Assessing Project based Learning with 3D Printing
Alicia Stansell
1
, Tandra Tyler-Wood
1
and Gwendolyn M. Morel
2
1
University of North Texas, 3940 N Elm, Suite G150, Denton, U.S.A.
2
Texas State University, 601 University Dr, San Marcos, U.S.A.
Keywords: Assessment, Project based Learning, 3D Printing, STEM, Middle School.
Abstract: A study was conducted with middle school students using a STEM transmedia book to complete
engineering projects. Included in the book were optional 2D cutters and 3D printers activities that students
used to solve some of the engineering projects in the book. The article explains the framework for study and
possible ways to assess student achievement through a project-based transmedia STEM book.
1 BACKGROUND
Students in middle school are faced with ever-
changing options for their vocational future. Their
future may include vocational opportunities that do
not exist today (Su, 2009). An average of 200,000
engineering jobs in the United States of America do
not get filled yearly because there are only about
60,000 students graduating with an engineering
degree (Hall et al., 2011). Students today can be
supported for the unknown vocational future through
a strong educational background in Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
(Center for the Study of Mathematics, 2012).
Twenty-first century vocational skills necessitate
knowing and integrating STEM subjects together
(Harwell et al., 2015). The skills that will help
students become vocationally successful are ones
taught in a STEM curriculum that focus on
teamwork, critical thinking, problem solving, and
product creation and completion (Ejiwale, 2012).
When STEM is fully integrated together, the
connections between the individual subjects can
foster real life problem solving that both deepens
and broadens student understanding while increasing
student interest (Harwell et al., 2015).
The Center for the Study of Mathematics and
Curriculum (2012) workshop series encouraged
researchers to, “...design, develop, and test a
segment of curriculum that focuses on new goals for
mathematics or science education or a new
organization of the sequence of curriculum or uses
new medium to engage students and/or structure
instruction focused on traditional goals” (p. 12).
Education can help encourage STEM engagement
through active participation in hands on activities
that get students excited about the STEM subjects
(Ejiwale, 2012). The restructure to STEM benefits
from a strong framework, and needs a way that
teachers can assess if learning occurred.
The restructure tested by the authors was the use
of a project based STEM transmedia intervention
book in a middle school setting. The book has
optional projects using digital fabrication with
students being able to print the digitally fabricated
object on a 3D printer. The book is considered an
intervention as it can be completed in under twenty
hours of class time. Depending on teacher choice,
certain chapters can be used or not used to create a
series of STEM projects that build on each other, or
as individual projects that are different than the
standard curriculum used in the classroom filling the
teachers’ desired timeframe. The book itself was
designed to have each chapter as a separate project,
facilitating a framework for Project Based Learning
(PBL). Different forms of assessment were used to
assess the different parts of the transmedia PBL
implementation.
2 PROJECT BASED LEARNING
PBL encourages hands on projects that develop
twenty-first century skills (Rogers et al., 2010;
Johnson and Delawsky, 2013). PBL is pedagogically
built upon student-centered inquiry through group
collaboration (Johnson and Delawsky, 2013), and
focuses more on developing solutions within a
142
Stansell, A., Tyler-Wood, T. and Morel, G.
Assessing Project based Learning with 3D Printing.
In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU 2016) - Volume 2, pages 142-146
ISBN: 978-989-758-179-3
Copyright
c
2016 by SCITEPRESS Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
dynamic environment that does not have only one
correct answer (Rogers et al., 2010). PBL challenges
students with a main question that requires them to
apply multiple knowledge bases through critical
thinking and collaboration to create and present an
end project solution (Schwalm and Tylek, 2012).
PBL can be adapted to many different
instructional contents because it allows students to
naturally pull from different contents to synthesize a
solution to an authentic task (Schwalm and Tylek,
2012). PBL is adaptable to different contents and
allows students to custom design their own learning
path based on what they feel they need to learn to be
successful. For PBL to have the necessary flexibility
to be successful, the pedagogy of the educator who
is implementing a PBL unit might need to
experience a shift towards being a facilitator (Rogers
et al., 2010) as the educator guides students to
become responsible for their own learning instead of
waiting for the teacher to entertain them with new
knowledge (Johnson and Delawsky, 2013).
The educator, and in this study, the transmedia
book, outlines the main challenge goal. Then,
students begin to research and use inquiry to start
solving the challenge. The educator helps to
facilitate the students through their inquiry path. The
final project solution is tested, presented, or
otherwise shared so students can reflect and receive
feedback. The transmedia book presented a
challenge that students could custom engineer a
filter that combined everyday materials with plastic
printed pieces on a 3D printer that students digitally
designed.
2.1 2D Cutters and 3D Printers
Computers can connect to specialized printers that
can move beyond putting ink on paper, by cutting
the paper to complete different projects that are
digitally designed. A 2-Dimensional (2D) object is
one that has only two measurable dimensions, such
as length and width, but lacks height. A 3-
Dimensional (3D) object has three measurable
components, length, width, and height.
2D cutters can connect to its manufactures’
software through electronic devices and allow a user
to custom design how a piece of paper will be cut. A
user can have a shape outline cut completely or mix
types of cuts such as a perforated cut to allow the
user to remove and fold a section of paper into a 3D
object. The process allows for the use of precise
measurements of products that can be produced
multiple times in the exact same manner. The 2D
cutter helps students begin to understand the
concepts of measurement and geometric reasoning
during the construction and deconstruction of
objects as they cross between 2D and 3D forms.
3D printers connect to a manufactures’ software
to take a Computer Aided Design (CAD) and break
it down into printer movements that allow the printer
to physically create a 3D object. The 3D printer lays
down layer after layer of the printer material, adding
the third dimension of height to the length and width
of the printed object. The CAD design of an object
can be developed through different types of software
that vary in complexity. Autodesk Inventor is an
example of a full software package that has many
features necessary to precisely make an object.
Another example is tinkercad.com, a free online
website that a person can use to create and export a
3D design. Once exported, the design can be
imported and interpreted by a 3D printer’s software
and printed to make a physical object with the
specifications outlined in a digital file. In this study
the printed material was ABS plastic, so students
digital designs became a solid printed hard plastic
piece.
2.2 Transmedia
Transmedia books outline learning through the mesh
of digital and physical activities (Pictus and Power,
2012) combining fiction and non-fiction writing
allowing “...new intertextual engagements” (Voigts
and Nicklas, 2013, p. 141). Transmedia is an
example of media convergence in which different
mediums add to the story (Freeman, 2014). The
transmedia story Engineers Needed: Help Tamika
Save the Farm! encouraged the reader to use QR
codes to search sources, view videos, problem solve
using digital fabrication with a 2D cutter and 3D
printer, and create a digital platform to share their
solutions with others.
Transmedia books have the potential to be
student centred, self-directed, and designed to
accommodate different learning styles (Parker and
McDonald, 2014). Transmedia books accomplish
these tasks by having different reading and skill
levels embedded within the same book, through the
use of different QR codes. Upon a casual glance, the
books students are using would appear the same,
though they can be geared towards specific students’
needs. The vocabulary could also be changed to fit
different levels of readers, yet use the same project
constructs, allowing for members of a class to be
supported at the appropriate level in a discrete way.
Transmedia encourages a non-linear format focused
on the readers experience (Parker and McDonald,
Assessing Project based Learning with 3D Printing
143
2014) so the way in which each learner moves
through the story and utilizes technology to
complete projects will be unique. The unique paths
of the learners support individual student success, in
addition to being able to adjust the technology
students use. Students can connect to the links in the
book through hand held personal devices, tablets, or
computers, and use whatever adaptive software they
already have on that device to help them access
information.
2.3 Transmedia PBL with 3D Printing
The transmedia book offered the framework for
students to move through projects that could build
upon previous projects, or be used as separate
independent agricultural engineering projects. There
were projects that could optionally involve using
digital fabrication to use a 2D cutter or a 3D printer
in the development of the final project solution.
Students in the study had certain project parameters
defined by existing tools and previous book projects.
Students had to consider these factors when
developing a solution. Part of the process for
solution development was understanding
measurement in metric and standard formats to be
able to determine and create a CAD solution that
could be printed by the 3D printer to use as a pivotal
project solution piece. Students could directly apply
the concepts of measurement and see how incorrect
math would result in a project piece that would not
function, creating additional work to modify the
design after the object was printed. Students had the
opportunity to use different modelling software, to
be fit their individual needs in the digital creation
process. Students could take advanced routes or
more introductory routes to design a unique project
solution. In the study, a water filter frame was
designed, printed, and built upon to filter water from
previous chapter projects.
The 3D printing for a solution utilized
technologies to bring components of math,
engineering a solution, and science concept
application to create a project solution to an ill-
structured problem. Through the act of digital
fabrication and 3D printing, students could imagine,
design, and create a solution in a unique way that
showed how the individual subjects are
interdependent in a real world way.
3 ASSESSMENT
As the projects vary so widely in product design and
printed form, the assessment of PBL projects can be
daunting. Assessment of PBL can take many forms.
Two forms of assessment, formative and summative
should be used. Formative assessments are
conducted as an on-going process in and during the
context of learning that can help with evaluating
complex learning tasks (Spector, 2013). Formative
assessment suits PBL, as it is a performance-based
assessment that moves beyond the students’ ability
to recall information (Boss, 2012). Technologies are
being developed that can help with formative
assessments; two such examples are dynamic
concept mapping and stealth assessment (Spector,
2013). These technologies allow for the learner to
get feedback and be redirected during the course of
learning and developing potential ill-structured
problem solutions (Spector, 2013).
Even if advanced technologies, such as the two
examples given, are not available it is still possible
for teachers to facilitate and report on student’s
knowledge acquisition from the way in which the
project solution development occurs over time.
During this study a learning management system
was used to help track student project development,
provide feedback, and compare student project
solutions.
Different learning management systems exist
that allow an educator to provide resources and
expand the traditional classroom (Al-Busaidi and
Al-Shihi, 2011) to provide a supportive environment
that encourages active participation of the user, and
an evaluation and feedback tool for educators (Gecer
and Dag, 2012). The learning management system
provides a framework for students to report their
progress and share their knowledge in a relatively
controlled space which is important for students
under the age of 18. Educators can view student
progress and provide formative feedback to help the
projects improve, or provide summative feedback at
the conclusion of a project after seeing what the
students have learned.
While formative assessments meet the needs of
PBL, schools in the United States must still
acknowledge the summative state assessment (boss,
2012) and the need to translate formative
assessments into benchmarks of summative
knowledge gains that can be compared on a wider
scale. Development of appropriate STEM based
summative assessments should include different
perspectives from teachers and curriculum
specialists to identify the purpose of the assessment,
the knowledge domains, and the potential burden of
the assessment (Harwell et al., 2015). If an
assessment requires too much time to grade, is too
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expensive, or takes too much class time, then the
assessment will not be used for large numbers of
students (Harwell, et. al, 2015).
For the STEM transmedia book, an assessment
was developed from previously released eighth
grade questions from The International Mathematics
and Science Study (TIMSS) assessments. The
released TIMSS questions are each identified with a
content domain, topic area, cognitive domain, and
historical mean achievement score for different
countries (TIMSS 2011 Assessment). The TIMSS
questions include both short answer and multiple
choice test items. Depending on the teachers needs,
either or both types of questions can be used in a
summative assessment to gather an understanding of
comparative student performance. The TIMSS may
allow for both quantitative and qualitative
assessments of student achievement. However, this
type of assessment provides only a snapshot of
students’ ability to apply information to a new and
relatively connected math and subject topic or
thinking process.
Another option for assessment that can be both a
formative and summative tool is rubrics. Rubrics can
be as simple as checklists or detailed enough to
assess large projects for student performance (Jeong,
2015). Rubrics can provide specific feedback and
expectations to a learner to allow them revise their
work based on specific benchmarks for success,
which in turn allows students to perform better in the
future (Lipnevich et al., 2013). Rubrics can be
implemented into learning management systems,
formatively and summatively. When teachers are
trained, know how to use rubrics, and the rubrics are
developed by experts, rubrics can add, “...reliability,
validity, and transparency in classroom assessment”
(Jeong, 2015, p. 13). However, it is not always
possible within a classroom setting to have expertly
developed rubrics with ample training to support the
use of the rubrics. Furthermore, having a preset
rubric that students do not help develop may make
the project-based learning feeling less authentic and
impact students’ performance.
Studies should be conducted exploring teachers
ability to identify over-arching goals and appropriate
rubric framework, with students input. Students
should have the opportunity to collaborate with the
teacher to define project benchmarks for success and
have input into how benchmarks fit into the
teacher’s overall learning goals. The act of students
quantifying and qualifying what success looks like
before a project begins helps students know the
benchmarks, and allows teacher to assess if students
have a clear vision for the end performance goals.
Collaborative rubric development sets the
expectations and provides an on-going check for
students and teachers to identify progress on a
project. The same rubric may then be used at the
conclusion of a project to determine if the learning
and project objectives were achieved.
A rubric provides flexibility to address different
parts of the transmedia project, including being able
to break down individual tasks, such as a category
for the research in project solution, the digital design
of an object, the efficacy of the 3D printed object,
and the presentation of the project solution. Each of
these categories is important in the final project, and
may be lost or obscured in importance when the
summative assessment is represented in a single
percentage score. While the performance score is
important, the rubric allows an additional layer that
fosters student growth within the project.
Project-based STEM transmedia expands past
one media and one form of learning. Teachers
should consider using different types of assessments
that can provide a whole picture of the individual
components that create a complex learning
environment. As a teacher or researcher, it is
important to understand what the options are and
what is being learned to determine the best
assessment tool, or combination of tools, for
measuring learning goals, objectives, or behaviours
in a classroom using a transmedia PBL STEM book.
The use of the transmedia book has the potential
to offer benefits to students, as can be seen through
these different types of assessments. Further
research into STEM transmedia books with 3D
printing projects through different types of
assessment is encouraged, as in the study by the
authors, students who experienced the transmedia
book with the 3D printing project showed increased
math achievement and showed a more positive
perception of math (Stansell, 2016) when compared
to the students who did not participate with 3D
printing during the implementation period. Using a
variety of focused assessments can lead to different
insights for students, teachers, and researchers, after
using a STEM transmedia PBL book and 3D
printing in the classroom.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The study and research was made possible in part by
the collaborative NSF grant #1510289 and the Fab
@ School NSF ITEST grant # 1030865.
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145
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