Identify Desired Results
The big idea I will explore this upcoming school year is enhancing student learning through 3D printing. I believe that 3D printing is the window into the future of education, in addition to Smartboards, tablets/IPads and Chromebooks. These tools are utilized to expand on student learning in visual and tactile ways. Smartboards allow students to interact with the lesson. Tablets/Ipads and Chromebooks provide students with the modality to explore the content digitally and connect to sources outside of the classroom.
3D printing is another tool to make content more tangible. I want 3D printing to aid students in diving deeper into their math and science content and to focus on making interdisciplinary connections and real world connections. With the New Generation Science Standards, middle school students will continue to uncover concepts and explain “phenomena central to the physical sciences, life sciences, and earth and space science” that they learned in previous grades which is using Gardner’s and Mansilla’s approach to disciplinary thinking where it is important to study few concepts in order to spend the time studying them more deeply. The students can use the 3D printer to create and manipulate objects that are bi-products of what they are investigating in science.
Another important concept from Gardner and Mansilla is that it is important to approach topics in various ways to allow students to make more connections. 3D printing will also allow students to approach science and math with a new outlook. Students will be encouraged to visually manipulate graphing and scaling concepts with 3D printing software, where before it was generally paper and pencil method. The students will be able to connect these math concepts across other disciplines such as science.
3D printing is a vital tool to further enhance topics the students are learning about. The students will be able to dive deeper into content by taking the time to develop and design projects that demonstrate what they are learning. This also allows students to connect math and science and produce objects that make their learning tangible.
3D printing is another tool to make content more tangible. I want 3D printing to aid students in diving deeper into their math and science content and to focus on making interdisciplinary connections and real world connections. With the New Generation Science Standards, middle school students will continue to uncover concepts and explain “phenomena central to the physical sciences, life sciences, and earth and space science” that they learned in previous grades which is using Gardner’s and Mansilla’s approach to disciplinary thinking where it is important to study few concepts in order to spend the time studying them more deeply. The students can use the 3D printer to create and manipulate objects that are bi-products of what they are investigating in science.
Another important concept from Gardner and Mansilla is that it is important to approach topics in various ways to allow students to make more connections. 3D printing will also allow students to approach science and math with a new outlook. Students will be encouraged to visually manipulate graphing and scaling concepts with 3D printing software, where before it was generally paper and pencil method. The students will be able to connect these math concepts across other disciplines such as science.
3D printing is a vital tool to further enhance topics the students are learning about. The students will be able to dive deeper into content by taking the time to develop and design projects that demonstrate what they are learning. This also allows students to connect math and science and produce objects that make their learning tangible.
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Determine Acceptable Evidence
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Various forms of assessment will be implemented in order to gain an understanding of the impact 3D printing has in enhancing student learning. Students will conduct a survey on the first day of school to provide me with a better insight on what they know about 3D printing. The information obtained from the survey will help guide my instruction using 3D printing. As we uncover concepts in math and science, such as area, perimeter, scaling, adaptations and life cycles of animals, expansion of our solar system, students will design projects using 3D printing to demonstrate their understanding. Student friendly rubrics will be provided on the particular topics they are learning. The rubric will include content, the integration of the topics we are learning, the accuracy of the content, and the creativity of using 3D printing. Depending on the topics we are studying, group and individual projects will be assigned bi-weekly and monthly.
Students will also create their own personal blogs and websites to reflect on how they are using the 3D printer to enhance their learning. They will take pictures of their work and other classmates’ work as they create digital portfolios of what they are learning in class. The students will need to continuously update their blogs and website to reflect on what projects they are currently working on. They will need to ensure they they discuss how the design process and 3D printing is helping them understand the concept they are focusing on better. They will also need to discuss how their learning may be different without the use of 3D software and printing. I will use the students’ blogs and websites as ongoing assessments to better understand their learning and my direction in teaching. The blog will also provide me with a source to provide feedback. We will end the school year with another survey to determine if the students understand 3D printing more and how it is used in learning.
Students will also create their own personal blogs and websites to reflect on how they are using the 3D printer to enhance their learning. They will take pictures of their work and other classmates’ work as they create digital portfolios of what they are learning in class. The students will need to continuously update their blogs and website to reflect on what projects they are currently working on. They will need to ensure they they discuss how the design process and 3D printing is helping them understand the concept they are focusing on better. They will also need to discuss how their learning may be different without the use of 3D software and printing. I will use the students’ blogs and websites as ongoing assessments to better understand their learning and my direction in teaching. The blog will also provide me with a source to provide feedback. We will end the school year with another survey to determine if the students understand 3D printing more and how it is used in learning.