TLC @ McGill University - Using 3D Printing to Foster Self-Directed

Heather, a PhD Candidate, with research assistants, Evelyn and Celina, conducting school-based research.

While often used as a tool to develop academic content knowledge, 3D printing may also be used as a tool to develop self-directed learning skills (Pearson & Dubé, 2022). Heather, a PhD Candidate in the lab, examined how 3D printing could be used to augment key transferable skills, including self-directed learning. She partnered with a local all-girls high school and ran a 6-session 3D printing project across four grades (7-9, 11) in Winter 2024. To both guide and assess self-directed learning, Heather created a digital Design Process Notebooks for students as they worked through their projects. She and two research assistants, Celina and Evelyn, ran the study in the school while closely working with the two science teachers. After completing the study, they returned to deliver professional development sessions to set the teachers up to independently implement 3D printing activities in their classrooms. Her project was funded by the Faculty of Education's Innovate-Education Project Grant.