The role of productive failure in 3D printing in a middle school setting

In this research we explore the pedagogical affordances associated with the use of a 3D printer in a middle school classroom (11–12 years old). We introduced the 3D printer in a classroom where no one, including the teacher, had prior knowledge of 3D printing. Lessons using the 3D printer were designed to correspond with the mathematics curriculum and benefit students’ mathematics learning. The use of 3D printing as a technological tool for learning mathematics, in particular, led to numerous failures. Failure was not designed for in the lesson plans, but rather was a product of a malfunctioning new technology and the inexperience of the classroom teacher and students. These failures were deemed to be “productive” because of the way in which they inspired more learning and perseverance, rather than the way in which the task was initially conceptualized. Our study utilizes qualitative and quantitative methods as evidence. Implications for classroom instruction and further research will be discussed.