Robotics education in primary schools: a Tasmanian case
Ying Chen, Graeme Faulkner · eCite Digital Repository (University of Tasmania) · 2014
Background: The whole world is facing a shortage of professional engineers. Even though STEM education has been developed world-wide for P-12 kids to address the issue among many others, the engineering component in STEM is limited, especially at Primary School levels. We argue that engineering concepts should be introduced to primary school children through robotics as it covers all aspects of STEM and can be made fun and engaging. However, the challenges are the limited resources of schools, the shortage of skills among teachers and the cognitive limitations of students in their inability to cope with traditional lock-step, text-based programs or the university style talking head videos. The success factor at the primary robotics program is the method of delivery and the form of the topic being delivered. Purpose or goal: This paper presents a Tasmanian case of robotics program in primary schools. We try to address 3 fundamental issues in relation to running a successful robotics program. The first is the financial constraint of public schools which restrict them from accessing the robotics hardware and software. The second is the engineering skills of classroom teachers which contribute to the lack of confidence in running a robotics program in their teaching plan. The third is the cognitive ability of targeted students which require a more considered approach towards the delivery of the engineering concepts via robotics. Consequently, the research question we addressed was how to strategically roll out a robotics program so that it can engage more schools, teachers, parents and students with the ever evident problem of limited resources in our public schools. Approach: We have taken a strategic approach towards rolling out a robotics program. We have developed the www.DrGraeme.net and www.DrGraeme.org websites to host free robotics tutorials that emphasize inductively-based learning. We have sought industry funding to purchase robotics hardware and software to be borrowed by schools that cannot afford the equipment. We run robotics training workshops for teachers in different regional areas of Tasmania. We participate in classroom teaching via normal school sessions or after school programs that provide immediate help to teachers and students. We also run weekend programs to engage both parents and children so that parents may provide some scaffolding for children with special needs. Actual or anticipated outcomes: Tasmania has experienced a lot of success with robotics over the past few years. We have produced several world champions in RoboCup Junior international competitions and multiple Australian national winners. www.drGraeme.net has been a huge success attracting both national and international viewers. Conclusions/Recommendations/Summary: Robotics is a power replacement or extension to current STEM program. It can be introduced to primary schools with careful planning of resources and teaching materials. However an extended roll out requires support at all levels of the society with government playing a pivotal role.