Abstract

Traditional landscape scale model-making courses often emphasize manual fabrication and final-product assessment, leaving limited room for digital modeling, iterative prototyping, and process-oriented evaluation. This paper reports a descriptive curriculum reform case integrating 3D printing into a 32-hour elective Landscape Scale Model-Making course at a public agricultural and forestry institution in northern China. The course involved 110 students from undergraduate and vocational programs and combined manual craft, SketchUp-based digital modeling, desktop FDM 3D printing, role-based teamwork, staged instructor guidance, and process-oriented assessment. A 1:300 campus landscape site model served as the central practical project. Evidence was drawn from course implementation records, an end-of-course questionnaire containing six closed-ended items and four open-ended prompts, instructor reflection, and student work. Closed-ended responses were summarized using counts and percentages, while open-ended responses were examined through content analysis. Course records indicated a shorter calendar project cycle and fewer component failures or major rework episodes in the integrated workflow. Students also reported positive perceptions of digital modeling, 3D printer operation, the realization of design ideas, collaboration, and material use. Content analysis identified the ability to produce complex forms and improved dimensional control as prominent benefits, while modeling difficulties, slicing and printer-operation challenges, uneven workload, and limited equipment access remained important constraints. These findings provide implementation evidence from one institutional setting rather than causal proof of learning gains. The case suggests that 3D printing is most educationally useful when embedded in a scaffolded physical-digital workflow rather than treated as a substitute for manual model-making.

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