Hands-on engineering

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

EASTHAMPTON - Students at Pepin School are building and programming robots as part of a regional project aimed at providing hands-on engineering experience to some of the region's youngest students.

Earlier this year, the Hampshire Regional schools and seven other Pioneer Valley school districts were awarded $200,000 in grant funding to support the Western Massachusetts Robotics Project, thanks to a grant written by Williamsburg Schools' Technology Coordinator John Heffernan.

The funding, which was provided to the state's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, equipped area elementary and middle school students with technology, math and science robotics kits and paid for a training program for teachers across western Massachusetts.

At Pepin, students in grades 1 through 4 have worked with their math and science teachers to build, program and operate miniature robots.

Marge Kline, who teaches second grade at Pepin, said the idea behind the program is to encourage school administrators to begin introducing students to technology and engineering at a younger age than in years past.

"Research has shown that very few females choose engineering as a career and this is our way of starting interest among both boys and girls at a young age," Kline said, adding "and at the same time we are promoting 21st-century skills and higher-level thinking and problem solving among students."

The results, Kline said, have been "unbelievable."

"They are all very excited and what is interesting is we were worried about managing the lessons, losing pieces and having our kids work together, and so far none of that has been a problem," Kline said. "Once we gave them a little structure the work they've done has been incredible."

According to Heffernan, who said the projects have been a hit in Williamsburg schools for years, students in grades 1 through 4 will work with Lego WeDo kits and those in grades 6 through 8 will use Lego Mindstorms to develop engineering skills through cooperative learning.

Using those kits, students will complete a variety of tasks, including constructing and programming minature robots to move, make noise and navigate mazes.

One project recently completed by the younger set of students, Heffernan said, involved setting their robot up with a drum and then using a laptop computer to change the rhythm the robot makes when it plays.

Pepin first-grade teacher Mary Franck and third-grade teacher Marcia Dushane, Kline said, are joining her for a 10-week course provided by grant funding to prepare them for the projects, which use Lego building kits to build, program and control robots capable of moving and make noise.

"We are taking the course so we can work through eight different projects and then pass the information we gain to our other grade levels," Kline said. "So far we've been absolutely impressed with the results and with the discussions we've generated."

According to the grant, participating teachers will provide at least two promising practices or lesson plans to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education by August 2011 so they can be sent out to teachers and students in school districts statewide.

Also participating in the robotics program are students in Amherst, Northampton, Easthampton, the Gateway Regional district, Greenfield and South Hadley.

Fore more information about the grant, or the Western Mass Robotics Project, residents are encouraged to visit an informational website: www.burgyschools.org/WeBot/WeBotOnePage.pdf.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.