1. Science, Discovery & The Universe (SDU)
College Park Scholars: Science, Technology & Society - Service-Learning Practicum (CPSS240)
Stephen Lukas & Nicolas “Jake” Levitsky
Science, Discovery & The Universe (SDU)
Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering
Introduction
Impact
We chose CPSS240 for our practicums, a class in which we would be able to provide service while also incorporating our majors. The main goal of the class is to teach robotics (specifically, LEGO Mindstorm) to elementary school students in order to prepare their problem-solving skills and promote STEM. We also learned about diversity and the effect of gender roles in STEM-related activities and explored how to reverse these trends starting at the bottom level.
When we first began, each kid started with varying level of interest and ability working with the robots. As the weeks progressed, we could see the change in the kids with the work they did. They began to learn the workings of the robots and its sensors while gaining critical thinking skills that are pertinent life skills. Our students became much more interested in what we were doing as we progressed through our time there. The kids enjoyed seeing something that they worked hard on together come to life and listen to their commands. They learned how to approach problems and learned critical thinking skills by solving them. The kids also helped us get a better understanding of how they learn about STEM in the classroom. From our experiences in the classroom, we have improved our teaching skill while also being part of the College Park community.
A Typical Day
Teacher assistants drive us to elementary schools for LEGO robotics club.
We each would be assigned a group of three to five students.
The beginning of class usually is devoted to assigning roles and brainstorming.
Students then get to work, either constructing using physical pieces or programming, consulting us for help and asking questions.
Conclusions
After working with these kids over the span of the entire semester, we can see that they definitely had fun playing with the robots and learning at the same time. They were always sad when it was time to stop and it is good to see that they enjoy working on robotics. Hopefully we have created a passion for the STEM field within these kids that they will carry through them throughout their lives.
Special thanks to our teacher Matt Aruch and our TAs Ruslan Onyschkevych and Jon Mevs. All credit for photos to Matt Aruch.