NEWTON Fab Lab Initiative: A Small-Scale Pilot for STEM Education
Abstract: This paper presents the NEWTON Fab Lab Initiative that aims at promoting the concept of curriculum-based fabrication laboratories (Fab Labs) to boost students’ interest in STEM. A small-scale pilot was carried out in a primary school in Ireland, as part of the European Horizon 2020 NEWTON project, to assess the impact of using curriculum-based Fab Labs on students' motivation and affective state in K-12 education. 29 sixth-grade students took part in the pilot that consisted of modelling and fabricating 3D ceramic vases. Motivation and affective state questionnaires were provided to students before and after using the NEWTON Fab Lab technologies. Results show statistically significant improvements in terms of students' interest in science classes and students’ engagement. Results also show a statistically significant drop in students’ boredom after using the NEWTON Fab Lab technologies.