Module 2.3: Curriculum Alignment - 3D Printing

Process:

For activity 2.3, I designed a set of trout eggs and alevin to use as teaching aids during our Trout in the Classroom project. The trout are interesting to students, but lack a physical component necessary for engagement and understanding in younger children. Taking inspiration from tactiles used during gallery tours in museums to help make art more accessible to viewers, I decided to create a set of tactiles that students can use to experience the texture and movement of the trout at the single-eyed egg, double-eyed egg, and alevin stages.

I used TinkerCad and began using the free drawing tool to add a vein to a sphere.

I added a half-sphere to the surface of the larger sphere at the end of the vein to create the single-eyed egg. I duplicated this egg and added a second half sphere next to the first to make the double-eyed egg stage. This took a couple of tries because the second half sphere was not combining at an equal depth as the first. It might have worked better if I had a larger sphere to two pre-placed smaller spheres and combined the shapes.

The third stage, Alevin, is a hatched trout resembling a tadpole. Its belly has a large yolk sac attached to it that will remain intact for a few weeks while the nutrients are fully absorbed. Only the tail moves on the alevin, allowing it to dart forward but not swim around. This was the perfect opportunity to practice making an interlocking joint to show the restricted movement of the tail. I chose a ball and socket joint and built the alevin in two pieces. One piece contained the head, yolk sac, and socket end of the joint, and the second contained the tail with the ball end of the joint. It took a few tries to pull a cone into a symmetrical shape and to attach a centered ball joint.

We printed the eggs in orange and the alevin in white. The joint fit nicely and allowed for a movement that accurately mimics that of an alevin. The tactile quality of the eggs was nice, but it was hard to see the eyes. It would be interesting to make a second round of eggs that opened with hinges and allowed the inside of the egg to be explored. This could be a cool opportunity to use bio-plastic to make a pliable inner tactile.

Video of Alevin Model Movement

Reflection:

Are you planning to use the fabricated object in your classroom? If so, how?

I like the tactile I created, but I would like to continue developing the shape and functionality before introducing it as a manipulative. If I could print the outer shapes with a clear filament, and then the inner contents with a bright filament, I think it would be a better teaching aid since much of the exploration at this point in the trout’s development is about what’s inside the egg.

Think on a learning activity involving 3D printing. How could it be aligned with your curriculum / standard? What are the challenges?

It would be interesting to have third graders design a model of mammals in tinkercad and 3-D print them for their mammal expo at the end of the year.

I think that they might also find creating organic shapes challenging, but I would be interested in testing out the lesson. We would only have the budget for single color processing, so focusing heavily on physical traits like texture and body parts could help to support building observational skills.

Alternatively, having them describe their mammal into an AI app such as meshy could be an interesting opportunity to build both their observational and descriptive narrative skills.

The cost of materials are the biggest challenge for 3-D printing at MCS.

Have you started an educational portfolio? Why or why not? . In your opinoin which are the advantages of having these education portfolios? How do evaluate success a learning activity and how do you keep track of possible modification/improvements ideas?

I document my work personally, partly because we are responsible for sending monthly check-ins to families and I also leave myself notes for the next year as determine what works and what needs to be changed. These are internal and incomplete documentations of my work, because often a lack of time gets in the way. I still find the documentation valuable as I’m planning for the next year’s lessons, because sometimes after an entire year has gone by, I’ve already forgotten the details what I tried in September. I tend to mostly document in narrative but will leave photos as needed.

After this experience, I would like to try to document my work in an online portfolio.