what’s on my mind……..
I just returned from my weekly Friday evening meeting. For the past few months, we have been consulting with government officials and academics, preparing a TED talk, securing sponsors, generating cost analysis reports, outlining a marketing strategy, designing an autoCAD prototype, constructing a website, patent searching, and developing robot design specs.
No, I do not work for an R&D startup, nor do I work for a multinational technology and consulting corporation. Instead, I coach five 9-13 year old robotics students who are competing in two weeks at the Regional FLL Tournament. These students have the unique opportunity to taste authentic learning experiences within the field of science and technology; a glimpse into the world of innovation, design, and production. This professional exposure is invaluable in the educational development of these young individuals.
Can authentic professional learning opportunities be replicated from inside the exclusive robotics team into the classroom?…………….this is what’s on my mind.
Hi Alexia,
Robotics are a great way of putting students in all the right places to make learning happen, and make it authentic too! There are tons of resources out there that can support authentic and dynamic learning out there – especially in Math and Social Sciences.
Here is a great checklist for you to determine if what is happening in class is really project based learning:
http://teachbytes.com/2013/03/18/problem-based-learning-or-just-another-project-use-this-checklist-to-find-out/
I look forward to more musing and a development of how, perhaps, you could bring robotics into your own classroom!
Thanks for the thoughtful post,
garth.
Alexia,
We are really looking forward to your action plan post and the area of teaching and learning you would like to explore. Remember that before publishing your post be sure to add an action plan category and tag to your post.
Refresher How-To Video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3QG8WcSPoU
Also
* Be sure to read at least one other blog and comment on it.
* Don’t Stress… Your Action Plan post can be in the form of a question, musings, or concrete task. It can be short, it can be long………it just has to be meaningful to YOU!
Justin