Grant Report: Fall 2023-2024
Indian Creek Road Public School
Lambton Kent District School Board
Indian Creek’s $500 STEM Camp Foundation Grant was used to buy Ultimaker Filament for use in our Math classes for their Tiny House Projects.
Grade 7/8 students have the opportunity to work on two different styles of models, exterior buildings – and interior floor plans – both of which required slightly different workflows.
This project is directly connected to a number of different strands in Math – most notably Geometry and Spatial Sense, Measurement and Number Sense and Numeration. Exposure to this kind of project resulted in increased engagement, especially amongst some students who find it difficult to engage in traditional Math activities. It also led to an uptick in cross-curricular skills, many of which will be particularly useful in high-school Technology and Engineering classes.
The Big Takeaway
Students can learn to use real-world blueprinting and CAD skills without having access to a 3D printer, but without the ability to prototype their models, it can be difficult to assess and evaluate structural issues and flaws in a design. Models can look fine on a screen when a user has the ability to zoom in and out of the environment. If the student has missed foundational connections between lines and vertices in a design, the resulting print will fail, so being able to iteratively prototype models to find these problems and produce solutions is an important part of the process when preparing students with 21st Century STEAM skills.
The STEM Camp Foundation grant allowed us the flexibility to access the resources we needed for this project. Indian Creek Road students have gained new skills related to design and manufacturing and are well-positioned to pass on their knowledge to future cohorts of students and peers. We are extremely appreciative of the STEM Camp Foundation’s ongoing commitment to the advancement of education and 21st Century Skills and the work they do to equip teachers with the tools that they need to impact their students.
Sincerely
Colin Pattison
Grade 7/8, Indian Creek Road Public School Teacher
February 2, 2024