It is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the shift in careers requiring 21st century skills in today’s economy. Schools around the country are striving to prepare students not just for beyond high school graduation, but for the competitive job market after college. As a way to assist students for this shift, instructors are making in-depth discussions and project-based learning, methods for teaching all subject-areas and extra-curricular clubs.
In this paper, a detailed account of the methods and practices used to motivate and inspire high school students to participate in competitive and exploratory robotics was provided. As they compete against and collaborate with other schools in FIRST Robotics’ FIRST TECH Challenge (FTC), the students are expected to gain experience in programming, engineering, fundraising, documentation, and community outreach. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the premise that Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) through robotics has a positive effect on student behavior and academic standing, college and career expectations, and the participants’ acquisition of new technological skills. This research observed students within a culturally diverse Title 1 School, that these positive correlations previously stated can take place despite gender, socio-economic class, or ethnic differences. In addition, data will be analyzed to see if the participation in robotics can strengthen pre-existing desires to pursue a career in technological fields, increase confidence in learning concepts, and motivate students to take a closer look at careers with foundations in STEM. The study will also measure participant’s future expectations, perceptions, and knowledge of robotics through two questionnaires. One, the survey of student demographics and opinions concerning STEM and robotics, will be completed at the start of the club and several months later by the participating students. The second, a survey specifically for students working on the programming and engineering aspects of the team, will test knowledge in Java and the mechanical construction of the robot to draw comparisons and note changes in perception and skills learned.
Dr. Fethiye Ozis is an Associate Teaching Professor in the civil and environmental engineering department at Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Ozis holds a B.S. in environmental engineering from the Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Southern California. Dr. Ozis is a licensed Professional Engineer, Environmental, in Arizona. She is also an ENVISION Sustainability Professional. Before joining CMU, Dr. Ozis was a faculty member at Northern Arizona University.
Anna Newley received a B.A. degree in Elementary Education from Arizona State University. She also has a MEd in educational technology from American College of Education. She was an employee with the Tempe Elementary School District as a kindergarten, and second grade teacher, and instructional assistant until 2012. From 2012 to the current, she has been employed with the Sonoran Schools District. At Sonoran Science Academy-Phoenix, she has been a fifth grade teacher, middle school science teacher, and biology high school teacher. She is the contact for several grants awarded to the school. Mrs. Newley coaches the exploratory robotics club for grades K-8, the competitive high school robotics team, FTC, and an advisor for the Chief Science Officer student program. She contributed to international published papers, national proceedings, and is the process of writing several children's books. She presented several workshops on robotics for elementary school students.
Erdogan Kaya is a PhD student in science education at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is working as a graduate assistant and teaching science methods courses. Prior to beginning the PhD program, he received his MS degree in computer science and engineering. He coached robotics teams and was awarded several grants that promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). He has been volunteering in many education outreach programs including Science Fair and Robotics programs such as First Robotics competitions. Over the past four years, he published several journal papers and presented at national and international conferences. Areas of research interest include science and technology education, STEM, and robotics in science education.
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