Title: STEM-BASED EDUCATION LEARNING FLOW USING ROBOTS FOR SYSTEMATICAL UNDERSTANDING

Issue Number: Vol. 1, No. 4
Year of Publication: Oct - 2015
Page Numbers: 182-188
Authors: Kazuyoshi Yoshino, Shanjun Zhang
Journal Name: The International Journal of E-Learning and Educational Technologies in the Digital Media (IJEETDM)
- Hong Kong
DOI:  http://dx.doi.org/10.17781/P001894

Abstract:


Disenchantment with science and mathematics has recently become a major problem around the world and it is said that the period in which children tend to become dissatisfied with science and mathematics commonly occurs in the late elementary to early junior high school period. As a way to stimulate interest and motivation in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education fields, we have developed a method that uses a robot system as instructional equipment in order to motivate students toward understanding and applying science and mathematics fundamentals. We contend that using robots in classes provides incentives for students to pursue their studies, make experimental discoveries, and acquire solid knowledge foundations. For our study, we chose the LEGO MINDSTORMS Education EV3 robot system because this robot’s structure can be modified and applied to a wide variety of study fields. Conventionally, students tend to expect arithmetic, mathematics, and sciences to become increasingly difficult as their grade levels advance. A primary reason for this is that the systematized learning contents of each field are taught in isolation from the curriculums of other fields. Contrastingly, our STEM related curriculum learning flow systematically integrates the learning content of each curriculum using the same robot. As a result, students systematically assimilate an understanding of all presented learning contents because they can associate them with the iterative learning they received in each previous grade. The learning flow consists of five steps: 1) course unit introduction, 2) robot assembly, 3) robot interaction, 4) contemplation and problem solving, and 5) summarization. This paper also describes a learning flow for the proportional relationship curriculum in the arithmetic and mathematics classes of elementary and junior high schools, and provides a practical example of a curriculum-based class conducted at a Japanese elementary school.