TLDR

The best shop trainings I’ve been through included:

• An active welcome (Are you here for the class? What brings you in?) + clarifying orientation
• Structured knowledge (these are the topics and steps you need) and clear goals (here’s what we’re going to do today, and here’s what you don’t need to worry about)
• Show me once (demo equipment usage), then let me drive
• Prompted retrieval (i.e. quizzing to aid retention, not for evaluation — with an explanation of why / that it isn’t a test)
• Take-home something you made
• Recordings / resources for future reference
• Clear scaffolding (e.g. here are criterion to think about for a next step or first project, here are some action items)
• Small group per teacher and space (this means front-loading or automating some items so that  teachers/experts can spend attention on instruction, as well as figuring out how to train a lot of reliable instructors)

Some Context

I began graduate school at UT in 2023. Due to covid, many of the undergraduates starting at the same time had completed their final years of high school remotely. One apparent consequence, as noted by shop managers and faculty on campus, was a drop in student’s baseline capability to operate facility equipment (especially manual equipment such as a bandsaw or drill press). Shop managers who had been on campus for multiple decades described this as a longer term trend—students seemed ever-more comfortable with a screen and keyboard than with these tools (relative to prior years).

In my interviews, students never described themselves this way (unsurprisingly), though they noted other challenges. Shop spaces are often necessarily loud, hazardous, and consequently intimidating. It can be difficult to find time to train on equipment if it’s not required by a class and, when project deadlines are pressing (and the equipment would be useful), shop spaces can be especially busy.

Concurrent with this perceived drop in skill, we had:

A) renewed popular interest in manual, tactile hobbies and skills during the pandemic

B) demand for more onshore production knowledge and skill, for the sake of supply chain resiliency (this conversation ….

I took an interest in this intersection of challenges and needs. Specifically, I spent much of my spare time taking notes on how different shop spaces ran their trainings. This included the following spaces:

• Anna Hiss woodshop and digital fabrication spaces
• Fine Arts Building: woodshop, Fab Lab, Design Lab
• The Foundry
• Texas Inventionworks (this was more of an engineering space, but I was still welcomed)
• and, after graduation, ASMBLY Makerspace (woodshop, metal shop, 3d printing, laser cutting)

The Goal

What makes one training experience better than another? Here’s some attributes and outcomes I have in mind:

• After, one can safely use the tool in a basic way and you know it
  • …but not in an arrogant or presumptive way, especially if it’s a dangerous tool - one knows that in order to use the tool safely, one has to rely on certain methods
  • One has some sense of proportionality between risks and one’s awareness level
• One is clear on what to do, what not to do, why, and when (and how or who) to ask for help
• The training itself should also be an enjoyable experience
• One has drawn some connection between the tool you’re learning to use and your other interests and goals (’oh, I think I could use this to make that xyz thing I was thinking about’)

In academic terms, I’m looking for improved domain-specific self-efficacy.

Purpose

This is all an informal writeup of my own hypotheses for my own future evaluation. If you are setting up a space or a training format, do not treat this as a guide or manual. Treat it as a resource of new questions, but follow the standards at your institution. If your institution doesn’t have standards, look for something thoroughly developed. The folks at Texas Inventionworks **really know what they are doing and could offer excellent advice. If you are looking for knowledge from a less academic context, then consider reaching out to the folks at ASMBLY, who are also impressive.

There are standards out there - implicit and explicit - on setting up spaces and trainings. I have avoided going too far out of my way to digest these. My notes here are mainly based on observation, not on reading. The benefit here is that I get a chance to digest my own reactions before seeing how my preferences and curiosities differ from those ideas that prevail.

Of course, most of the trainings I went through have common features based on these implicit and explicit shared standards (for example, every laser-cutting course I went through let’s you take something home that you made). In this sense, I’m reviewing those typical features of trainings - and variations in how they are done - based on my own experiences (and some  interviews with students and shop managers, which are not quoted here, but did inform my thinking).

Shop Context Features

These are aspects of context (definitely non-exhaustive) that I think matter for teachers and learners. In other words, when designing an orientation to a space or tool, these are worth thinking about, accounting for, and educating people on.

Degree of Risk

Anyone in the space (really before they enter even) should have some sense of the level of danger (e.g. very different in a machine shop vs a ceramics space), and its sources, specifically:

• which tools, techniques, components are of particular hazard / or relative safety
• which behaviors of particular danger / safety (good habits and bad)
• maintenance risks (things that create hazards by apathy, such as debris on the floor)

It’s important to communicate do’s and don’ts in a tone that’s clear (doesn’t mince words), but that ultimately encourages safe use vs simply scares people off or discourages use. This can be tricky.

Spatial Context

In addition to specific hazards and behaviors, there’s typically a lot of contextual information that is still relevant to successfully operating in the space, but isn’t as obvious as pointing out particularly dangerous areas or pieces of equipment. Specifically, folks need to know:

• materials (what materials are safe to bring into / out of the space, how, how not; what materials can damage equipment in the space, etc)
• noise (what noises are normal? what volume of sound is normal? Does it vary with time of day etc? How do you communicate when things are loud and people are working? etc.)
• typical other people and density (e.g. ’It get’s real busy during exam week”)
• degree of oversight (there will always / sometimes / never be someone here who can / can not answer questions about xyz)

The entry threshold can (via aesthetics, signage, degree of open-ness, material, color, etc.) transmit a lot of useful information to shop users. Think about how you might use that (in addition to trainings and in person presence) to encourage the right state of mind (e.g. positive, calm, informed, aware) upon entry. Creating some visible divisions in the space (dangerous areas, busy areas, areas for certain materials, areas with certain groupings of tools, etc) via clear signage or color can similarly help remind people of their spatial context.

Tool boundaries and boundary-shape

Consider — does the tool move around in the space, or is it static? What are it’s operating boundaries? Can the tool throw material or components? In what directions? How far? What components of or spaces around the tool are dangerous when on? When off? Is it ‘open’ / are the working components exposed (e.g. most wood or metal shop equipment) - or is it behind a case (laser cutter or some 3d printers when operating)? If you were going to set a ‘definitely don’t trip within this area while the machine is running’ boundary around the tool - where would it be?

Tool Teaching Affordances

Some tools show the user how they work. For example, laser cutters and 3d printers have a screens that walk you through some steps (sometimes helpful sometimes not) and sewing machines typically have text and arrows directing you on how to set the thread. Some embroidery machines do a combination of both. Other equipment might use simpler visual cues - most pieces of shop equipment have a big red button that means “OFF”.

Some tools have none of these aids. Consider: is this the sort of tool that you want people to be able to walk through using on their own? If so, can you provide the user with a laminated instruction set or a QR code to the ‘how to use’? If not (e.g. for more dangerous or fragile equipment), how can you provide resources so that someone can get assistance even after training, once they’ve forgotten how to use the tool?

Monitoring

If there are cameras in the space (and there should probably be some system for monitoring who is using what when), tell people and explain why. If there are QR codes or paper logs for damage reports or incident reports (also a good thing I think), tell people and explain why.

Cultural Atmosphere & Behavior

Be clear with people about what to expect (what is typical) and what you (as the manager of the space in this case) want to encourage & why those are beneficial to individuals and to the functioning of the space - give specific examples of items that frequently come up and encourage questions during and after initial training.

Pedagogical Features

What follows are the pedagogical features of trainings that I find most helpful, with some commentary. Consider this my own ‘working toolkit’ for designing learning experiences in shop or maker-space contexts, as well as my ‘working hypothesis’ or ‘candidate principles’ to evaluate with more rigor. As stated earlier, stick to your institutions’ standards.

Active Welcome

Spaces can be tough to find, opaque, loud, and intimidating. Even a quiet, transparent, easy to find space can be deeply intimidating for someone unfamiliar with the tools, materials, people, or other aspects of the space or location. It helps a ton if you can meet someone in the entry area and start speaking with them: “Hi, are you Jo?” “Are you here for the class” “Come on in” “Here, grab some eye protection from this bin” “So, what inspired you to take this class?”

To be clear, there are plenty of very good reasons to have a closed off space: IP protection, a sense of privacy, coziness, or lack of distraction for folks at work, sunlight and temperature management, security, and, of course, safety. You don’t have to be overly transparent or boundary-less in setting up a space, but do think about how you can make people new folks feel welcome while taking care of these other needs. Welcoming folks in person goes a long way to making a space feel welcoming, but so do signage, aesthetics, and clear instructions in advance (e.g. steps on how to enter the space in a class sign-up confirmation email).

Safety talks or demos can, in fact, be a great way of making people feel welcome: if done well, they can convey that you care about people’s safety. They can also provide some structure to otherwise awkward early interactions and set the tone / mark the beginning of a class. Of course, if done poorly (perfunctorily, obligatorily) it looks like you don’t care about people or their safety.

These early interactions offer the opportunity to tailor the content to student interests. In cases of a small ratio of educators to students, conversations or introductions can shed some light on interests. In larger classes, registration forms, short intros, or show-of hands style polls can help the instructor gage how to tailor content, or what resources or examples to show as inspiration.

I suspect there’s a lot more room for improvement in our collective understanding of how to connect coursework to learner’s other interests. With a younger audience, I do think the instructor has a particular responsibility to provide context on the class to help with motivation and understanding. With adult learners, it’s still a good thing to do, but you also need to trust that people will decide whether or not they want to learn more about the tool/process/subject.

Clarifying Orientation

I find it really helps to have some clear goals and expectations when learning in a class context. I think it’s typically best to open a class with an overview of the topics and steps that everyone will be going through, as well as what students should be able to do by the end. This is also an opportunity to set aside knowledge for another time - i.e. we’ll learn more about X later, but right now we are focusing on the essentials. Of course, an orientation is also a good moment to point out (if you haven’t already given a safety demo) anything dangerous or fragile.

For example, if a class involves learning to use a specific software tool before using a machine, then really try to give people an impression of the whole process and the relevance of the software & hardware before diving into one. If a class involves multiple pieces of equipment, maybe point them out in sequence or show an process flow-chart before focusing in.

Social Comfort

The word I have generally heard used for this in context of designing educational experiences is belonging. I think that’s directionally good, but a bit fuzzy or vague. For the sake of clarity, here are some more specific criterion.

A great training experience does not involve or involves less of:

• learners worried about looking cool when using a table saw for the first time
• learners afraid to ask dumb questions, or of asking too many questions
• learners intimidated by or uncomfortable with their peers

And involves more of:

• learners helping each-other (perhaps partnering on tasks, or simply help hand out PPE, etc)
• learners exchanging info to meet up and support later on (e.g. ‘want to come in next week and work on welding technique together?’)

Unfortunately, I’m not sure how to reliably create this in shop-trainings other than asking everyone to share some context on their motivations for taking the class and setting the tone by role modeling a comfortable, relatable, demeanor. Of course, classes are still social experiences and, for many folks, that may come with some healthy discomfort as well. Still, this is something to minimize however reasonably possible, and important to get below a certain minimum threshold, given the hazards of shop tools.

Show me once, then let me drive

Learners can observe a process in a youtube video before class starts. If the training consists of manually demonstrating the task to a group, then consider recording it, uploading it, and checking viewership via some online tool or short retention quiz. Instead, spend as much of the in-person time as possible getting students to practice safely interacting with the tool. I think this applies broadly. For something like a bandsaw, it’s important to practice carefully manipulating the material into the saw. For something like a laser cutter or 3d printer, it’s a big confidence boost to know you’ve done the task before and I suspect doing the physical motions helps with focus retention (even if it’s just setting material up, closing the lid, and pressing buttons).

I am excited about VR simulations as a prospect for helping people prep for or recollect physical use of different tools, but definitely don’t rely on digital content to get people to a point of safe usage - only as a supplement.

Prompted Retrieval (with explanation)

Prompted retrieval is essentially quizzing someone on what they’ve learned to aid retention. It’s not a test, it’s an exercise. I find it really helpful as a means of reviewing and consolidating learnings.

Texas Inventionworks did this by far the best. It was really amazing and applied in both in person training and in the online pre-work (which just had some simple quizzes at the end of each section to check retention - they weren’t really an impediment (you could take them multiple times in succession to get the answer).

I think this is way under-valued and easy to do. It may be tougher with a lot of people (e.g. the person who knows will just shout out the answer). One might ask learners to write their answers down, or simply to take a few moments and try to remember, before one person provides the answer.

Take Something Home

This is pretty common, especially for laser cutting trainings. It’s helpful. Typically, the training has a playful default result, but often you can pick something more personalized (e.g. laser cut your initials). In some cases this isn’t as easy. For example, 3d printers can be slow and might not be able to print much within the timeframe of a single class. Similarly, if you’re orienting folks to an entire woodshop space, then you have to rotate through a lot of different machines - you don’t have time to craft a take-home item.

Something that I’ve never seen, but would like to try is a kind of ‘take home plan’ where you sit down at the end of the class, pick a project idea, and list out the steps necessary to fulfill it (now that you know how the space works). The educator gives you feedback on your plan before you head out.

Clear Scaffolding & Resources

It helps to have some next step in mind after learning to use a tool. Ideally, this involves a project related to the learner’s interests, with one clear next action to take. If a training can develop that, I think it will be more impactful. At a minimum, it’s valuable to leave learners lots of inspiring resources (example projects both accessible and advanced - just manage expectations) as well as refresher or additional educational resources (this can all just be a list of links and images). Definitely remind people of contact info and resources (where to direct future questions) before they leave.

Small Group

The smaller the group of learners, the better in my view. 1-on-1 can feel a bit awkward if there’s not a high level of rapport between learner and educator, but 2 or 3 learners is, in my experience fun, but small enough to ask real questions and do all the tasks once yourself. More than that and I think impact starts to decline. Noise, distractions, physical space, and availability of equipment also matter, of course (i.e. it’s probably best to do trainings when the space is being lightly to moderately used).

This also means:

• Automate whatever preparatory work (e.g. an online tutorial before class with simple quizzes) can be automated, to free up the time of trained experts to focus on in person interactions. Again, I’m also optimistic about VR trainings to help front-load some experiences.
• Figure out how to reliably train trainers (this is part of end goal of me documenting what makes a good learning process)

Daydreaming

The ideal scenario here in my current view is that learners go through a brief online course before coming into the shop, then use the time in shop for:

• learning and practicing the actual physical operation of the tool & understanding ways the work can succeed, fail, or be dangerous
• developing and asking questions
• building a project plan & getting input on it from someone with experience

I also wonder how difficult it would be to get a reliable in-ear, AI agent, advisor (with camera) when working in shop spaces. What would that take? If I could walk into any operating space, name a goal, and have someone reliably and personalize-ably walk me through each step - explaining the mechanisms and answering my questions - well, it would dramatically enhance my ability to create in the physical world (increasing speed and expanding the scope of available techniques).

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