FREE Curriculum: Using Emotional Investment and Empathy as a Way to Engage Students
August 20, 2024
For the past 10+ years, we have been a part of the continuously growing open source e-NABLE community made up of makers, educators, physicians, volunteers, students, creatives, problem solvers and fellow humans who are excited about using 3D printing technology to make a difference in the lives of others. They have helped thousands of individuals with limb differences by 3D printing free 3D printed hands and arms for free to those in need in over 140 countries around the globe.
The e-NABLE Community started back in 2012 when an puppet maker in the USA and a South African carpenter who had lost his fingers on his dominant hand, had worked together online and across the world to design the first functional prototype for what would be the first 3D printed prosthetic for a young boy who was born missing fingers and then shared it open-source for the world to take and improve the design.
Since the release of that first original design, there have been thousands of educators, students and schools who have adopted this project and used it in their classrooms to teach empathy, human centered design and how using their ideas and imaginations can help others.
One of these educators and e-NABLE volunteers, Lyndsey Wells, currently teaching AIS Math in the Hyde Park Central School District in grades K-5, has been working with this community since 2019. Lyndsey has donated countless hours to create e-NABLE based curriculum for K-12 students and has offered this all as open-source, free curriculum for anyone who would like to use it.
In this blog post we will share how you can access this project, give you some inside looks at the curriculum and share a bit more about how this project came to be.
How and Why Was This Curriculum Created?
Lyndsey shared, "My main focus (for introducing e-NABLE curriculums to her students) was using emotional investment as a way to engage students to participate in rigorous math, science and engineering practices. I met with teachers from different grade levels and customized the implementation process to meet their personalized goals for students. I then created timelines and resources to enhance the focus for each grade level."
The students, teachers, administrators and larger community was completely mind blown to realize that they have access to a 3D printing technology that can develop assistive devices to actually help others. They were inspired and they developed a deeper understanding of the different fields of engineering.
The e-NABLE Education Space
The e-NABLE Education Space is a growing, open source site developed by educators and e-NABLE professionals for educators interested in global collaboration, utilizing and designing technology integrated curriculum, with an e-NABLE focus, aligned to the rigor of the Next Generation Learning Standards.
e-NABLE lends students the opportunity to expand their understanding in areas such as:
- Individual Differences
- Geographical Features
- Global Customs/Culture
- Design Thinking
- Economic Resources
- Advanced Technology
- Environmental Factors
- Emotional Intelligence
FREE e-NABLE Curriculum for K-12
Design Thinking: Beginning with Empathy
Design Thinking is a mindset and approach to learning, collaboration, and problem solving. In practice, the design process is a structured framework for identifying challenges, gathering information, generating potential solutions, refining ideas, and testing solutions.
Design Thinking can be flexibly implemented; serving equally well as a framework for a course design or a roadmap for an activity or group project.
Grade 4: The Researchers and Reporters, ELA Focused
Student Learning Objective: With an English language arts focus, students will use self-generated questions to conduct research on past (history), present (district wide involvement), and future (robotics using soundwaves) aspects of the e-NABLE organization and ongoing initiatives to write news articles that they will broadcast to the larger community.
Students will gather information using direct sources, such as NewsELA articles written about 3D printed prosthetic hands, the e-NABLE website, and conduct interviews with professionals affiliated with the organization. In addition, students will 3D print and construct a prosthetic hand to write about and speak from direct experience.
Grade 6: The Social Engineers, Social Studies Focused
Student Learning Objective: “The Social Engineers” -- Students will consider the functional component of the design in relation to geographical location, cultural aspects, and environmental factors to address the needs of someone who lives in a different area of the world.
Students must include foundational evidence based on research for each component of their design, (for example, what type of filament they select, aesthetics, color, additional hardware etc.). In addition, students will research the best method to deliver the prosthetic (by flight, shipment, UPS. etc.)
Grade 7: The Mathematicians, Math Focused
Student Learning Objective: Students will consider the scaling and ratio of the prosthetic design in relation to the child’s age and arm circumference. Students will develop and conduct their own research method to critically analyze existing scaling charts to determine accuracy in currently utilized practices among e-NABLE candidates and volunteers.
Students will enter and display their data using Google Forms and Sheets to generate a line graph in which they can compare and contrast their findings against the research displayed in existing scaling charts. In addition, students will 3D print their own models according to the data and convert the scaling percentage ratio into a decimal format to conclude the difference in inches.
High School: The Designers, Studio Arts Focused
Student learning objective: Students will consider the personalized aesthetic component of each piece in regard to the child’s lifestyle, hobbies and interests. The challenging aspect is to make the prosthetic more visually appealing without compromising the functionality of the design. Students will use CAD software, slicing software and 3D printers to build their designs. Students are responsible for creating an interactive, digital showcase of their design process. This showcase should include each isolated element of their design with an explanation of how each piece contributes to the overall aesthetic of the personalized design.
Get Your e-NABLE Hand Kits!
Would you like to incorporate the e-NABLE Project into your classrooms? We have created assembly kits just for you!
This e-NABLE assembly materials kit includes all of the non-3D printed components needed to assemble any of the following designs, created by the e-NABLE volunteer community:
This kit also includes sufficient materials for producing the Unlimbited Arm or Kwawu Arm, except that additional velcro straps will be needed.
Skin Toned Materials for e-NABLE Hands and Arms
For those of you who are interested in creating more life like e-NABLE devices for recipients who prefer to blend in with more natural looking skin tone colors than stand out with vibrant colorful 3D printed hands, we offer our PETG material in four unique skin tone colors!
Shown above (from left to right): Light Tan, Desert Tan, Chocolate Rose, and Coffee Bean. PETG is easy to print like PLA, but it has a higher temperature resistance and improved strength. This makes it ideally suited for printing e-NABLE assistive devices. Click here to see these materials.
Do You Still Have Questions?
Are you interested in learning more about the e-NABLE Community or the curriculum available through the e-NABLE Educational Space? Do you need help finding the right 3D printer for your classroom? Feel free to reach out to us at info@shop3duniverse.org.