Cultivating a Repair Mindset Toolkit

Agency by Design Oakland and Maker Ed created a rich resource for teaching through repairing objects, in Oakland, California, USA. Grounded in research and classroom testing, the Toolkit includes teaching strategies, tactics, classroom materials, and a pedagogical framework for bringing repair thinking into the classroom. AbDO is a legacy program of Harvard Graduate School of Education.

The thinking processes developed through repairing physical objects involve looking closely, understanding how things work, investigating the interests that shaped objects’ design, and identifying points of intervention.

Those thinking processes support students’ cognitive and personal development, and are transferable far beyond simply fixing things. Toolkit materials were designed to be integrated into existing classes across subject areas.

“Cultivating a Repair Mindset” offers educators material to help cultivate in students the insight, creativity, and motivation to contribute toward putting what we value into working order.

Many other educator resources for teaching about repair are on the Culture of Repair Project website.