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Print Edition StoriesFriday, July 17, 2009
Inside Education & Training
Teaching workshop boosts STEM
By Lynette F. Cornell, Special to Mass High Tech
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While their students were free to enjoy the mid-80 degree weather early in their summer vacations, 48 educators from schools across Massachusetts gathered in a classroom at iRobot Corp. in Bedford, where, for two days, they attended workshops aimed at bolstering science and technology education.
In each of the four workshops, teachers explored how robots can be used in teaching science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects. One of the workshops, led by Montpelier, VT.-based Tertl Studos LLC, focused on making math more visual by programming robots to move according to algebraic functions.
Programmers at Tertl developed a curriculum for incorporating iRobot’s Create robotics base into classroom courses. The base is similar in appearance to a Roomba, iRobot’s robotic vacuum cleaner, and functions as a robotics platform that educators can build on. To demonstrate its use in teaching algebra, the instructors from Tertl mounted the Create bases with Bluetooth devices and distance sensors. Along with a team of interns, the instructors guided the teachers in using a digital graph to plot the distances recorded by the sensors. As the recorded points appeared on the graph, a line representing the ratio’s slope appeared. Using this data, the teachers programmed the robots to move a certain way in response to varying an object’s distance from the robot base. The result is a more tangible approach to math.
Holly Yanco, an associate professor of computer science at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, said she’s seen a positive effect on students from using robots in math education. As the founder of the UMass Lowell Robotics Laboratory, Yanco uses robotics to engage students of all ages in learning about applied science. “It really catches them. Some kids are tactile learners, and this really works for them,” she said.
Yanco hopes keeping students engaged will lead more of them into careers in science. “We need to develop the work force,” she said.
For Ashland High School teacher Chris Beaton, robots play an essential role in the classroom. The two robotics courses he instructs each year are packed with 60 students. Some of the students, he said, are even exposing him to more advanced uses of robots. “These people are going to be running IT departments in major corporations,” said Beaton.
The program, which Ashland began seven years ago, concentrates on presenting students with a problem and allowing them the freedom to find solutions in creative and unconventional ways. Most students who participate in the robotics program, said Beaton, pursue a career in a science or technology discipline.
Focused on strengthening the tech pipeline, iRobot has made STEM education part of their strategic goal, said Kristen Stubbs, iRobot’s STEM Outreach Program Manager. “This is key to broadening the pipeline,” said Stubbs. “We want to keep them excited.”
This fall, iRobot will launch Spark, a website for parents and children with links to resources including robotics activities.
Lynette F. Cornell is a freelance writer from Manchester, N.H.
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