3D printing in education as a strategy to strengthen STEAM competencies: a systematic review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18181198Keywords:
educational technology, active learning, science educationAbstract
3D printing has gained increasing relevance in educational contexts as a resource to support teaching and learning processes aimed at the development of STEAM competencies. In this context, the objective of the present study was to systematically analyze recent scientific production on the educational use of 3D printing, identifying thematic trends and predominant pedagogical approaches within the specialized literature. To this end, a systematic review of documents indexed in the Scopus database was conducted, considering a final corpus of 662 publications corresponding to the period 2020–2025, selected through sequential exclusion criteria based on year of publication, subject area, and document type. The analysis was carried out at the level of abstracts and author keywords, which made it possible to address a large corpus without resorting to full-text analysis, in accordance with the objectives of the study. The methodological strategy included a qualitative analysis aimed at identifying recurring thematic axes. The results reveal a predominance of studies related to engineering education and additive manufacturing, in which 3D printing is primarily conceived as a tool for design-based learning and prototyping. In addition, a growing presence of pedagogical approaches associated with active learning and the STEAM paradigm is observed, although the integration of artistic and creative dimensions remains limited. Overall, the findings suggest a transition from an instrumental perspective toward more pedagogically oriented approaches, opening opportunities for future research aimed at a more balanced implementation of STEAM education.
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