Experiences of the FIRST LEGO League in China and Australia

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was initiated in the U.S. by accomplished inventor Dean Kamen in 1989. FIRST LEGO League (FLL) is one of the five competitions conducted by this organization. Dean’s vision was “to create a world where science and technology are celebrated……where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes”. Each year FLL creates opportunities for young people aged 9-16 to engage in problem solving, teamwork and collaborative learning around a real-world theme. In the 2009/2010 season, more than 145,000 young people in over 50 countries participated in this competition. As they tackle the challenges; they construct and de-construct their own knowledge through hands-on engagement in a constructivist learning environment. The challenges are presented at least eight weeks before the competition. In most events the participants are judged in four categories - robot game, robot design, team project and team challenge. “Gracious professionalism” is an essential element of the competition. This paper compares and contrasts the FLL in China and Australia and presents some of the achievements of the event. It also highlights some of the models which have been adopted in the two countries to facilitate participation. The educational benefits of embedding the FLL will also be discussed.

Lego robotics : an authentic problem solving tool?

With the current curriculum focus on correlating classroom problem solving lessons to real-world contexts, are LEGO robotics an effective problem solving tool? This present study was designed to investigate this question and to ascertain what problem solving strategies primary students engaged with when working with LEGO robotics and whether the students were able to effectively relate their problem solving strategies to real-world contexts. The qualitative study involved 23 Grade 6 students participating in robotics activities. The study included data collected from researcher observations of student problem solving discussions, collected software programs, and data from a student completed questionnaire. Results from the study indicated that the robotic activities assisted students to reflect on the problem-solving decisions they made. The study also highlighted that the students were able to relate their problem solving strategies to real-world contexts. The study demonstrated that while LEGO robotics can be considered useful problem solving tools in the classroom, careful teacher scaffolding needs to be implemented in regards to correlating LEGO with authentic problem solving. Further research in regards to how teachers can best embed real-world contexts into effective robotics lessons is recommended.

LEGO robotics : an authentic problem solving tool?

With the current curriculum focus on correlating classroom problem solving lessons to real-world contexts, are LEGO robotics an effective problem solving tool? This present study was designed to investigate this question and to ascertain what problem solving strategies primary students engaged with when working with LEGO robotics and whether the students were able to effectively relate their problem solving strategies to real-world contexts. The qualitative study involved 23 Grade 6 students participating in robotics activities at a Brisbane primary school. The study included data collected from researcher observations of student problem solving discussions, collected software programs, and data from a student completed questionnaire. Results from the study indicated that the robotic activities assisted students to reflect on the problem solving decisions they made. The study also highlighted that the students were able to relate their problem solving strategies to real-world contexts. The study demonstrated that while LEGO robotics can be considered useful problem solving tools in the classroom, careful teacher scaffolding needs to be implemented in regards to correlating LEGO with authentic problem solving. Further research in regards to how teachers can best embed realworld contexts into effective robotics lessons is recommended.

Learning with FIRST LEGO League

Robotics is a valuable tool for engaging students in the hands-on application of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) concepts. Robotics competitions such as FIRST LEGO League (FLL) can increase students’ interest in the STEM subjects and can foster their problem solving and teamwork skills. This paper reports on a study investigating students’ perceptions on the influence of participating in a FLL competition on their learning. The students completed questionnaires regarding their perceptions of their learning during the FLL challenge and were also interviewed to gain a deeper understanding of their questionnaire responses. The results show that the students were engaged with the FLL challenge and held positive views regarding their experience. The results also suggest that students involved with the FLL challenge improved their learning about real-world applications, problem solving, engagement, communication, and the application of the technology/engineering cycle.

Ghost hunting with lollies, chess and Lego : appreciating the ‘messy’ complexity (and costs) of doing difficult research in education

This paper contributes to conversations about the funding and quality of education research. The paper proceeds in two parts. Part I sets the context by presenting an historical analysis of funding allocations made to Education research through the ARC’s Discovery projects scheme between the years 2002 and 2014, and compares these trends to allocations made to another field within the Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences assessment panel: Psychology and Cognitive Science. Part II highlights the consequences of underfunding education research by presenting evidence from an Australian Research Council Discovery project that is tracking the experiences of disaffected students who are referred to behaviour schools. The re-scoping decisions that became necessary and the incidental costs that accrue from complications that occur in the field are illustrated and discussed through vignettes of research with “ghosts” who don’t like school but who do like lollies, chess and Lego.

A model eliciting framework for integrating mathematics and robotics learning

Robotics is taught in many Australian ICT classrooms, in both primary and secondary schools. Robotics activities, including those developed using the LEGO Mindstorms NXT technology, are mathematics-rich and provide a fertile round for learners to develop and extend their mathematical thinking. However, this context for learning mathematics is often under-exploited. In this paper a variant of the model construction sequence (Lesh, Cramer, Doerr, Post, & Zawojewski, 2003) is proposed, with the purpose of explicitly integrating robotics and mathematics teaching and learning. Lesh et al.’s model construction sequence and the model eliciting activities it embeds were initially researched in primary mathematics classrooms and more recently in university engineering courses. The model construction sequence involves learners working collaboratively upon product-focussed tasks, through which they develop and expose their conceptual understanding. The integrating model proposed in this paper has been used to design and analyse a sequence of activities in an Australian Year 4 classroom. In that sequence more traditional classroom learning was complemented by the programming of LEGO-based robots to ‘act out’ the addition and subtraction of simple fractions (tenths) on a number-line. The framework was found to be useful for planning the sequence of learning and, more importantly, provided the participating teacher with the ability to critically reflect upon robotics technology as a tool to scaffold the learning of mathematics.

AITPM Email Newsletter Volume 0910, October 2009 : Presidents Message

President’s Message Hello fellow AITPM members, Well I can’t believe it’s already October! My office is already organising its end of year function and looking to plan for 2010. Our whole School is moving to a different building next year, with the lovely L block eventually making way for a new shiny one. Those of you who have entered the Brisbane CBD from the south side, across the Captain Cook Bridge, would know L block as the big 9 storey brick and concrete Lego block ode to 1970’s functional architecture, which greets you on the right hand side. Onto traffic matters: an issue that has been tossing around in my mind of late is that of speed. I know I am growing older and may be prematurely becoming a “grumpy old man”, but everyone around me locally seems to be accelerating off from the stop line much faster than I was taught to for economical driving, both here and in the United States (yes they made my wife and me resit our written and practical driving tests when we lived there). People here in Australia also seem to be driving right on top of the posted speed limit, on whichever part of the Road Hierarchy, whether urban or rural. I was also taught on both sides of the planet that the posted speed limit is a maximum legal speed, not the recommended driving speed. This message did seem to sink in to the American drivers around me when we lived in Oregon - where people did appear to drive more cautiously. Further, posted speed limits in Oregon were, and I presume still are, set more conservative by about 5mph or 10km/h than Australian limits, for any given part of the Road Hierarchy. Another excellent speed limit treatment used in Oregon was in school zones, where reduced speed limits applied “when children are present” rather than during prescribed hours on school days. This would be especially useful here in Australia, where a lot of extra-curricular activities take place around schools outside of the prescribed speed limit hours. Before and after hours school care is on the increase (with parents dropping and collecting children near dawn and dusk in the winter), and many childcentred land uses are located adjacent to schools, such as Scouts/Guides halls, swimming pools and parks. Consequentially, I believe there needs to be some consideration towards more public campaigning about economical driving and the real purpose of the speed limit = or perhaps even a rethink of the speed limit concept, if people really are driving on top of it and it’s not just me becoming grumpier (our industrial psychology friends at the research centres may be able to assist us here). The Queensland organising committee is now in full swing organising the 2010 AITPM National Conference, What’s New?, so please keep a lookout for related content. Best regards to all, Jon Bunker PS A Cartoonists view of traffic engineers I thought you might enjoy this. http://xkcd.com/277/

Problem solving in a middle school robotics design classroom

Little research has been conducted on how students work when they are required to plan, build and evaluate artefacts in technology rich learning environments such as those supported by tools including flow charts, Labview programming and Lego construction. In this study, activity theory was used as an analytic tool to examine the social construction of meaning. There was a focus on the effect of teachers’ goals and the rules they enacted upon student use of the flow chart planning tool, and the tools of the programming language Labview and Lego construction. It was found that the articulation of a teacher’s goals via rules and divisions of labour helped to form distinct communities of learning and influenced the development of different problem solving strategies. The use of the planning tool flow charting was associated with continuity of approach, integration of problem solutions including appreciation of the nexus between construction and programming, and greater educational transformation. Students who flow charted defined problems in a more holistic way and demonstrated more methodical, insightful and integrated approaches to their use of tools. The findings have implications for teaching in design dominated learning environments.

Preparing general technology teachers in China for new roles and responsibilities

This paper discusses the conceptualization, implementation and initial findings of a professional learning program (PLP) which used LEGO® robotics as one of the tools for teaching general technology (GT)in China’s secondary schools. The program encouraged teachers to design learning environments that can be realistic, authentic, engaging and fun. 100 general technology teachers from high schools in 30 provinces of China participated. The program aimed to transform teacher classroom practice, change their beliefs and attitudes, allow teachers to reflect deeply on what they do and in turn to provide their students with meaningful learning. Preliminary findings indicate that these teachers had a huge capacity for change. They were open-minded and absorbed new ways of learning and teaching. They became designers who developed innovative models of learning which incorporated learning processes that effectively used LEGO® robotics as one of the more creative tools for teaching GT.

Less but more : weaving disparate disciplines together for learners to construct their own knowledge

This paper reports on a Professional Learning Program conducted in China with 140 general technology teachers. It aimed to integrate robotics technology across and within the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. With the help of university facilitators teachers developed General Technology lessons that seamlessly integrated with rich learning content across disciplines. Teachers engaged in seminars and workshops, which provided the opportunities for them to actively couch sound principles of learning in their daily work. They gained first-hand experience in applying an aligned system of assessments, standards and quality learning experiences geared to the needs of each student. Teachers worked collaboratively in teams to create inquiry, design and collaborative learning activities that aligned with their curriculum and which dealt with real world problems, issues and challenges. They continually discussed and reflected deeply on the activities and shared the newly developed resources online with teachers across the entire country. It is evident from the preliminary analysis of data that teachers are beginning to apply rich pedagogical practices and are becoming ‘adaptive’ in their approach when using LEGO® robotic tools to design, redesign, create and re-create learning activities for their students.

Visual route recognition with a handful of bits

In this paper we use a sequence-based visual localization algorithm to reveal surprising answers to the question, how much visual information is actually needed to conduct effective navigation? The algorithm actively searches for the best local image matches within a sliding window of short route segments or 'sub-routes', and matches sub-routes by searching for coherent sequences of local image matches. In contract to many existing techniques, the technique requires no pre-training or camera parameter calibration. We compare the algorithm's performance to the state-of-the-art FAB-MAP 2.0 algorithm on a 70 km benchmark dataset. Performance matches or exceeds the state of the art feature-based localization technique using images as small as 4 pixels, fields of view reduced by a factor of 250, and pixel bit depths reduced to 2 bits. We present further results demonstrating the system localizing in an office environment with near 100% precision using two 7 bit Lego light sensors, as well as using 16 and 32 pixel images from a motorbike race and a mountain rally car stage. By demonstrating how little image information is required to achieve localization along a route, we hope to stimulate future 'low fidelity' approaches to visual navigation that complement probabilistic feature-based techniques.

Introducing ICT to a primary school in a developing country : a Fijian experience

One aspect of quality education in the 21st century is the availability of digital resources in schools. Many developing countries need to build this capability – not just in terms of technology but teacher capability as well. One of the ways to achieve such capacity is through knowledge sharing between teachers and educators in developed and developing countries. Over time such collaboration can have a lasting impact on all participants on both sides of the digital divide. This paper reports on how such collaboration can occur. It focuses on the initial stages of a long-term initiative where our primary objective is to develop models, which demonstrate how we (in developed countries) can engage productively and meaningfully with schools in developing countries to build their ICT capacity. As part of this initiative, we introduced laptops and LEGO robotics tool kits to a rural primary school in Fiji. We developed ICT activities that aligned with the curriculum in a number of subjects. In addition, we worked with the teachers over two weeks to build their expertise.