Lego Robotics: STEM Sport of the Mind
Lego Robotics is not just for after-school clubs anymore. It’s engaging
and hands on, aligns with the NETS,
and teaches students how to use
digital age skills in the real world.
In short, it’s just what they need
in the classroom.
science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics (STEM) learning
opportunities available. And that’s
when it hit me: Why not harness this
engagement and excitement in the
classroom to get students excited
about STEM?
Ihad come to the old stone building to observe a FIRST Lego League (FLL) qualifying competition. As I
entered the public school that Saturday morning in New York City, I
was expecting to witness a few dozen
middle school robotics geeks putting
their creations through paces that only
fellow enthusiasts could appreciate.
But nothing could have been further
from the truth.
I was shocked when I opened the
doors to find a huge, animated crowd.
In addition to the members of the
participating FLL teams that I expected to see, there was a roiling mass
of enthused parents, classmates, and
onlookers, all cheering wildly. Embedded STEM learning or not, this struck
me as nothing less than a high-energy
sporting event.
After thinking about it, that made
sense. When Lego Robotics, with all
its user-friendly technology resources
and applications, is in its FLL role,
it is very much a sport of the mind
(see “A Day at FIRST Lego League,”
page 17). All the challenges, thrills,
and satisfaction of traditional school
sports are there. The kicker, though,
is that the students involved are
also experiencing some of the best
A Fun Way to Meet Standards
Schools often begin their involvement
with Lego Robotics by establishing an
after-school FLL club. FIRST, which
stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology,” is an
international not-for-profit organization that inventor Dean Kamen founded 20 years ago to engage students in
hands-on, mentor-based robotics programs. FLL, one of four programs at
FIRST (including Junior FLL for ages
6–9 and two high school programs), is
for students ages 9–14. Once a group
of students and a teacher or two have
accrued some experience and confidence with Lego Robotics materials,
they are ready to move on to the International FLL program.
Many would argue that FLL is the
most popular and visible way that
students participate in Lego Robotics. But often only a small number of
a school’s students participate in its
robotics clubs and teams. That’s why
a crucial next step is implementing
Lego Robotics in the classroom. This
ensures that many more students
reap the STEM learning benefits that
Lego Robotics has to offer. Teachers
around the world are beginning to
implement Lego Robotics in a variety
of ways in the classroom to provide
rich, hands-on, standards-based
STEM learning.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADRIANA M. GROISMAN
When students work on robotics
projects, they learn important science
and math concepts, including standards-based content and skills. Simple
machines, for instance, is a core curriculum concept that is also an important part of many robotics activities.
But the great advantage of Lego Robotics is that it provides an alternative
to learning from textbooks and teacher-driven, lecture-style lessons. Lego
Robotics activities are hands on and
experiential. In typical projects, such
as constructing and programming a
mobile robot to climb a ramp or lift
a crane to move objects, students use
wheels and axles, inclined planes,
pulleys, levers, and screw gears. As
students stretch their imaginations to
come up with solutions to real-world
problems, they are also learning the
varieties of simple machines outlined
in science standards.
