The Art of Tessellations

Question 1:

Could you have done this activity without the teaching aid you have fabricated? How do you think digital fabrication improves the activity vs utilizing traditional methods? What is the extra value?

While it is possible to conduct the tessellation activity using traditional methods such as hand-drawing or cutting shapes manually, the teaching aid I fabricated through digital fabrication significantly enhanced the learning experience.

The laser-cut tessellation puzzles were accurate, neat and reusable, which helped students understand how shapes can fit together without gaps.

The pre-cut paper templates produced using an electronic cutter significantly reduced the time needed for preparation and eliminated inaccuracies in shape cutting — an important improvement since cutting skills were not the focus of this lesson.

Digital fabrication also allowed me to prototype and refine the teaching aid quickly, saving preparation time and enabling a more engaging, hands-on experience. Compared to traditional methods, it promoted student independence, as they could focus more on exploring creativity and pattern design rather than struggling with the technical accuracy of shapes.

From a teacher’s perspective, the extra value of using digital fabrication lies in how it enhances instructional efficiency and learning quality. It allows me to design customized, accurate teaching tools that support diverse learners and make abstract concepts more tangible. More importantly, it models how technology can be used meaningfully in education — to inspire creativity, streamline processes, and create richer hands-on learning experiences for students.

Question 2:

What are some challenges you expect when you do the activity with your class?

Some challenges I expect include students having difficulty understanding how the PART–TRAP method works at first, especially how to rearrange the pieces to form a tessellation shape. Some students may also draw overly complicated lines or include more than one horizontal and vertical line, which makes their tessellation shapes difficult to fit together. Others might draw diagonal lines, cut the same line more than once, or trim their shapes in order to make them “perfect,” which results in shapes that were unable to be tessellated. Students may also struggle with cutting and tracing neatly, which could affect how well their shapes fit together.

Low-ability learners may also find it hard to follow multi-step instructions or visualize how the shape repeats across the page. To address these, I will provide clear step-by-step visual guides, video demonstrations, and model common mistakes so students can learn what to avoid. I will also check in more frequently with struggling students and remind everyone that tessellation art is about effort, creativity, and learning from mistakes, not perfection.

Question 3:

What did you learn during the fabrication process?

During the fabrication process, I learned the importance of careful planning and decision-making at every stage. I had to consider a suitable size for the puzzle template so that it would be easy for students to trace and handle on an A4 size paper.

Choosing the right material was another key step — I tested wood, acrylic, and cardboard before deciding on clear acrylic, as it allows students to see through and align their shapes more accurately during tracing.

The process was time-consuming, especially when cutting multiple acrylic puzzles and paper templates, but it gave me a better appreciation of the precision needed in digital fabrication.

I also learned to anticipate how young learners would interact with the acrylic puzzles, ensuring it was safe, durable, and supported the lesson’s main goals. Overall, this experience helped me understand how thoughtful design and fabrication choices can make learning tools more engaging, effective, and student-friendly.