Our school is a Title I school in an urban center, but we pull students from the city as well as the suburbs. We have a diverse population, with students representing over 60 different countries. Many of our students will be the first in their families to go to college.
Despite the diversity of our school, the engineering class does not typically have the same rich diversity - my goal is to change that.
The engineering class is a full-year class that focuses on engineering concepts like fabrication (think 3D printing), programming (think mobile apps), and physical computing (think robotics). With these exciting concepts, taught in a manner welcoming to novice students, I hope to change the makeup of the class.
My Project
These robotics kits and extra electronics will allow my students to move beyond what is in the kit and allow them to express their creativity with electronics and programming. Having access to a variety of materials like sensors and motors means that students will be able to create whatever their minds can come up with.
With these materials, students could (for example) produce an animatronic character, which has been shown to appeal to both male and female students and incorporates all the important robotics curriculum.
With the robotics kits, students can learn programming curriculum as they write algorithms to autonomously navigate their robots through a maze. Students could use the RFID tags and various sensors to design a smart home. Most importantly, students can use these materials in an infinite number of ways to bring their own ideas to life.
As students get excited about their projects, excitement around the course will build, and as more students take the class, they will be inspired to pursue STEM-related fields in college.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. Chretien and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
