A mixed-methods study of school students as trendsetters on co-designing 3D-printed kits for interdisciplinary STEM education

Secondary students in Malaysia turn away from STEM partly because the curriculum content is abstract and disconnected from real life. This mixed-methods study evaluated a Student-as-Trendsetter framework in which 10 gifted students codesigned 3D-printed STEM kits and mentored 88 peers. The classroom participants highly rated the peer-led sessions (M = 4.14–4.57), including the trendsetters’ expertise (M = 4.35). The trendsetters’ self-rated technical competency decreased significantly after the project (from 4.30–4.90 to 1.80–3.00; p < .001). Reflective journals showed that this decline was a healthy recalibration: moving from digital design to physical fabrication exposed real engineering constraints and built grounded, resilient confidence. The framework offers a low-cost route to engaging in student-led STEM learning.