It Takes a Community: Building Meaningful Learning Experiences for UIC Students

Introduction

"3D printing has become a valuable tool for occupational therapy practitioners, enabling the creation of cost-effective, customized, low-tech adaptive equipment across a wide range of practice settings. It also encourages client collaboration in the design process, enhancing the personal and meaningful nature of therapeutic interventions." – Toni Van Denend (OTD, OTR/N) and Caitlin Smith (OTD, OTR/L, CLT-UE)

This new trend sparked discussions among faculty in the Department of Occupational Therapy at UIC’s College of Applied Health Sciences about how best to train OT students to use this emerging technology. The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE®) Standards mandate equitable training, with Standard B.3.8 emphasizing students’ ability to grade and adapt processes or environments. OT Faculty and practitioners recognized that building student confidence with this technology would require collaboration with professionals already using 3D printing in practice. This need prompted a partnership with the Digital Fabrication Lab within UIC Library’s Digital Scholarship Hub.

For Heejoung, this collaboration presented an exciting opportunity. It would help OT students to apply 3D fabrication technologies in clinical and community contexts to address disability-related issues. It would also create teaching opportunities for her student staff at the Digital Scholarship Hub.

"My mission includes training student assistants to become inclusive and responsible leaders in their respective fields. I strive to show that practical skills, pedagogies, ethics, and all aspects of their learning at UIC are interconnected and that learning these foundations is what enables the kind of imaginative, impactful making that excites them, whether it takes the form of a digital or physical object, theory or practice, quantitative or qualitative research, or products of engineering or the humanities," said Shin.

In Fall 2025, what began as a rushed collaboration project in Fall 2023 evolved into a full-fledged, week-long series of workshops that integrated occupational therapy pedagogy, critical digital design principles, and assistive technology expertise, offering OT students hands-on learning experiences grounded in real-world, peer-to-peer interdisciplinary exchange. While the collaboration took different forms each year, in 2025 it began with the OT program director, Elizabeth Paterson (PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA), contacting Heejoung in July. Heejoung, Elizabeth, and OT 632 course instructors, Toni and Caitlin, formalized the collaboration through a memorandum of understanding that clarified goals, responsibilities, and logistical arrangements for the workshops. As part of this MOU, Fab Lab student staff were formally listed as instructors for the workshops.

"As I took over the Fab Lab, I spent a lot of time observing our undergraduate student workers – how they moved through the space, and the responsibilities they handled every day. Then, I began to question whether simply managing print jobs would support their development and align with UIC’s commitment to student success. The work I do is pedagogy-driven and data-intensive. I design a range of workshop curricula for text/data analysis, podcasting and new media design, and 3D modeling and fabrication technology. However, I also bring experience as a stage director for a well-established Shakespeare drama club in South Korea. Drawing on that background, I began to imagine the physical Fab Lab space as a kind of stage, designed for learning and belonging," said Shin.

In September 2025, Heejoung met with another significant collaborator, Abby Thomas (OTD, OTR), a pediatric occupational therapist at Loyola Medicine and adjunct instructor with UIC’s Assistive Technology Unit, to discuss learning goals for the workshops. Abby’s doctoral project consisted of a six-hour educational course on the role of 3D printing in occupational therapy interventions, which was adapted into an elective offered through UIC’s Assistive Technology Certificate Program. Abby and Heejoung have been at the forefront of executing this collaboration over the past three years.

"Every day, I work with patients across the lifespan with a wide range of medical conditions in an outpatient setting. What I love about 3D printing is its accessibility not only for practitioners but also for the clients we serve," said Thomas.

Heejoung’s meeting with Abby signaled a new cycle for student staff. Student staff undertook extensive research and received focused instructional training from Heejoung. They were assigned research projects to improve existing assistive devices, identify instructional resources on assistive devices, and adapt them into learning materials. Once the instructional plans and materials were developed, the next task was multiple rehearsals. The outcome of this training was a hands-on workshop that taught OT students 3D design principles and create a simple assistive device.

Student staff found their involvement throughout the years deeply rewarding.

Many assume that 3D printing is exclusively for engineers or those with ample time and resources. Working at the Lab has allowed me to dismantle that idea. We help make digital fabrication accessible to beginners from diverse backgrounds. I did not consider myself a public speaker or instructor, but leading these workshops helped me discover that side of myself. It was rewarding to see OT students engage with the technology and connect the workshop content to knowledge from their own fields of study. – Jenna Gavin

On October 31, while workshop sessions were taking place at the Fab Lab, Toni and Caitlin led the low-tech project for OT students at the Richard J. Daley Library. Some student groups worked in the Digital Scholarship Lab or the Student Seminar Rooms in the IDEA Commons, while others worked in the library collaboration spaces. Throughout the day, students rotated between locations as groups were assigned to various tasks under Toni and Caitlin’s guidance. OT students appreciated Daley’s welcoming environment. Everyone was delighted to see Library Dean Rhea Ballard-Thrower, who stopped by in her potted flower Halloween costume, and offered words of encouragement. Special thanks to the dean for sponsoring the event and for supporting the implementation of new mentorship models for student staff at the Digital Scholarship Hub.