The Effect of Teaching Materials Produced Using 3D Printing in Social Studies Education on the Motivation, Attitudes, and Achievement of Fifth-Grade Students

This investigation primarily explores the pedagogical implications of integrating instructional artifacts manufactured via three-dimensional (3D) printing technologies within fifth-grade social studies education, specifically monitoring shifts in student motivation, subject-directed attitudes, and academic outcomes. Using a quasi-experimental approach, the study employed pre-test and post-test non-equivalent control group design. The research cohort involved 52 fifth-grade learners from a public secondary institution in Kütahya province, divided into an experimental group (N = 26) and a control group (N = 26). The instructional interventions spanned a four-week timeline (comprising 10 lesson hours) focused on the ‘Journey to the Past’ unit within the ‘Culture and Heritage’ thematic strand. Data acquisition relied on a subject-matter academic achievement test, alongside standardized metrics capturing course motivation and attitudinal orientations. Quantitative analyses were conducted via the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U technique. The diagnostic outcomes revealed that the 3D-printing supported paradigm produced a highly significant, large-scale positive shift in students’ post-test academic achievement (U = 0.00, Z = -6.19, p < .001, r = .86) and a substantial moderate-to-large expansion in course motivation (U = 143.5, Z = -3.528, p < .001, r = .49). Conversely, no statistically significant divergence was recorded regarding students’ post-test attitudes toward the course (p > .05), mirroring baseline trends. Ultimately, these findings indicate that while tangible 3D physical models serve as powerful cognitive catalysts that markedly accelerate academic mastery and motivational drive, structural attitudinal shifts require more prolonged exposure.