Primary School Develop a Technology for PBL

Grand Avenue Primary School develop technology for project-based learning to build soft skills in addition to technical skills.

Holly from The CREATE Education Project shares how the loan of their 3D printers has helped students to see mistakes in their 3D modelling and help correct them.

Grand Avenue Primary and Nursery provides children and families with a wide range of experiences and opportunities. Supporting children in creating their own opportunities, fostering a sense that through hard work and determination, anything is possible. By sharing the same ethos as CREATE Education, the school benefitted from the CREATE Education 3D Printer loan scheme to enable their pupils to improve their 3D modelling skills through hands-on learning. Ultimately preparing them for the next stage of their education and improving their outcomes. 
“The children had great fun designing their 3D models and watching them come to life in the 3D printer. They were creative and fully engaged in the unit thanks to the 3D printer. Their personalities came through in their work, which was infinitely better than it would have been without the 3D printer!”  – Steve Sharp, Teacher at Grand Avenue Primary School.
Challenge 
Within education, teaching 3D modelling can prove difficult without being able to actually print the children’s designs. Children are not able to identify the potential issues or flaws of their design unless they have had an opportunity to print it and work out what went wrong and how it could be improved next time. 
In addition to this, pupils feel a strong sense of motivation and pride in their work, be knowing the final piece would be printed and therefore a tangible object they can take with them after the unit is complete. 
Solution 
Having the printer enabled the teachers at Grand Avenue to troubleshoot pupils’ designs, motivate the children to improve on their 3D modelling skills and give them a sense of awe and wonder in the topic. 
Results 
The teachers were able to identify the issues in the children’s 3D designs as they weren’t printing correctly. We wouldn’t have had this insight if we were only able to view their 3D designs without printing them. This enabled the educators to give the children more detailed feedback which in turn enabled them to make more effective improvements to their work. Where possible, teachers made a second print of some of the failed prints after the children had had an opportunity to adapt their work. This taught the children the iterative process of editing and adapting their 3D modelling work in a more effective way than they would have done without the printing process. 
The children thoroughly enjoyed having their creations come to life and were fascinated at watching the printer in action. This heightened the awe and wonder aspect of the topic for the children and further motivated them to succeed in their designs. 
Benefits 
The various benefits to children’s learning include: 

• Improved motivation. 
• Resilience in the designing process. 
• Awe and wonder in the topic.
• Making 3D modelling more relevant in the real world – deepened understanding of how this can be used outside of the classroom.
• Staff able to identify design flaws and provide more effective feedback in the editing process.
• Children had something tangible at the end of the unit. Children were able to see the printing process in action and begin to understand how a 3D printer works – what the filament looks like, where it goes, how it gets applied to create the print etc. 

By using 3D printing technologies, Grand Avenue Primary School is able to improve pupils’ engagement within the classroom. 
Are you interested in trialling a 3D printer for a period of 4-weeks?
Apply for our FREE 3D Printer loan scheme here.

The author

Holly Neal

Holly is Marketing Executive at CREATE Education. As a former Architecture and Environmental Design student, she is passionate about sustainable technologies, their ability to facilitate efficient designs and create less waste. She loves seeing 3D printing and Industry 4.0 technologies potential to inspire the next generation of innovators through STEAM, to change the world - particularly alleviating our impact on the environment.