My students need a couple of robotics kits to begin a robotics program, which they requested! The books will give them relevant reference material when building.
Imagine a classroom of students all working hurriedly on a complex and difficult task. Employing their math and science skills they learn to be part of a team. Help me nurture the next generation of problem solvers.
When asked what they wanted to learn next year my students loudly and excitedly proclaimed, "robotics!" This will be the first year our little charter school is offering electives.
We are adding 8th grade this fall. My students have a wide range of abilities. Robotics has the potential to engage all of them, helping to give them confidence and find their gifts. I also hope to guide them in learning new teamwork skills. Math and science concepts will come to life as they build the robots. Our charter school is a STEAM school (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.) There is a focus on integrating technology, but one of the biggest challenges facing our school is low funding. Since we are a charter, we receive less public funding even though we are still a public school (free to attend.) An essential piece of the program is acquiring robots; unfortunately they are way out of our budget.
My Project
Students will work in groups to design, build and program the robots to perform specific tasks. With enough robots we will be able to hold a small classroom competition and the winning team will get the opportunity to participate in the international First Lego League competition. This will give each student more hands-on time with the robots.
Many students struggle to work cooperatively and competitively, which is a crucial skill in today's economy.
The robotics teams will help bring the students together and guide them through this process while learning basic engineering methodology. They will learn to support each others ideas and even help other competing teams.
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