Class 3 students wandered into Room 48 last Monday and plopped themselves onto the carpet, bouncing eagerly as they awaited Mr. Jenkins, the Lower School Technology Integrator, to begin his lesson. “Today is a day for building!” he said cheerily, prompting excited whispers amongst the students.
This particularly enthralling lesson was a continuation of the Class 3 “InnoGator” curriculum, which began on October 25. Students were spread throughout four classrooms, each housing a distinct lesson from the over-arching technology program.
Typically, the grade-wide program focuses solely on Robotics. However, the new InnoGator unit comprises three sub-topics: Robotics, Coding, and Making & Design Thinking. By incorporating the two new areas of study, the hope is for a broader spectrum of students to be inspired to ideate and innovate through various outlets.
Beginning with Robotics, on the fourth floor in Room 48, a half-group of students anticipated the start of the building process of their very own Lego robot. The class began with a short video showing an example of “robots in the real world,” which, in this case, was a Lego wheelchair created to aid an injured turtle. By utilizing this robot, the turtle was able to regain all mobility it had lost and could turn with ease. The video elicited a chorus of “Aw’s” as the students watched the tiny animal maneuver around.
Then, it was the students’ turn to develop their own Lego robots. Their task was to first construct the “Drive Base,” (the base of a Lego robot) using tools including wheels, beams, pegs, axels and bushings. In preparation for this assignment, students participated in a scavenger hunt the cycle prior, searching for the specific tools they would be using, to familiarize themselves with their names and designs.
In pairs, students situated themselves across the classroom and got straight to work by pulling out their “Robot Build Guide,” and digging through their tool bins.
One floor down, students were practicing interview techniques as part of the Making & Design Thinking process (Maker’s Lab). Following a simplified version of this process (Feel, Imagine, Do, Share), the students began by learning about the importance of empathy, which will be the subject of a unique math game they develop for the Class 1 students later, whom they will interview. This interaction not only helps to build relationships across grades, but also serves to move the curriculum out of its typical lab setting and into the classroom. Some of the thoughtful interview questions they are developing include, “What are your favorite games you play in the classroom?” “Do you prefer dice or card games?” and “Do you like games using a board or on paper?”
Continuing into the next classroom, students were practicing the intricate work of coding. The coding unit will cover key elements such as algorithms, programs, and coding steps but began that day with tackling graph paper coding.
For this activity, students were given a piece of paper with multiple images. To communicate which image their peers should draw, students used symbols, such as arrows that pointed in different directions and a line resembling a lightning bolt, to designate that a square should be colored in.
Their partners then followed the carefully constructed code to recreate the correct picture. “Remember,” interjected Mr. Jenkins, “coding is two things: sequential, which means everything must go in the right order, and time-consuming.” Suddenly, one student happily clapped her hands together, as she completed the drawing using the complex code before her.
Located in the final classroom, was the second half of the Robotics group, who sat diligently, putting the finishing touches on their Drive Bases. When these talented builders are finished, they will draw from their programming and code knowledge to make their robot move on its own. One teacher noted how willing the students are, “They’re comfortable just digging in.”
It was clear that the budding technicians in each classroom embraced the wide-ranging unit, benefitting from both collaboration and hands-on experience.
