Written by: Isabel Correa and Nathan Holbert. Teachers College, Columbia University
Abstract: This article explores material-led research as a posthumanist methodology for practitioner-researchers in the learning sciences to study their own making practices, methods, and outputs. Unlike other first-person methodologies, material-led research aims to challenge and decenter the practitioner’s perspective through curious attention to the role of materials in their practice. Using the case of the first author’s engagement in biomaking—where living materials mingle with other ones—we illustrate a method for following the materials by attending to material assemblages, noticing what materials do, and reading them longitudinally. We discuss how, by granting materials an active participation in making practices, we allow ourselves to appreciate how they disrupt, influence, and offer new possibilities for making and learning.
Keywords: posthumanist methodology, post-qualitative inquiry, practice-led research, new materialism, environmental education, maker education, biomaking, biodesign.