3D modeling and printing in early childhood education: An example of a practice

In this study, an educational practice for preschool children in which 3D modeling and printing technologies were integrated within the framework of the theme of "The Buildings We Live in: Our Houses" was carried out and the effects of this practice on children's learning of geometric objects and the acquisitions for children and families were examined. The participants of the study included 15 children aged 4-6 years and enrolled in a kindergarten within a state primary school in Bozüyük District of Bilecik Province in the 2022-2023 academic year and parents of the children. A mixed method intervention design guided this study. In order to examine the effect of educational activities on children's learning of 3-dimensional geometric objects (cube, sphere, cylinder, pyramid and cone), a single group pretest-posttest experimental design, one of the weak experimental designs, was used. Whether there was a difference between the answers given by the children during the pre-assessment and post-assessment was examined with the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test using SPSS 29.0.1. The acquisitions of educational activities for participating children and parents were revealed through qualitative data collection techniques including semi-structured interviews, parent-child sharing notebooks, 'How did I feel?' table and personal information. As a result of the research, there was a statistically significant increase in children's correct naming of geometric objects after participation in the 3D modeling and printing training. In addition, it was discovered that the educational practices provided children with gains in the dimensions of knowledge, skills, emotions and dispositions. It was concluded that parents had positive gains in the dimensions of knowledge, awareness and emotion at the end of these educational activities.