Abstract:

As part of the Erasmus+ programme project “Didactech: approaching the latest technology to secondary students with obstacles as a tool for their inclusion and their access to the technological labor market while they help primary schools without resources”, we have developed an innovative methodological strategy that brings science and technology to secondary school students, particularly those facing barriers or learning difficulties, through the creation of 3D printing technology laboratories (“Techlab”). The starting point is a simple observation: the digital and technological divide remains a significant barrier in schools in areas facing greater socio-economic challenges. In many of these schools, technology is not introduced with the same intensity or support, leading to inequalities in access to science education and in the future opportunities of their pupils. The Techlab strategy has emerged precisely in response to this inequality.

Secondary school students taking part in a Techlab join a group (of around 10 pupils) where they get to put their creative skills into practice and explore ways in which they can use them to help build a fairer society. Along the way, they will see how developing their skills and knowledge in mathematics, design and technology opens up a world of possibilities for them.

The Techlabs are equipped with 3D printers. In these technology laboratories, students learn through laboratory set-ups produced in-house at the Techlab (molecular models, pulley and lever systems, drive chains, hydraulic circuits, anatomical models, etc.). The students have designed, built, and tested functional prototypes such as pulley systems and hoists to measure mechanical advantage, as well as telegraphs and drawbridges operated by syringes to demonstrate Pascal's principle, among other things. Students interact with and handle concrete representations of concepts from STEM subjects. In some cases, it will be the teacher who creates and builds the necessary components, whilst on other occasions it will be the students themselves who are directly involved in the design, experimentation and construction.

Participation in a Techlab is expected to promote a special motivation for scientific and technological learning among students. For this reason, we conducted an evaluation of student motivation. The hypothesis of the study is that participation in the Techlab is a significant motivating factor for students towards their future studies, particularly in science and technology.

In this paper, we present a study on motivation conducted in secondary schools from Poland, France, Greece and Spain. The study includes a group from each school that underwent a pilot test using the Techlab methodology and a control group at the same educational level. The responses are anonymised and collected in two sealed envelopes, one for the analysis group and one for the control group. The study seeks to answer the question: Does completing the internship using the Techlab methodology have a positive influence on students' motivation towards their studies? It is based on a 34-question survey, following the ACRS model of the Course Interest Survey (Keller 2010), adapting the language of the questions to the level of secondary education.

Keywords:

School, secondary education, technology, methodology, research, students, motivation.