Open AccessIntegrating CAD, 3D-printing technology and oral communication to enhance students’ physics understanding and disciplinary literacy
Author(s) -
Hans Malmström,
Jonas Enger,
M. Karlsteen,
Jonathan Weidow
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
european journal of physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.421
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1361-6404
pISSN - 0143-0807
DOI - 10.1088/1361-6404/aba6bd
Subject(s) - discipline , set (abstract data type) , mathematics education , situated , engineering ethics , physics , pedagogy , psychology , engineering , computer science , sociology , artificial intelligence , social science , programming language
How do engineering physics students come to understand and share their physics learnings as a result of careful integration of oral communication with engineering skills like computer aided design and 3D-printing technology? Based in a sociocognitive theory of situated communication pedagogy, the action research conducted in this study set out to answer this research question in an introductory first-year course in engineering physics. A re-design intervention was planned, overseen, and evaluated by a teaching team comprising three physicists and a communication specialist. The findings—supported by student surveys, reflective field notes from the teachers’ observations, and a focus group interview with students—strongly indicate that the students’ structured oral engagement with disciplinary content confer learning benefits and promote the development of disciplinary (physics) literacy.