An Exciting Finish to Our First Robotics Rotation!

In my last blog, I talked about the desire to show the children in robotics class the concept of cause and effect, proving that they are capable of creating something that provides a purpose. I am here to report that building robots is indeed an effective way to prove this concept true. Robotics is the art of making a machine that can replicate qualities of another object or thing, and while we already know teaching kids is an art all in itself, the two together are a perfect balance of challenge and accomplishment.

When the children first entered my classroom, all they knew was that they were going to be building a robot. In their minds, a robot was a metal or iron machine that had the potential to blow things up, save the planet, or went by the name of WALLE.  Little did they know that at the end of seven weeks, they would be masters at structuring, computer programming, problem solving, teamwork, and would become proud creators of 5-7 different models of robots.

During the last week these measurements became known when I decided to interview each of the children in our Homestake Peak Elementary program.  I was nervous to ask them questions like “How did you like robotics?”  and “What did you learn from robotics?” First off, I wasn’t sure how interested elementary school students would be in being interviewed and, secondly, I was scared one of my students would say they didn’t like robotics and learned nothing, which would not be a success.  So during my first interview, I clenched my teeth and held my breath, just because you never know what a kid will say. I managed to get the words out of my mouth,  “Roman… how did you like robotics?” What came after that was a total relief! Roman was so excited to be on camera and simply said, “I love robots.”  After that answer, I was excited to hear what the rest of the kids had to say. I heard everything from  “Robots are cool because I am cool” to “Robotics makes me think“ and  “I learned a lot about staying focused.” What more could I ask for!

I learned that every child learns differently and that when allowing them to choose, they are much more likely to be engaged.  Every child went from a level 1 to a level 5 and enhanced language, math, science, social and technical skills that are not always easy to achieve in a natural classroom setting.  I will be the first to admit, that I went from not knowing anything about robotics to becoming a robotics nerd.  I am extremely excited for what the next 7 weeks will offer to a new group of children and am looking at additional kits that will add an extra boost of challenge.

Until next time, 

Lindsey Fuller, Miss Roboto