Nearly all students from low鈥慽ncome households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education.
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When math is all around us, why is it so hard for students to picture it? Why is, "When will we ever use this?" the perennial question asked in math classes? Perhaps the 2D-worksheet math is to blame. When do kids see adults doing a math worksheet? Never.
Students need to DO math in the way that adults DO math. Adults use math in their lives and in their jobs to make decisions, and to design and build things. In order for students to "picture math" they too need to use math to make decisions and to build and design things. I believe that 3D modeling (and building real things through 3D printing) is one of the most powerful ways to "see" math. It is an incredible thing to see not only an x axis and a y axis, but also a z axis! Drafting on a computer screen with points, lines and geometric shapes, honing the skills of measurement, living WITHIN a Cartesian plane in order to make a REAL object is an experience like no other. As the 3D printer head extrudes melted plastic in the exact place on the 3 dimensional plane that the students coded, the power of creation is ignited. The math is as essential to the process as breathing. This is DOING math. The potential for creativity is infinite and the connection to real-world work is tangible.
The Fusion 3 F410 3D printer is perfect for this project. It is fast and reliable. It is able to handle mass printing for whole class assignments, entrepreneurial projects, and school-wide design competitions. It is large enough for our robotics teams to be able to print custom parts. It will be well-used!
About my class
When math is all around us, why is it so hard for students to picture it? Why is, "When will we ever use this?" the perennial question asked in math classes? Perhaps the 2D-worksheet math is to blame. When do kids see adults doing a math worksheet? Never.
Students need to DO math in the way that adults DO math. Adults use math in their lives and in their jobs to make decisions, and to design and build things. In order for students to "picture math" they too need to use math to make decisions and to build and design things. I believe that 3D modeling (and building real things through 3D printing) is one of the most powerful ways to "see" math. It is an incredible thing to see not only an x axis and a y axis, but also a z axis! Drafting on a computer screen with points, lines and geometric shapes, honing the skills of measurement, living WITHIN a Cartesian plane in order to make a REAL object is an experience like no other. As the 3D printer head extrudes melted plastic in the exact place on the 3 dimensional plane that the students coded, the power of creation is ignited. The math is as essential to the process as breathing. This is DOING math. The potential for creativity is infinite and the connection to real-world work is tangible.
The Fusion 3 F410 3D printer is perfect for this project. It is fast and reliable. It is able to handle mass printing for whole class assignments, entrepreneurial projects, and school-wide design competitions. It is large enough for our robotics teams to be able to print custom parts. It will be well-used!