Learning Through Making
Harald Bentz Høgseth
Routledge eBooks October 28, 2026 DOI: 10.4324/9781003618553-4 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that reconstruction in craft and practice-led research is a learning process and methodological approach rather than replication of the past, with knowledge emerging through the intra-active interplay of practitioner, materials, tools, and context. Proposes the metaphor of the "craftsman's tool chest" to identify eleven dimensions of craft knowledge, from material understanding and rhythm to improvisation and spatial awareness, and positions craft as a pedagogical and onto-epistemological site. |
Abstract
This chapter and the next explore reconstruction as both a learning process and a methodological approach within craft and practice-led research. Drawing on phenomenology, new materialism, and 4E Cognition Theory (embodied, embedded, enactive, and extended cognition), it examines how knowledge emerges through the intra-active interplay between the practitioner, materials, tools, and context. These chapters argue that reconstruction is not a matter of replicating the past, but of engaging with it through embodied practice, affective attention, and sensory responsiveness. By introducing the metaphor of the “craftsman’s tool chest,” eleven key dimensions of craft knowledge are identified – ranging from material understanding and rhythm to improvisation and spatial awareness. These “tools” help uncover the often tacit, relational, and dynamic nature of learning and making. Ultimately, these chapters position craft as a powerful pedagogical and onto-epistemological site, showing how embodied reconstruction can foster insight, motivate learning, and reconnect theory with practice across disciplines.