships in middle and secondary schools by examining the roles of the students and the impact of social influences on their school-community liaising practices. Documents, observations, and 20 interviews with students, school leaders, teachers, and support staff from one urban,…

During the past three years, the author's administrative team at Milken Community High School in Los Angeles, a 7-12 school where the author is the middle school principal, has been discussing assessment. They decided that they wanted assessment to tell students what they did or did not do and enable them to self-adjust. To accomplish this, the…