A robotics-based 3D modeling curriculum for K-12 education

Abstract

This paper presents a new curriculum designed for teaching 3D modeling and engineering design practices to K-12 students. In particular, the curriculum uses robotics to contextualize the teaching of mechanical engineering design concepts. As widely studied and suggested by new standards, such as the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), in order to be able to succeed in STEM related degrees and jobs, students need to be exposed as early as possible to concepts and practices typical to the world in which they are going to live and work. The standards particularly emphasize engineering design and its integration into the structure of K-12 science education. To fulfill this integration objective, the curriculum presented in this paper focuses on designing and 3D printing components for the Linkbot modular robots. Linkbots are educational robots developed at Barobo, Inc. in collaboration with the UC Davis C-STEM Center. Several other curricula have already been developed by the C-STEM Center to use these robots as a teaching tool in math classes and as an introduction to computer programming. This 3D modeling curriculum can be easily integrated with the robotics and computing ones, providing a deeper insight into the complexity of how different engineering disciplines interlace in the process of designing and programming a robot. Especially, it reinforces the concepts of 2D and 3D geometrical shapes, dimensioning of objects and combining elementary geometrical shapes to build more complex ones. The curriculum described in this paper is composed of six modules in which students can learn the basics and good practices of 3D modeling using Autodesk Inventor or SolidWorks, the modeling software commonly used in Mechanical Engineering design. A series of exercises then allows students to experiment on what they just learned. The curriculum was tested during two one-week-long summer camps held by the UC Davis C-STEM Center and is currently tested by two high schools associated with the Center. Results from surveys conducted after the summer camps are presented. They mainly show that students felt challenged by tasks typically performed by "real engineers" and proud of being able to design and 3D print their own idea. All the students felt that they were given the means to complete the assigned tasks.