Case Study 2: Planning and teaching for effective learning
Contextual Background (c.50 words):
Within 3D printing we face the challenge of using a lot of technical industry specific terms and vocab, which can be a challenge to students without prior 3D printing and modelling experience, and also for those for whom English is not a first language who may know the words but not the translation. (53 words)
Evaluation (c.100 words):
Currently, student’s first point of interaction with 3D printing terms is often via our online inductions on Moodle. The inductions serve as a starting point for printing, but still use some technical terms that would be unfamiliar to students who have never modelled before. While most students can follow the inductions and instructions, they are clearly not 100% effective as some will still come in confused for their booking. I think the inductions serve their purpose to pass on info regarding how we operate as a workshop, but they currently leave the onus on the student to research what they don’t understand or know regarding 3D modelling. (107 words)
Moving forwards (c.350 words)
I think in addition to inductions focused on booking printers, there should be an additional online introduction on the basics of 3D printing and modelling. This could contain a glossary of terms, with visual examples to explain terms like polygon, open mesh, closed mesh, sealed model, shell, overhang, mesh density, support structure, and many more. This would not need to be mandatory in order to book, but would act as an informal intro which might be more approachable than going straight in to the induction.
I believe having the illustrated glossary of terms in poster format hung up in the 3D print workshop would also help, as we’d be able to point to visual examples of the terms we’re using. This would provide a concrete reference for the students to understand the term in relation to their own work and whatever problem we may be trying to serve.
We could additionally distribute these glossary posters to other spaces around the university, such as the digital space, where students also go to get help with their 3D models. This would ensure parity with terms used across departments, and also hopefully allow students to better explain their projects to technicians there, and technicians to understand the specific requirements of models for 3D printing.
So far, the implementation of the mandatory online inductions have mostly worked and mostly enabled students to come to us with their file prepared. This is a higher success rate than our previous inductions on ORB, which were just paragraphs that people could skip if they wanted. I believe that the students who fall through the gaps of making it through an induction without fully understanding would be helped by having the shorter online glossary introduction too as this would help them to understand parts of the induction they may not comprehend. The final few students who are still struggling when they come to us for the booking will be helped via the printed out glossary of terms, as we can use this to communicate the fixes they may need to do on their models, and explain what we require in order for a print to work. (358 words)