Robotics Extension Group
Class: Years 7/8 Technology
Teacher: Andrew Szabo
School: Wanganui Intermediate School
Category: Elective programme
Duration: Full year
In his three years of teaching robotics in the Technology programme at Wanganui Intermediate School, Andrew Szabo has seen a massive growth in interest and participation of students, thanks in no small part to the prospect they have of entering the prestigious national Robocup competition.
"We've gone from having just three robots to work with, to over 50 now," he says. "The students love it and so do their parents, who are seeing their kids picking up quickly what they perceive to be cutting-edge stuff. And some of the problems the students solve are far from trivial – it's interesting seeing some of the very novel solutions that they come up with."
All of Andrew's Year 7 and 8 students in his core 2008 ICT programme experienced a two-week unit of work in which they learned the basics of building a robot and how to programme it to follow a line.
The keen students were able to build on this introduction by participating in the robotics elective that Andrew introduced into the school's extension programme. Entry to the programme is highly competitive, via a formal application form, where students briefly explain why they believe they should be part of the team and indicate their willingness to give up morning breaks and lunchtimes when required . "I treat it like an elite sports team," says Andrew.
Andrew chooses around 15 students at each level. "I'm looking for students who can show me they've got an aptitude or a passion for what they'll be doing," he says. "They need to be independent thinkers and some of the traditionally brighter students don't do so well there, because the nature of the problem-solving takes them out of their comfort zone.
"The most important quality is the right attitude. I'm not so much gauging whether students will win the competition, but more whether they'll learn from the experience. Within a few weeks it's evident that some kids aren't suitable so I let them go and give others a chance to take their place."
When Andrew first started the programme in 2005, the small number of robots available meant that he could only offer places to Year 8 students. But it didn't stop him entering Robocup. "We won one Bronze medal and that stimulated a bit of interest back at school."
The following year, Andrew found that, because the Year 8 students had left, he had to start again from scratch. So he brought in a small group of Year 7 students for the last term, so that there was an experienced core to start off the next year's elective.
"I did the same thing in 2007, but in 2008, the increase in the number of robots meant that I could have separate groups of Year 7 and 8 students right from the start of the year, which gave me a stronger knowledge base to build on in 2009."
The gender balance tends to be even in both groups, although this is not done on purpose. "We're looking for the best people," he says, "but having said that, it's nice to have an even balance."
For the first two terms of the elective programme the focus is very much on the Robocup competition. "Everything we do is geared towards that, so it's a case of maintaining a slow steady build-up to have students peaked and ready for the competition. The first year we entered we peaked too early, so we learned a valuable lesson from that."
Over the weeks leading up to the competition the pace quickens, with students arriving in Andrews's classroom an hour before school starts and after-school practices going through till 4pm. Andrew also arranges regular after-school and weekend sessions with his ex-students – now in Years 9 and 10 at secondary school – who wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to continue with their robotics or compete in the Robocup competition.
All the effort has paid off handsomely for Andrew and his students. Of the school's 35 entries in the 2008 Wanganui Regional competition, a team of 13 students and three teachers made it to the national competition in Auckland, returning with a large haul of medals across all of the categories.
Andrew is grateful for the sponsorship of the competition by Toshiba and Modern Teaching Aids. "Toshiba have been amazing – they supplied us with an extra two laptop computers and 10 of the Lego NXT robots. They also paid for uniforms for our full team of 35 students and the registration fees and airfares for regional winners to go to the national finals in Auckland. Extra sponsorship from our local Funhouse Learning Centre paid for the additional travel costs for the students and teachers going to Auckland."
After Robocup the focus changes and Andrew sets off on a series of two – or three-week challenges for the students to work through. "For this I give them strategies that have worked in previous years, but tell them to look for different ideas and see what they can find on the web. YouTube has hundreds of movies on robotics, and there are new sites being developed to specifically support the NXTs."
Over the year, the students develop a much greater understanding of the programming language and the relationship between the build and the programming and what they are trying achieve. "They've all got the same problem to solve but there's no one correct answer, and they can each get there in their own way," says Andrew. "But I don't leave them to do it on their own – planning is always done in groups. I'm trying to get a level of independent thought going, and get students to listen to and learn from each other."
With its popularity firmly established, Andrew is now considering developing his elective structure to have mixed groups of Year 7 and Year 8s with separate electives for 'Dance', 'Rescue' and 'Soccer'.
"At times there were too many different groups wanting to use the space. The soccer table takes half-an-hour to put up and take down again and uses a lot of the available space. Then those doing the 'Rescue' want to dim the lights so they can practice in lower light levels, and the 'Dance' people need the level up to be able to see what they were doing. A new approach might work more efficiently."
Whichever way it goes, Andrew is confident that it will be well supported by students. "The passion is there and they are more than willing to put in the commitment required – so I'm keen to help make sure students continue to get the opportunity to be involved."
Robotics links
blog.yum9me.com/2008/11/the-lego-bots/
www.geekzone.co.nz/BlueToothKiwi/3552
www.robocupjunior.org.nz/More%20information.htm
www.geekzone.co.nz/BlueToothKiwi/4249
The students with their robots. Click to enlarge.
RSS Feed
