The Robot Competition: A Project-Based Learning Approach for Enhancing STEM Education Yi-Ching (Sophia) Chen Doctoral candidate Department of Technology Application and Human Resource Development, National Taiwan Normal University

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Abstract STEM Education Project- Based Learning Robot Contest

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Outline Backgrounds ◦Introduction ◦Motivation and problem statement ◦Related works Method Results Conclusion

Background Robots are playing an increasingly important role in our daily lives. Robots in education has been growing in popularity. Robot contests for primary, middle and high schools are growing. Robot hardware and software cost down and easy to use. Robots as a part of science or technology courses in many schools and in extracurricular organizations. e.g. school programs, classes, clubs, camps, workshops, etc.

Robot of this world

Robots are important?

Robot competition

TRC Background The TRC is an event for science, technology, engineering, math and education For grades 7-12 students to develop their creativity and problem solving skills through challenging and educational robot competitions. First held in 2002 in Taipei, it has grown in size from 70 teams in 2002 to 196 teams in From 2010 declined. The contest is conducted in three different age groups: elementary, junior high and senior high. Each team can include two or three students and one teacher from the same schools. Each school can invite up to 5 teams.

Rules Each team is required to build a robot in six weeks. 3 categories: Regular: used with Lego Mindstorms ◦Open: flexible in many ways, more than one robot can be done. ◦Show: any robot fits within specifications noted in challenge rules. (e.g. fischertechnik, arduino, raspberry pi, etc.)

Motivation STEM as a positive force in improving the quality of life Robot is popular in many schools.

Problem Statement Robot contests  What are the backgrounds of the participants?  What are the motivations of the participants?  Why are robot contests satisfying?  What are the advantages of robot contest?  The relationship between robot contest and participants’ experiences

Motivation and Problem Statement Participants of the robot competition ◦Backgrounds ◦Motivations ◦Satisfactions ◦Learning(gains) ◦Career planning ◦Expectancy

Related Work Robotics competitions can successfully promote K-12 students engagement in project based learning, integrate into many different subject areas and skills(Eguchi & Uribe, 2009). Robotics inspires students to become interested in STEM field.(Miller, et al., 2008). Robotics can grab kid’s imagination(Li, et al., 2009)and motivate them to engage in further exploration and learning(Miller, et al., 2008). Combining projected-based and hands-on activities with live robot demonstrations provides enormous benefits.

Methods Quantitative analysis 181 valid questionnaires 80% valid return rate Analysis software: SPSS 22 Questionnaire ◦Reliability: Cronbach Alpha value: ◦KMO( Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin ) value: ◦Significance value: Structured interviews: 9 teachers

Results

how long to use v.s. Gender

how long to use v.s. Grade

About the students Participation more than 4 times:22.5% Information from school teacher:64.2% Feeling interested:95.5% Learning many things: 93.1% Schools should offer robot-related courses:96.5% Robotics courses should be over 2 lessons per week:81.4%

Results Participation more than 4 times:22.5% Information from school teacher:64.2% Feeling interested:95.5% Learning many things: 93.1% Schools should offer robot-related courses:96.5% Robotics courses should be over 2 lessons per week:81.4%

The important impact factor ◦Enhancing confidence ◦Capability of analyzing and problem solving ◦Understanding robotic knowledge ◦Caring about technology of living ◦Improving communication and cooperation

Results Gaining much more confidence:89.7% Gaining much more friendship:96% Gaining much more robotics knowledge(e.g. science, technology, engineering, math):95.4% Knowing how to allocate time:87.8%

Results Wanting to learn more about robotics:95% Wanting to learn more about science, technology, engineering, mathematics:91.2% Wanting to learn more about problem analysis and solution:94.1% Wanting to learn more about communication and cooperation with each other:95%

Results More concerned about the impact of technology on daily lives:91.7% Allocating time to studying and doing robotic research:88.2% Wanting to be majored in robotic fields: 43.6% sure, 47.5%not sure, 5.9% not. If without robot contests, continuing to learn about robotic:84.8%

Results Motivation vs. Gains  Much happier, much more confidence.  The more interesting, the more confidence  The more interesting, the more you learn.  The more interesting, the more satisfaction.

Offer inschool robotics program

Results from Teachers Curiosity problem-solving communication High order Thinking ability teamwork and collaborative interdisciplinary application

Summary Robot Contests as a motivation/inspiration and a way to promote collaboration Helping students build problem-solving skills and abilities Encouraging students to discover how things work and experiment in creative ways to implement current technology for future applications Increasing participants’ desire to explore engineering as a career option Motivating students in learning science, technology, and math concepts by engaging them in real world engineering problem

Future Work Inclusion considerations for robotics activities Combine the contest into school program Provide strategies, resources, and workshops for educators who are new to robotics or STEM education

LET A ROBOT DO THE WORK FOR US. c4b9e7e8d8a8.jpg

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