Can you build a hand?
Cumberland 4th graders wondered that exact question after reading a Scholastic News article about Jordan Reeves, a girl born with limb differences who designed her own 3D printed prosthetic that shoots glitter! Upon reading, the wonderings started a buzz of class discussion.
Can anyone build a prosthetic? How does the hand work? How does a 3D printer work? These inquiries led the class on a journey of research to find out more.
In the process, they learned about a nonprofit called e-NABLE, a global network of volunteers who design/print/ship 3D printed prosthetics for those in need. Since the organization is open source, the designs for the prosthetics are available for free online, and even could be printed from home 3D printers.
Realizing that the class was hooked on this topic, I decided to turn it into an authentic PBL (Project Based Learning) experience, guiding student's inquiries through research and ending with a product/projects for an audience. Since Cumberland has converted the former computer lab into the school's Makerspace, teachers have been adapting their curriculum and lessons to include opportunities for students to design and make. Riding on the motivation and curiosities about 3D printed prosthetics seemed like the perfect opportunity to foster design thinking skills.
But one problem... I don't know much about 3D printing! In former years, I may have resorted to simply showing some videos or having the students do some research. But with such high interest in the topic, I realized it was time to call in some community experts! In an effort to have simply a guest speaker or someone to share more expertise with the students, I put out an all call to our class community, staff, and PTA, as well as reaching out to educators on Twitter.
Email to the community:
A Personalized Field Trip
It sure pays to ask for help! To my surprise, we not only settled for a guest speaker, but a few parents reached out to share that they could help us PRINT some 3D hand parts! We found out that one parent, Ron Li, even worked for a local company called Carbon, a leader in revolutionizing 3D printed solutions. He connected us with their education coordinator and they offered to design a personal field trip for our class to come to visit and see 3D printing live at their Redwood City headquarters!
We now had a few extra layers to add to our once small project. While students were working on sharing their research and low-tech 3D hands for the science fair, parents were also 3D printing the parts for hands that we could assemble at school, while also planning a field trip to Carbon!
When it was time for the field trip, Carbon was so accommodating to answer our students' questions while also taking their knowledge and wonderings to the next level. When we got to Carbon, students received printed guest badges with their names (How official!) and students got to hang out in the front lobby. We were taken to the board room first, where students received a presentation about Carbon's history and technology for 3D printing. Seeing the dangling feet in the large board room chairs just reminded me how "little" these 4th graders are, but that their curiosities at this age may spark a future career! Next, Carbon's education team split our class into three groups for some exploration and deeper learning. One group stayed in the board room and got to learn about all the textures that could be printed using Carbon's special technology. Students got to touch and feel the peculiar textures and even got to squish the lattice design that is used in Adidas's newest FutureCraft 4D footwear and Riddell's revolutionary football helmet liners. The next group got to tour the facilities and see Carbon's employees in action. Students learned that it was definitely a team effort with support from all aspects including the programmers to the chemists to the marketing team who promoted their products. A student's favorite experience was getting to see "The Vault." The Vault is a special room that housed all of Carbon's prototypes from the early years with little funding, to more recent designs with millions of dollars of investments. If you've had the privilege of stepping foot in a Silicon Valley workplace, the high presence of creative whiteboard art, snacks galore, and even dogs at work got these students excited to get a job! Finally, the highlight for most students was seeing a live 3D printing in action. Unlike most 3D printers that use additive technology (think layer by layer melted plastic, so to speak), Carbon uses Digital Light Synthesis in a process that utilizes UV rays to cure liquid resin into solid parts. We got to see a bone model go from digital design to 3D printed structure in about 5 minutes! WOW! The trip even ended with a special visit from Carbon's CEO, Joe DeSimone, who gave students some great advice about never giving up and always staying curious.
Was it worth it?
ABSOLUTELY. 
As a teacher, I had to debate... do I stick with my original plans according to our curriculum map, or jump on this wonderful learning opportunity that was student driven? I chose the latter. Does it mean we totally stopped everything else? Not at all. Our typical routine of novel studies, book club discussions, and math investigations continued. But for those few months, our informational reading and writing were woven into research about 3D printed prosthetics. Our science and engineering practices came through the method of learning about the human hand and how tendons control our fingers' movements. Students designed low-tech prototypes of hands that could hold or grip an object in our school makerspace as we learned about the design thinking process. Our history learning expanded beyond typical 4th grade CA history and delved into a global history of prosthetics (Did you know that the first recorded prosthetic came in the form of an artificial toe found on a mummy from Ancient Egypt?!) and timelines of the history of 3D printers. Our technology integration came through the form of finding the right Google tools to share student research. Would it be a slideshow? A doc? A spreadsheet? Students have learned all of these Google apps attached to their SESD gmail accounts and now had the opportunity to apply their learning for the purpose of sharing information about their research and project. Selecting the right tool for the purpose and audience is key, and such an important skill to build in our growing technology age.
The entire process was a hit! Students who might not be engaged in typical academic reading/writing tasks were now asking if they could research during their choice time. Students who have struggled with perseverance and growth mindset now spent hours meticulously using tweezers to string elastic through 3D printed fingers. Students who have argued out on the playground at recess collaborated side-by-side on prototypes since there was a shared goal and product to create. This 3-month inquiry project touched on so many teachable moments ranging from academic skills to social-emotional learning.
Our 3D printing project has been the highlight of the year for students, and one of the most memorable experiences in my ten years of teaching. It all started with letting go of perceived expectations ("we're supposed to work _____ at this time" or "But it's not a topic covered in state testing") and instead opened up teaching and learning to be responsive to student curiosity and motivation. Students probably did more learning in these past few months based on discovery ("How do I...? What does it mean...? What happens if...?") than if I had tried to directly teach those same skills with standard 4th-grade content. Most importantly, they got to see an idea come to fruition, with hard work, patience, and asking for help. These are the skills of an innovator. These are the traits we want for the next generation.
Teachers- if you're debating whether to take the risk... just do it. Dive in! If you learn alongside your students and ask for help, you won't be going at it alone. Modeling the learning process is exactly the growth mindset we hope to foster in our students, so we have to give ourselves permission to do the same. You'll make mistakes. You'll adventure through uncharted territories. You'll stretch yourself as a teacher AND learner in ways you couldn't have imagined. But most importantly, you won't be disappointed.
Parents- If you're wondering, "What should I do to help my child be successful?" Start with an inquiry. Find a topic they're curious about. Help them research more about the topic (Newsela is a great resource for adapting news articles to children's reading levels). Simply let them explore and prototype. When they build/make and fail, they get to reflect on what worked and what didn't, and how they might re-iterate to improve on their design. Don't stop your child from experiencing the struggle. When we as adults jump in and rescue too soon, we deprive children of the learning opportunities of reflection and fixing their mistakes. And finally, give them an authentic audience. Let them design and share with someone. Let them reflect on their learning and teach about their new knowledge and skills to someone else. Being successful in school doesn't have to mean worksheets and test prep. It could (and should) be authentic tasks that require students to step outside their comfort zone, seek information, build skills, and share their learning.
Want to Learn More About 3D Printing/Prosthetics?
- Jesus Huerta did this project with his class and created a website so YOU CAN TOO! Check out his work at --> mrhuertasclass.weebly.com
- He's leading a workshop this Saturday, June 1st for FREE for Bay Area Educators. Check out the STEM Summit at KCI (Krause Center for Innovation) -->
- Valerie Perez also did the same with her students. Check out her Twitter site. Both of these amazing educators are worth a follow!
Here's the sketchnote I created to document our experience!
