Engaging students in using 3D printing technology to enhance cognitive structures and thought processes relevant to engineering design

We investigated the thought processes and cognitive structures of senior highschool students and first-year engineering college students with respect to 3D printing-based robotic insect design. First, we conducted a teaching experiment, followed by in-depth interviews, flow-maps and meta-listening activities, to assess the students’ thought processes and cognitive structures with respect to engineering design. This paper presents and discusses the results of this study and the findings can serve as a reference for the future design, development and implementation of related curricula.

[1]  Greg J. Strimel,et al.  Positioning Technology and Engineering Education as a Key Force in STEM Education , 2016 .

[2]  Cynthia J. Atman,et al.  Engineering Design Processes: A Comparison of Students and Expert Practitioners , 2007 .

[3]  Sean Brophy,et al.  Advancing Engineering Education in P‐12 Classrooms , 2008 .

[4]  Michelle H. Land,et al.  Full STEAM Ahead: The Benefits of Integrating the Arts Into STEM , 2013, Complex Adaptive Systems.

[5]  Micah S. Stohlmann,et al.  Modeling in Engineering: The Role of Representational Fluency in Students' Conceptual Understanding , 2013 .

[6]  Moncef L. Nehdi.  Crisis of civil engineering education in information technology age: analysis and prospects , 2001, 31st Annual Frontiers in Education Conference. Impact on Engineering and Science Education. Conference Proceedings (Cat. No.01CH37193).

[7]  O. R. Anderson,et al.  A flow-map method of representing cognitive structure based on respondents' narrative using science content , 1993 .

[8]  Chin-Chung Tsai,et al.  Probing students' cognitive structures in science: the use of a flow map method coupled with a meta-listening technique , 2001 .

[9]  Deborah A. Fields,et al.  An Assessment Instrument of Technological Literacies in Makerspaces and FabLabs , 2017 .

[10]  Chin-Chung Tsai,et al.  Exploring students' cognitive structures in learning science: a review of relevant methods , 2002 .

[11]  Hod Lipson,et al.  Fabricated: The New World of 3D Printing , 2013 .