ERIC Number: EJ1064205
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 6
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1544-6751
EISSN: N/A
Building Bridges, Robots, and High Expectations
Bennie, Fiona; Corbett, Charlotte; Palo, Angela
Odyssey: New Directions in Deaf Education, v16 p14-19 2015
This article describes an after-school program at the Horace Mann School for the Deaf (HMS), the oldest public day school for deaf students in the United States, where almost half of the student body imagined and created bridge and robotic machines. The Deaf Robotics Engineering and Math Team, or the DREAM Team club, included HMS students in grades three through five and grades six through eight. Using an engineering curriculum guide the student's goal was to compete in the Boston Public Schools Robotic Olympics. Both challenges required students to follow and create diagrams and engage in the engineering design process. At the same time, as they worked together they developed skills in the five C's: (1) communication, (2) collaboration, (3) critical thinking, (4) cooperation, and (5) creative problem solving. In order to measure the impact of the after-school engineering experiences, elementary students were tested before and after they participated in the program and testing revealed that the students improved their attitudes about engineering and understanding of what it meant to be an engineer.
Descriptors: After School Programs, Robotics, Deafness, Program Descriptions, Elementary School Students, Middle School Students, Public Schools, Engineering Technology, Curriculum Guides, Design, Skill Development, Critical Thinking, Cooperative Learning, Problem Solving, Creative Thinking, Interpersonal Communication, Student Attitudes, Pretests Posttests, Teamwork, Problem Based Learning, Hands on Science, Competition, Science Course Improvement Projects, Expectation, Construction (Process)
Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center. Gallaudet University, 800 Florida Avenue NE, KS 3600, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-526-9105; Tel: 202-651-5340; Fax: 202-651-5708; e-mail: odyssey@gallaudet.edu; Web site: http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Education; Middle Schools; Secondary Education; Junior High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Massachusetts
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A