Our inner city students come from various backgrounds, where English is not always their native language. They come to school wanting to learn and work hard because school is the safest place for a lot of them. We are a Title I school where 100% of our students receive free breakfast and lunch.
When working in the Discovery Lab, it’s about applying creative thinking and design skills to transform our STEM projects to STEAM projects, encouraging students to imagine all the possibilities when their creative thinking meshes with engineering.
Going from a STEM school to a STEAM school is an important transition to show students the role art plays not only in the design process, but in everyday life throughout our world. It's also about engagement.
When students enter my lab, excitement builds because they know they have challenges that they need to face like engineers, scientists, and many other creative professionals do in the real world. Students love working with their hands to create something or solve a problem. Our school is a wonderful place to learn because of the environment created by the staff.
We show our love of learning to our students.
My Project
In our Discovery Lab we have many resources for our students to learn to program and code, but when it comes to our Kindergarten students, many of these are too advanced for them. This is where Botley comes in. Learning coding and programming at an early age is like learning another language. Coding also fosters creativity, and why not have our students be creative to their hearts content. It helps with math skills and overall academic performance due to the ability to think out of the box. The earlier coding is introduced, the more the students will be able to achieve.
Botley is a coding robot that students can easily program using directional arrows to tell him where to travel.
The challenges included with the activity set will help them take their skills to the next level. The best part is, not only will the Kindergarten students be able to use it, but students of all grades will have the ability to program a Botley!
Starting to work with STEM concepts at an early age is what every student needs to compete in the 21st century! Using coding through Botley Robots will help give my inner city students that competitive edge! Students as young as Kindergarteners will program their robots through arrow buttons to get Botley to achieve many challenging tasks which is where the STEM magic begins!
By the end of Kindergarten, I would like students to be able to understand how to program their robot through a maze, like our 4th and 5th graders do with their EV3 robots. The Kindergarteners always watch the older kids in awe of their abilities. I want the other students to be in awe of the little ones, who I know after using their Botley Robot, will be able to accomplish the challenge!
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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 Ms. W. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
