The effect of using 3d printer in science education on students' attitudes and opinions

Mankind is experiencing the age of technology in recent times. It is very important that individuals who are educated in this process have the ability to follow the technology, understand the natural sciences, observe and interpret their environment, make use of the information obtained from the sciences in the solution of the problems they face, and most importantly be a science literate. Depending on this situation, the aim of the research is mı Does the use of 3D printers in science education have an effect on students' attitudes and opinions about 3D printers? ". Sub-problems determined due to this problem are; • Do the attitude scales developed against the use of 3D printers in science education differ according to gender? • Does the attitude scale developed against the use of 3D printers in science education differ on the grade level? The sample of the study consists of 7th and 8th grade students of two secondary schools in Malatya in 2017-2018. The seventh grade students consisted of 20 girls and 33 boys. 8th grade students consist of 28 female and 27 male students. As a data collection tool, Attitude Scale against the Use of 3D Printers in Science Education was developed. Another data collection tool used is kullanıl Students' opinions about 3D printer. Open-ended questions and students' opinions about the importance of 3D printer in science education were asked. The students expressed their feelings and thoughts after the activity. In both class levels, the practitioner first used the method of flat expression. During the course of 10 weeks, the lessons were practiced with 3D printer. At the end of the 10-week period, a questionnaire was administered to measure awareness among students and the data were analyzed with SPSS (17.00) package program. In order to test the problem situation, the standard deviations of the scores and the difference between the mean scores of these scores were calculated. The quantitative data obtained were evaluated with SPSS packet program at 0.05 significance level. As a result of the research, a significant difference was found between girls and boys in favor of girls. Qualitative data were subjected to descriptive analysis. As a result of the research, it was determined that the students had very positive opinions about the use of 3D printer in science education and it was found that it contributed positively to the awareness levels of the students against the use of 3D printer in science education. Key words: 3D printer, science education, attitude scale