Educational robotics: using the Lego Mindstorms NXT platform for increasing high school STEM education

The field of educational robotics (ER) seeks to use the building and programming of robots to engage and educate the next generation of college freshman entering science and engineering majors. To increase the rate of application to science and engineering degree programs as well as the rate of retention, students must be engaged in high school. They must acquire the knowledge and interest to pursue these career choices. This research explores the use of robotics to interest high school students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and to improve their knowledge of these subjects. The case study developed instructional strategies to guide the learning process, increase students\u27 understanding of concepts and their practical application, and consequently increase their interest in STEM college majors and career paths. The instructional strategies explored in this research required students to study a given set of concepts, restate the newly acquired knowledge, apply it in a practical hands-on activity, and review the significant points made by the instructor. This research used the Lego Mindstorms NXT robotic platform to permit practical application of the training process to the Botball robotics competition. Students involved in this case study demonstrated improvement in application of science and mathematics principles to robotics and won the regional Botball competition after completing the training --Abstract, page iii

Mathematical embodiment through robotics activities.

This naturalistic phenomenological study looked at the emergence of mathematical understanding in middle school students as they engaged in open-ended robotics activities. The study chronicled the mathematics they used, the mathematics they perceived themselves to be using, and the opportunities for the embodiment of mathematics understandings as they engaged in meaningful open-ended problem solving activities using robots. In addition, the study sought to understand how the students cooperatively organized their efforts and negotiated meaning as they solved complex tasks.The robotics activities portrayed in this study exemplify rich tasks that appear accessible to students of varied abilities. This accessibility potentially may provide an avenue for addressing equity issues in education, such as those related to gender, minority status, and learning disabilities. The accessibility of the robotics activities is also important since robotics activities have the potential to provide a meaningful context for the study of mathematics in a transformative mathematics curriculum. In this study, the students' choices influenced the complexity of the mathematics that emerged from the activities. Robotics seems to exemplify an appropriate use of technology to create meaningful, open-ended, problem solving activities. Further research is required in order to adapt these types of robotics activities into the in-school context as part of a transformative mathematics curriculum

THE EFFECT OF THE BALLOONSAT PROJECT ON MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS' ATTITUDE TOWARD SCIENCE

This study measured the effect of completing a BalloonSat project on student attitude toward science. Seven categories of student attitudes toward science were measured using the Test of Science Relate Attitudes survey (TOSRA). The research anticipated that the BalloonSat project would have similar effects on student attitudes as found in robotics projects, like FIRST. The researcher also investigated whether gender moderated the effects of the BalloonSat project. This study enrolled 138 students from three states and one Canadian province. Students were free to select membership in either the treatment group or the control group. Student attitude toward science was measured prior to the start of the study and at its completion. Mean scores for the control and treatment group were then compared using an analysis of covariance. The effect of the BalloonSat project only affected one attitude toward science, Leisure Interest in Science. The study did not find gender was a factor in the effects of the BalloonSat project. This study is the first study of the BalloonSat project on grade 7 - 10 students and provides some evidence that a BalloonSat project can impact middle and high school attitude toward science

Innovative Leadership in Education: The Characteristics and Practices of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) Digital Principals of the Year.

Ed.D. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 2017

Elementary Teachers' Perceptions of Engineering, Engineering Design, and Their Abilities to Teach Engineering: A Mixed Methods Study

This explanatory sequential mixed methods study explores elementary teachers� preparedness to teach engineering and engineering design as prescribed by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The data analyzed included the NGSS document, responses to an online survey that was completed by 542 Oklahoma K-5 teachers responsible for the science instruction of their students, and interview and focus group transcripts from a subset of survey participants. The results are organized into three distinct manuscripts, each devoted to a specific set of research questions. As a whole, the dissertation findings indicate that elementary teachers are not prepared to incorporate engineering practices into their classrooms. Study participants were found to have limited understanding of engineering and engineering design, as well as low engineering self-efficacy and engineering teaching efficacy related to pedagogical content knowledge. While participants recognized the benefits of including engineering activities in their classrooms, they reported that barriers such as lack of time, lack of training, lack of materials, and lack of support inhibited their abilities to infuse engineering into their curriculum.Education (PhD

The Secondary School Science Olympiad Experience: Coaches Opinions and Attitudes Regarding Participation and Content Acquisition

Science Olympiad (SO) is a team-oriented STEM competition that offers students the opportunity to participate in a wide range of STEM topics attracting students with varying STEM interests. This hermeneutic phenomenological cross-case study explored the experiences of 12 SO coaches with experience coaching middle school and/or high school teams. Educational settings for the teams included public schools, private schools, and homeschool. Coaches were asked to fill out an open-ended questionnaire about their SO coaching experiences. Based upon questionnaire responses, coaches were invited to participate in follow-up interviews. The experiences related by the coaches in the interviews were written as case studies and a cross-case analysis was conducted to reveal patterns and themes across the coaches’ experiences. Themes explored encompassed coaches’ views on student benefits as well as personal benefits to the coaches; challenges coaches perceived students overcoming as well as challenges experiences for the coaches; and the amount and type of support coaches have discovered they and their students need in order to have a positive SO experience. Coaches indicated that they found coaching an SO team to be enjoyable or rewarding because they saw students having fun while learning. Some coaches also stated that SO allowed students to gain knowledge (literacy) not available to them in the classroom setting and they viewed this knowledge to be especially valuable for the student pursuing a STEM career in the future. Key findings of coaches’ perspectives included that student participation in SO confirmed STEM career choice, assisted in STEM skills acquisition, and encouraged several areas of personal development. Some coaches reported their own personal knowledge and skill growth as benefits to coaching. Some key findings support other related research. The perspective that competition offers opportunities for personal growth coincides with studies conducted by Wirt (2011) and Schmidt (2014). Examples given by coaches of STEM knowledge acquisition as a part of preparation for competition match with some literacy goals stated in the NGSS (NRC, 2013) document and the general literacy idea promoted by UNESCO (2017) that literacy exists along a continuum where individuals find the level of competency needed for their personal interests and career goals. Coaches’ examples of students enjoying and benefiting from competition support the findings of studies by Campbell and Walberg (2011), Wirt (2011), Ozturk & Debelak (2008), Abernathy and Vineyard (2001), and Verhoeff (1997). Many coaches discussed the importance of mentors for student success in SO competition. The descriptions of the guidance given by the mentors’ support statements by Ozturk and Debelak (2008) claiming that an adult guide is necessary for students to glean the maximum benefits from participation in competitions. Most of the coaches in this study were eager to share their experiences and offer advice to anyone interested in coaching an SO team. Included in the findings of this study are recommended strategies for acquiring funding, recruitment of team members, team structuring, team building, and promoting team recognition and publicity for achievements

The Secondary School Science Olympiad Experience: Coaches Opinions and Attitudes Regarding Participation and Content Acquisition

Science Olympiad (SO) is a team-oriented STEM competition that offers students the opportunity to participate in a wide range of STEM topics attracting students with varying STEM interests. This hermeneutic phenomenological cross-case study explored the experiences of 12 SO coaches with experience coaching middle school and/or high school teams. Educational settings for the teams included public schools, private schools, and homeschool. Coaches were asked to fill out an open-ended questionnaire about their SO coaching experiences. Based upon questionnaire responses, coaches were invited to participate in follow-up interviews. The experiences related by the coaches in the interviews were written as case studies and a cross-case analysis was conducted to reveal patterns and themes across the coaches’ experiences. Themes explored encompassed coaches’ views on student benefits as well as personal benefits to the coaches; challenges coaches perceived students overcoming as well as challenges experiences for the coaches; and the amount and type of support coaches have discovered they and their students need in order to have a positive SO experience. Coaches indicated that they found coaching an SO team to be enjoyable or rewarding because they saw students having fun while learning. Some coaches also stated that SO allowed students to gain knowledge (literacy) not available to them in the classroom setting and they viewed this knowledge to be especially valuable for the student pursuing a STEM career in the future. Key findings of coaches’ perspectives included that student participation in SO confirmed STEM career choice, assisted in STEM skills acquisition, and encouraged several areas of personal development. Some coaches reported their own personal knowledge and skill growth as benefits to coaching. Some key findings support other related research. The perspective that competition offers opportunities for personal growth coincides with studies conducted by Wirt (2011) and Schmidt (2014). Examples given by coaches of STEM knowledge acquisition as a part of preparation for competition match with some literacy goals stated in the NGSS (NRC, 2013) document and the general literacy idea promoted by UNESCO (2017) that literacy exists along a continuum where individuals find the level of competency needed for their personal interests and career goals. Coaches’ examples of students enjoying and benefiting from competition support the findings of studies by Campbell and Walberg (2011), Wirt (2011), Ozturk & Debelak (2008), Abernathy and Vineyard (2001), and Verhoeff (1997). Many coaches discussed the importance of mentors for student success in SO competition. The descriptions of the guidance given by the mentors’ support statements by Ozturk and Debelak (2008) claiming that an adult guide is necessary for students to glean the maximum benefits from participation in competitions. Most of the coaches in this study were eager to share their experiences and offer advice to anyone interested in coaching an SO team. Included in the findings of this study are recommended strategies for acquiring funding, recruitment of team members, team structuring, team building, and promoting team recognition and publicity for achievements

University of San Diego News Print Media Coverage 2008.03

Printed clippings housed in folders with a table of contents arranged by topic.https://digital.sandiego.edu/print-media/1062/thumbnail.jp

University of San Diego News Print Media Coverage 2009.03

Printed clippings housed in folders with a table of contents arranged by topic.https://digital.sandiego.edu/print-media/1074/thumbnail.jp

Undergraduate Bulletin of the University of San Diego 2014-2016

276 pages : illustrations, photographs ; 28 cmhttps://digital.sandiego.edu/coursecatalogs-undergrad/1023/thumbnail.jp