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3D printing (3DP) has been becoming pervasive in the K-16 education system. However, in many schools, new 3D printers arrive, work for a certain period, and before long break down due to lack of maintenance and support. It is therefore imperative for teachers to develop a deeper understanding of 3D printing in order to fully release its potential in engineering design. In this project, the course of engineering design for preservice teachers (PST, current undergraduate students) is developed and implemented with mechanical components from dissected 3D printers. The approach is to dissect a 3D printer’s hardware, explain each component’s function, introduce each component’s manufacturing methods, describe possible defects, and elucidate what works and what does not. This allows the PSTs to develop a better understanding of 3D printing process, have a better idea on how to fix a 3D printer when it breaks down, and design components that are compatible with 3D printing. The evaluation results show that the course was well received by the PSTs who have improved their knowledge in 3D printing. In the future course offering, both knowledge gain and efficacy will be evaluated to help us better understand the impact of the course.
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Dissecting 3D Printing for Engineering Design Process Education of High School Preservice Teachers
3D printing (3DP) has been becoming more and more popular throughout the education system from Kindergarten to University. High school is a critical period for students to decide their imminent university major selection which in turn will impact their future career choices. High school students are usually intrigued by hands-on tool such as 3DP which is also an important contributor to other courses such as robotics. The recent years have seen more investment and availability of 3DP in high schools, especially Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. However, mere availability of 3DP is not enough for teachers to fully utilize its potential in their classrooms. While basic 3DP skills can be obtained through a few hours of training, the basic training is insufficient to ensure effective teaching Engineering Design Process (EDP) at the high school level. To address this problem, this project develops an EDP course tightly integrated with 3DP for preservice teachers (PST) who are going to enter the workforce in high schools. Engineering design process (EDP) has become an essential part for preservice teachers (PST), especially for high school STEM. 3DP brought transformative change to EDP which is an iterative process that needs virtual/physical prototyping. The new PST course on EDP will be purposefully integrated with an in-depth discussion of 3DP. The approach is to dissect a 3D printer’s hardware, explain each component’s function, introduce each component’s manufacturing methods, describe possible defects, and elucidate what works and what does not. This has at least four benefits: 1) PSTs will know what is possibly wrong when a printer or printing process fails, 2) PSTs will learn more manufacturing processes besides 3DP that can be used to support engineering design prototyping, 3) PSTs will know how to design something that can meet the manufacturing constraints, i.e., can be actually fabricated, and 4) reduce errors and frustrations caused by failed design and failed prints which happen frequently to novices in 3DP. After graduation, PSTs will bring the knowledge to their future high schools and will be more confident in teaching engineering design, reverse engineering, prototype development, manufacturing, and technology. The developed course will be implemented and assessed in a future semester.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2141674
- PAR ID:
- 10437119
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference 2023
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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This paper reports two years’ experience from our implementation of the NSF project titled “Industries of the Future Research Experience for Preservice Teachers in STEM Settings.” The goal of the project is to host 10 high school preservice teachers each summer to participate in Industries of the Future (IotF) research fields and then convert their experience into high school curriculum. IotF topics include artificial intelligence (AI), quantum information science (QIS), advanced manufacturing, advanced communications, and biotechnology. In summer 2023, the first cohort of 8 preservice teachers (PST) from the UH teachHOUSTON (tH) PST program participated in the RE-PST program at UH Cullen College of Engineering (CCOE). In summer 2024, the second cohort also had 8 PSTs. This six-week program sought to advance future educators’ knowledge of concepts in IotF as a means of enriching high school curriculums defined in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standard. Enrichment activities included research workshops, field trips to local companies, and lesson plan design. Compared to the first year, the research mentors were more experienced in assigning research topics and working more closely with PSTs in the second year of the program. This paper provides details on the commonality and changes in the second year’s implementation, in comparison to the first year. Some follow up activities from the first cohort is also reported. Overall, PST participants found the research experience with their mentors beneficial not only to them, but also to their future students according to our findings from interviews.more » « less
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Abstract Background Teacher educators have begun exploring the most effective ways to prepare preservice teachers (PSTs) to engage elementary students in engineering design. However, this remains challenging as PSTs continue to report a lack of exposure to engineering during their K-12 school experiences. This study investigates the engineering- related knowledge and beliefs of PSTs in their first education course, collaborating in small teams to lead elementary students in engineering design challenges. We explored two different iterations to understand how the structure of the teaching experiences contributed to PST outcomes as a first step in identifying helpful approaches. In spring 2022, PSTs collaborated with undergraduate engineering students to develop and teach a carnival-themed design challenge lesson, while PSTs from fall 2022 collaborated with education classmates to teach a premade engineering lesson focused on designing plastic filters. We used quantitative and qualitative measures to analyze PSTs knowl- edge of engineering, knowledge of engineering pedagogy, beliefs about the importance of elementary engineering instruction, self-efficacy for teaching engineering, and intention to integrate engineering in their future instruction. Results Teaching engineering had a positive influence on PSTs’ engineering-related knowledge and beliefs. PSTs began to understand engineering as a process and see the ubiquity of engineered products in everyday life. They recognized their teaching role as guiding students through the design process and practices. PSTs noted how ele- mentary students found engineering fun and engaging and were able to develop successful solutions with minimal assistance and even persevered through failure. These observations contributed to the development of their engi- neering-pedagogical knowledge and helped cultivate positive engineering-related beliefs. Following their teaching experiences, most PSTs gained self-efficacy for teaching engineering, believed engineering should be taught in ele- mentary schools, and had an intention to integrate engineering into their future instruction. Conclusions Our findings suggest teaching engineering to elementary students is an effective approach to enhanc- ing beginning PSTs’ engineering-related knowledge and beliefs. Recommendations are made for structuring teach- ing opportunities early in preparation programs, including: teaching elementary students, practicing teaching, and engaging as students in meaningful design challenges. Questions remain regarding how best to structure teaching experiences for early PSTs, such as ideal team composition and placement in elementary teacher education programs.more » « less
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