Kids Engineer!

As part of my book project and for graduate school, I am working on a research chapter for my elementary robotics book. Next step is an annotated bibliography but here is the non-annotated one for now. I will post a nicely formatted PDF of this under Resources.

Alimisis, D. (n.d.). Robotics in Education & Education in Robotics: Shifting Focus from Technology to Pedagogy. Retrieved from http://www.etlab.eu/files/alimisis_RIE2012_paper.pdf
Barak, M., & Zadok, Y. (2009). Robotics projects and learning concepts in science, technology and problem solving. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 19(3), 289–307.
Barker, B. S., & Ansorge, J. (2007). Robotics as means to increase achievement scores in an informal learning environment. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 39(3), 229.
Barker, Bradley S., Nugent, G., Grandgenett, N., & Adamchuk, V. I. (2012). Robots in K-12 Education: A New Technology for Learning. IGI Global. Retrieved from http://services.igi-global.com/resolvedoi/resolve.aspx?doi=10.4018/978-1-4666-0182-6
Benitti, F. B. V. (2012). Exploring the educational potential of robotics in schools: A systematic review. Computers & Education, 58(3), 978–988. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2011.10.006
Brophy, S., Portsmore, M., Klein, S., & Rogers, C. (2008). Advancing Engineering Education in P-12 Classrooms. Journal of Engineering Education, 97(3).
Cejka, E, Rogers, C., & Portsmore, M. (2006). Kindergarten Robotics: Using Robotics to Motivate Math, Science, and Engineering Literacy in Elementary School. International Journal of Engineering Education, 22(4), 711–722.
Cejka, Erin, & Rogers, C. (2005). Inservice Teachers and the Engineering Design Process. Proc. Amer. Soc. Eng. Ed. Retrieved from http://soe.rutgers.edu/files/Inservice%20Teachers%20and%20the%20Engineering%20Design%20Process.pdf
Computing Community Consortium. (2009, May 21). A Roadmap for US Robotics From Internet to Robotics. Computing Community Consortium. Retrieved from http://www.us-robotics.us/reports/CCC%20Report.pdf
Erwin, B., Cyr, M., & Rogers, C. (2000). LEGO engineer and ROBOLAB: Teaching engineering with LabVIEW from kindergarten to graduate school. International Journal of Engineering Education, 16(3), 181–192.
Hussain, S., Lindh, J., & Shukur, G. (2006). The Effect of LEGO Training on Pupils’ School Performance in Mathematics, Problem Solving Ability and Attitude: Swedish Data. Educational Technology & Society, 9(3), 182–194.
Hynes, M. (2007). AC 2007-1684: IMPACT OF TEACHING ENGINEERING CONCEPTS THROUGH CREATING LEGO-BASED ASSISTIVE DEVICES. Presented at the American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, Honolulu,HI: American Society for Engineering Education. Retrieved from http://icee.usm.edu/ICEE/conferences/asee2007/papers/1684_IMPACT_OF_TEACHING_ENGINEERING_CONCEPTS_.pdf
Hynes, M., Crismond, D., & Brizuela, B. (2010). AC 2010-447: MIDDLE-SCHOOL TEACHERS’ USE AND DEVELOPMENT OF ENGINEERING SUBJECT MATTER KNOWLEDGE. American Society for Engineering Education.
Hynes, M. M., Crismond, D., & Danahy, E. (2010). AC 2010-457: USING ROBOBOOKS TO TEACH MIDDLE SCHOOL ENGINEERING AND ROBOTICS.pdf. Presented at the American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, Louisville, KY: American Society for Engineering Education.
Kearns, S. A., Rogers, C., Barsosky, J., Portsmore, M., & Rogers, C. (2001). Successful methods for introducing engineering into the first grade classroom. In ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Proceedings, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Korchnoy, E., & Verner, I. M. (2008). Characteristics of learning computer-controlled mechanisms by teachers and students in a common laboratory environment. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 20(2), 217–237. doi:10.1007/s10798-008-9071-7
Lindh, J., & Holgersson, T. (2007). Does lego training stimulate pupils’ ability to solve logical problems? Computers & Education, 49(4), 1097–1111. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2005.12.008
Ma, Y., Lai, G., Prejean, L., Ford, M. J., & Williams, D. (2007). Acquisition of Physics Content Knowledge and Scientific Inquiry Skills in a Robotics Summer Camp. In Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (Vol. 2007, pp. 3437–3444). Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/25146/
Mitnik, R., Nussbaum, M., & Recabarren, M. (2009). Developing Cognition with Collaborative Robotic Activities. Educational Technology & Society, 12(4), 317–330.
Mitnik, Ruben, Nussbaum, M., & Soto, A. (2008). An autonomous educational mobile robot mediator. Autonomous Robots, 25(4), 367–382.
Nataliia Perova, Walter H. Johnson, & Chris Rogers. (2008). USING LEGO BASED ENGINEERING ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING CONCEPTS OF SPEED, VELOCITY, AND ACCELERATION. American Society for Engineering Education.
Nugent, G., Barker, B., Grandgenett, N., & Adamchuk, V. (2009). The use of digital manipulatives in K-12: robotics, gps/gis and programming. In Frontiers in Education Conference, 2009. FIE’09. 39th IEEE (pp. 1–6). Retrieved from http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=5350828
Nugent, G., Barker, B. S., Grandgenett, N., & Adamchuk, V. I. (2010). Impact of robotics and geospatial technology interventions on youth STEM learning and attitudes. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/tedfacpub/33/?utm_source=digitalcommons.unomaha.edu%2Ftedfacpub%2F33&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages
Owens, G., Granader, Y., Humphrey, A., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2008). LEGO ® Therapy and the Social Use of Language Programme: An Evaluation of Two Social Skills Interventions for Children with High Functioning Autism and Asperger Syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(10), 1944–1957. doi:10.1007/s10803-008-0590-6
Papert, S. (2000). What’s the big idea? Toward a pedagogy of idea power. IBM Systems Journal, 39(3.4), 720–729.
Portsmore, M. (2002). Engineering By Design Lego Based Building Lessons for Grade One.
Portsmore, M. D., & Rogers, C. (2004). Bringing engineering to elementary school. Journal of STEM education, 5. Retrieved from http://www.greenframingham.com/bring_engr_elem021505.pdf
Portsmore, M., & Swenson, J. (n.d.). AC 2012-3792: SYSTEMIC INTERVENTION: CONNECTING FORMAL AND INFORMAL EDUCATION EXPERIENCES FOR ENGAGING FEMALE STUDENTS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN ENGINEERING.pdf. Presented at the ASEE Annual Conference, San Antonio, TX.
Rusk, N., Resnick, M., Berg, R., & Pezalla-Granlund, M. (2008). New pathways into robotics: Strategies for broadening participation. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 17(1), 59–69.
Skorinko, J. L., Doyle, J. K., & Tryggvason, G. (2012). Do Goals Matter in Engineering Education? An Exploration of How Goals Influence Outcomes for FIRST Robotics Participants. Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER), 2(2), 3.
Sullivan, F. R. (2011). Serious and playful inquiry: Epistemological aspects of collaborative creativity. Educational Technology & Society, 14(1), 55–65.
Sullivan, F. R., & Moriarty, M. A. (2009). Robotics and discovery learning: pedagogical Beliefs, Teacher practice, and Technology integration. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 17(1), 109–142.
Sullivan, Florence R. (2008). Robotics and science literacy: Thinking skills, science process skills and systems understanding. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 45(3), 373–394. doi:10.1002/tea.20238
SUOMALA, J., & ALAJAASKI, J. (2002). Pupils’ Problem-Solving Processes In A Complex Computerized Learning Environment. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 26(2), 155–176. doi:10.2190/58XD-NMFK-DL5V-0B6N
Varnado, T. E. (2005). The Effects of a Technological Problem Solving Activity on FIRSTTM LEGOTM League Participants’ Problem Solving Style and Performance. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Retrieved from http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-04282005-101527/
Voyles, M. M., Fossum, T., & Haller, S. (2008). Teachers respond functionally to student gender differences in a technology course. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 45(3), 322–345.
Wang, E. L., LaCombe, J., & Rogers, C. (2004). Using LEGO® Bricks to Conduct Engineering Experiments. In Proceedings of the ASEE Annual conference and exhibition. Retrieved from http://wolfweb.unr.edu/homepage/lacomj/Faculty/Pubs/JCL-2004b.pdf
Wendell, K., Connolly, K., Wright, C., Jarvin, L., Rogers, C., Barnett, M., & Marculu, I. (2010). AC 2010-863: POSTER, INCORPORATING ENGINEERING DESIGN INTO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SCIENCE CURRICULA.pdf. Presented at the International Conference of the Learning Sciences, Chicago, IL: American Society for Engineering Education.
Wendell, M. K. B., & Portsmore, M. D. (2011). AC 2011-904: THE IMPACT OF ENGINEERING-BASED SCIENCE IN-STRUCTION ON SCIENCE CONTENT UNDERSTANDING. Presented at the Annual International Conference of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST), Orlando, FL. Retrieved from http://www.asee.org/file_server/papers/attachment/file/0001/1144/Draft_ASEE2011_Wendell_version2.pdf
Whittier, L. E., & Robinson, M. (2007). Teaching evolution to non-English proficient students by using lego robotics. American Secondary Education, 19–28.
Zeid, I., August, R., Perry, R., Mason, E., Farkis, J., & Hersek, M. (2007). AC 2007-1481: A PARTNERSHIP TO INTEGRATE ROBOTICS CURRICULUM INTO STEM COURSES IN BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Presented at the American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, Honolulu,HI: American Society for Engineering Education. Retrieved from http://www.icee.usm.edu/icee/conferences/asee2007/papers/1481_A_PARTNERSHIP_TO_INTEGRATE_ROBOTICS_CURR.pdf

I needed another open ended challenge for a grade 3 class that wanted to do another project this year. A couple of second graders made a car for the amusement park challenge this year (see below) so I thought I would try it with a whole class. I wondered if there were sufficient parts to enable all the kids in a class to succeed at making a vehicle.

One thing I realized later after was that the car above was made with extra parts. I have no idea how that team found longer axles and 2 additional green pulleys and tires to make their wonderful car.

But we quickly realized with the grade 3 class with the basic WeDo kit and no additional parts that the axles that come with the kit are not long enough to span the base piece as the second graders had done. We also saw that they would have to use gears as wheels in most cases to get 4 wheels.

I felt a strong urge to go get some longer axles from resources kits to help them and additional tires but we decided to wait to see if they could solve the problem. Sure enough, some teams were able to construct a car chassis from beams.

Even though we went over the 3 ways to drive the wheels before, you can see from the photos below that some teams will need additional work to connect the motor to the wheels either 1) directly, 2) with gears, or 3) with pulleys.

We did decide that though it might not be 100% required to succeed, we would give the students 2 longer axles and 4 wheels from the resource kits.

I was pleased that this project seems very doable for third graders. All the photos below were the result of one 60 minute design and building session. This included about 10 minutes of teacher talk at the beginning to go over the 3 methods to drive the wheels and a review of the engineering design process. I will be writing this up and adding it to the Elementary Engineering Curriculum.