Abstract:

The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Ministry of Education vision includes the strategic importance of the teaching of advanced sciences and technology, space science, engineering, innovation, and the preparation of cohorts of future-ready agents of change and innovation equipped with lifelong learning habits, skills and dispositions. We designed two six-week pilot programs that ran simultaneously: Design for Additive Manufacturing for 9th grade students (n=15) and STEM Through Digital Fabrication for 13 technology (n=8), science (n=2) and mathematics (n=3) teachers using the acclaimed Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) FabLab program. The programs were facilitated by two faculty in mathematics and science education and an expert in digital fabrication and design thinking. The student program combined theoretical knowledge with practical insights into additive manufacturing (AM) technologies with topics covering 3D scanning, advanced 3D printing, and 3D design methodologies, with a thematic focus on wearable electronics. The STEM Through Digital Fabrication teacher program focused on integrating digital fabrication into STEM education, through a hands-on approach that emphasized design thinking and tool evaluation in collaborative learning environments.

Follow-up surveys, questionnaires and interviews to students and teachers focused on participants’:
(i) familiarity and usage of digital fabrication, (ii) the impact on students' learning and engagement, and
(iii) teachers’ development of self-confidence in integrating design thinking and digital fabrication in their teaching.

Preliminary findings revealed overwhelmingly positive feedback from students with 67% expressing a keen interest in engineering programs, 80% highly rating the quality of hands-on engagement, and 73% highly satisfied with the support and resources provided. For teachers, the program positively influenced their perspectives on integrating design thinking and digital fabrication into their teaching. Ten teachers (77%) reported feeling more optimistic about its integration, while two (15%) recognized the need for more training, and 1 (8%) acknowledged the limitations of digital tools. Teachers reported a considerable increase in their knowledge of digital fabrication tools and methods, and a greater emphasis on project-based learning, and interdisciplinary collaboration. They observed student improvement in the understanding of complex and abstract concepts, an increase in student engagement, motivation, enhanced collaboration, and teamwork. However, teachers also recognized multiple challenges in the implementation of design thinking and digital fabrication in the STEM classroom mostly due to limited access to necessary tools and materials, and difficulties in allocating sufficient time within the curriculum for fabrication activities. Despite these challenges, they were optimistic about the future of digital fabrication in STEM education, with 70% believing that will become central to STEM education within five years. Professional development emphasizing the importance of hands-on workshops and training sessions, resource-sharing and collaboration among schools and teachers to integrate digital fabrication into existing curricula, were found to be crucial for positively influencing teachers' perspectives on digital fabrication in the STEM classroom.

Keywords:

Technology education, digital fabrication, STEM education.