By TANIA PHILLIPS
SCIENCE can be fun and challenging – just ask the Year Six students from The Scots PGC College.
The group spent a day last week working with some engineering and science students on fun projects aimed at stimulating their interest in science.
The USQ students, known as Robogals, are male and female university students who have made a commitment to encourage girls, in particular, to think about a career in engineering or scientific fields.
Using the newly purchased Mindstorm Lego kits, the Robogals led the students through a number of exciting experiments and team challenges.
The Scots students had already built the robots and had been introduced to writing simple robot computer programs.
During the day the students learned to write more complex code instructions for the robots and then set them off on a series of challenges.
This ranged from working their way around a maze, to following masking tape pathways using sensors and performing complex tasks. The day was highly successful and a strong link between USQ and the college has been forged.
The introduction of the robotic Lego into the college curriculum is in line with and supports both the existing Queensland and the new draft Australian Curriculum for Technology.
Technologies Department head, Greg Wacker said as the college moved towards the implementation of this national curriculum in 2016, there was a growing need to develop innovative practices to engage and enhance the learning experience of the 21st century students.
“We are now teaching 21st century students for jobs that do not exist today. It will be vital that students can problem solve, work collaboratively and think creatively in the future to be successful in their chosen profession,” he said.
“The college wants to ensure that the curriculum that is delivered in the technology area is both sustainable and reflective of current industry and social practices.
“The development of a College Makerspace, purchasing of new technologies such as a 3D printer and the credit card sized Raspberry Pi computer are just some of the ways the college will enhance this learning.”
Students in Years 5 and 7 at the college will be working with the kits later this year and the USQ students are very keen to return to show these students the possibilities of working with the robots to ensure that they too consider working in the area technology or science areas when they consider their future career paths.
