As you may know I've been involved with a couple FIRST teams in the West Michigan Area. The first team I was involved with was a team that graciously took several of us in when our schools existing team couldn't find sponsorship and folded up. The second team I have been involved with, I helped start. This team is back at our school with new sponsorship and a very bright future.
So I've been around the horn 5 times, helping students engineer, build and program an FRC robot. The skills these students have learned, I think, are irreplaceable. This has got me thinking a lot about why this type of curriculum isn't taught in the classroom.
So I have many ideas of how I think a robotics class should / could be taught to students in the classroom during normal school hours. Students would learn some basic physics, mechanical engineering, electronics and computer programming. I intend to post some of my curriculum ideas here in the near future.
My question for you is, are you aware of a classroom robotics curriculum? If so leave a comment with any details you care to share. Thanks!
Hi Roger
ReplyDeleteIm currently writing a paper for a post grad course at the moment on STEM robotics and have been searching for current papers orientated around the learning sciences and how STEM helps students learn in an authentic manner.
VEX have a web page with quite a assortment of curriculum resources.
http://www.education.rec.ri.cmu.edu/robots/vexteacher/index.htm
When you say curriculum, from my recent reading on the subject do you mean science orientated, maths, technology, physics etc. It seems STEM has fantastic potential if we can break down the silos of the domain focused teaching and develop cross curriculum teaching and learning.
Stem can also put the fun back into learning, learning 21st century skills, and communication techniques.
If you want a laugh take a look at Mr Mcluskey in the following video, I love the way he teaches 21st century communication skills. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1sIwIRPmWc
Hi Roger,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment! I have been familiar with VEX for a few years now, but I was not aware of the site you posted. Thanks!
My thoughts on a robotics based curriculum were exactly as you suggested, match, science, engineering, physics, etc. It is a lot more fun, and meaningful to students, to have the opportunity to solve tough problems in order to complete their creation.
Our educational system needs an upgrade and I hope I can be a part of it.
Thanks again for your comment and good luck with your paper.
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