Abstract:

3D printing is currently very popular among those interested in technology. For interested parties, 3D printer kits are already available on the market, so we can also find them in households. Teachers at schools follow these trends and students often learn about the issue of 3D printing at schools, especially in interest groups. Currently, 3D printing is mainly used in teaching by information technology teachers. These teachers focus too much on the computer scientist's view of 3D printer technology and neglect other aspects that can lead to the development of students' skills in other areas as well. However, 3D printing technology can be used in combination with designated graphic programs in other subjects such as physics, mathematics, geometry from the group of general education subjects. 3D printing can then be used very effectively in technical high schools in subjects such as construction and technical graphics or mechanics. In this article, the authors first research how 3D printing is used and then propose alternative ways of using 3D printing in STEM teaching and in the creation of relationships between subjects. The article describes the use of 3D printing in problem tasks and projects in the integrated teaching of geometry, physics, mathematics and mechanics in secondary schools. In the first part of the pedagogical research carried out in secondary schools, the assumption was confirmed that the teachers using 3D printers in teaching are primarily informatics teachers who focus on the IT side of the issue (for example, they explain what model formats we use for 3d printing).
One of the ways to creatively use 3D printing in teaching is problem-based teaching based on experience from engineering practice and working with product prototypes, i.e. the student receives a finished but non-functional product or a technical plan of a non-functional product and has to propose a way to put it into operation. These can be simple mechanical toys such as a donkey that moves its ears or relatively sophisticated constructions such as a simple combination lock. The student must analyze the geometry of the given product, perform a single calculation to reveal the cause of its malfunction and propose a suitable modification of the mechanism, which he then prints on a 3D printer. Sometimes several attempts are needed to produce a fully functional prototype of a toy product. The article describes several such tasks for students and describes experiences from classes in which students worked on similar projects. The teaching was carried out in the 8th and 9th grade at primary and secondary schools.

Keywords:

3D print, prototyping, STEM education, mechanics, geometry.