PROJECT PURPOSE AND ELIGIBILITY
This project is designed to expand or seed new maker clubs in participating schools by training educators and student leaders on a set of programmed robotics platforms that can be utilized by a school maker club. Maker clubs need not be solely focused on robotics and can expand to other project areas, but our grant introduces this type of technology as a place to start. Applicants should be middle or high school educators who are interested in sponsoring a simple maker club at their school, or who already run a makerspace or maker club at their school (e.g., media/technology specialists, science/math/CTE teachers, administrators). Educators should work in public/private schools in the North Carolina counties of Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, or Catawba, or in neighboring counties within driving distance of Hickory. We will accept four middle and four high school educators per year for a cohort of eight educators per year (2020, 2021, 2022).
This project is designed to expand or seed new maker clubs in participating schools by training educators and student leaders on a set of programmed robotics platforms that can be utilized by a school maker club. Maker clubs need not be solely focused on robotics and can expand to other project areas, but our grant introduces this type of technology as a place to start. Applicants should be middle or high school educators who are interested in sponsoring a simple maker club at their school, or who already run a makerspace or maker club at their school (e.g., media/technology specialists, science/math/CTE teachers, administrators). Educators should work in public/private schools in the North Carolina counties of Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, or Catawba, or in neighboring counties within driving distance of Hickory. We will accept four middle and four high school educators per year for a cohort of eight educators per year (2020, 2021, 2022).
EXPECTATIONS OF EDUCATOR PARTICIPANTS, and BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATION
- Identify Student Leaders (May-June): Educators will recruit two student leaders from their school to participate in our summer institute and to serve as club leaders during the following school year to help their peers work with the programmed robotics technologies introduced in training. If possible, student leaders should include females and minority students who are underrepresented in STEM fields.
- Attend Summer Institute with Student Leaders (August): Each educator with two student leaders attends our institute August 2-4, 2021 (educators attend half-day orientation August 2, and educators with student leaders attend two days of training August 3-4). Institute to be held on site with mask protocols at the NC Center for Engineering Technologies (NCCET) in Hickory. Educators will receive four robotics platforms to use during training and to implement in their maker club the following school year. Equipment becomes school property and can be retained after the grant. Educators receive a $450 stipend ($150/day) and CEUs. Lunches provided daily.
- Implement Maker Clubs (Fall to Spring): In the fall following training, educators with the aid of their student leaders recruit at least ten additional students to take part in robotics activities in their maker club, with meetings held at their school at least every other week throughout the school year. Students whose parents consent to research will be asked to take pre-post assessments about coding/robotics knowledge and interests impacted by program activities. An external evaluator we have retained for the grant will visit about half of the clubs one time during the year to observe and ask students about their work with robotics.
- Engage in Online Community Spaces: Educators and student participants will have access to two online community platforms to support their work across schools: 1) a Slack group is available for club mentors to share resources and ask questions during training and implementation, and 2) FlipGrid boards are available for students to document and discuss completed challenges for each robotics platform and to issue challenges to other schools.
- Attend Mid-Year Meeting (January): Educators attend a half-day Saturday meeting with their cohort to discuss club implementation and will receive a $150 stipend, lunch, and technical door prizes for participation.
- Schedule Spring Field Day (March-April): Each school will receive lunches and up to $800 (substitute/transportation reimbursement) to participate in a spring field day at the NCCET for engineering lab tours with industry experts.
- Participation in the grant is a one-year commitment, but of course educators are encouraged to continue their club activities beyond their year of participation, and to continue participating in the online community spaces.