If you were to spend a day in any classroom, you’d know how hard it is to keep students engaged and interested. The teachers at Red Hook’s Patrick F. Daly School of the Arts are dedicated to reinforcing lessons and concepts through academic projects that are creative and multi-dimensional. Through the federally-funded Magnet Grant, STEM educator Jenna Utter was able to make projects more dynamic, interactive, and enjoyable for her students with 3D printing.
With the help of her classroom MakerSpace, Utter is able to inspire student curiosity, encourage innovation, and sustain focus across grade levels. Grades 2-5 are challenged with a 3D print project that incorporate various areas of STEM, helping them to connect concepts across disciplines. Students are grouped into teams of six to design the project, and then partner off to model their print on TinkerCAD. This engaging approach to STEM innovation keeps students encouraged and motivated.
Utter’s MakerSpace consists of three MakerBot® Replicator® Minis, one MakerBot Replicator 3D Printer (5th Gen), and one MakerBot Replicator 2. The students use them on a regular basis, often feeling a sense of accomplishment after their print is completed. “It’s fun in a way. It feels really rewarding when your thing gets printed and you get to take it home,” says Amiya Herrera, a 5th grader in Utter’s class. There’s an assortment of 3D-printed project highlights from Utter’s lesson plans, including models of earthquake simulations, LED pins, and even prototypes of benches that they’ll be getting for the school courtyard!
To learn more about what these second, third, fourth, and fifth graders are making to explore STEM, download this case study!
Courtesy of MakerBot.
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