Using robots as a hands-on tool for learning
Bessemer City Middle students use robots as a hands-on tool for learning
In Andrew Graff’s classroom at Bessemer City Middle School, the
first 10 minutes of the lesson look a lot like what you’d expect to
happen on a typical Friday morning. Students are seated in their desks
with notebooks and pencils ready. Graff stands at the front of room.
With a dry-erase marker in hand, he leads a discussion about the
word of the day -- “Conservation of Energy” -- and diagrams a motor
on the class whiteboard. But when he turns back to face the class, the
note-taking ends and the active learning begins.
“Are you ready? Go ahead and get your robots,” said Graff.
Now, the students put down their pencils and divide into teams,
pulling out plastic boxes filled with metal parts and wires. Some plug
robots into computers for programming; others pick up screwdrivers
or wrenches and start making adjustments to wheels and other
moving parts.
For several weeks, the student teams have been working to
design, build, wire and program a robot to pick up plastic blocks and
to make it faster and better than their classmates’ -- there will be a
contest at the end of the project.
Graff’s classroom is the fir