Learning about STEM with robotics – Pupils of The Aquila School were recently invited to take part in a STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) education robotic program in association with Emerson Global. Emerson Global is a multinational engineering company, that helps drive sustainable solutions through a multitude of industries and supports STEM education, to develop a love of STEM for future generations to come.
Collaborating with 30 rising leaders our pupils worked on a robotics project that had them working on an educational robot that could autonomously drive around a track. They were given the opportunity to create sales presentations to demonstrate how their robots can solve a global issue, such as; collecting plastic in the ocean, detecting land mines or planting seeds and trees in rugged remote landscapes.
Ms Dewan, our computing teacher at The Aquila School said, “Learning by doing is what robotics is all about! The pupils got the most out of this hands-on experience that resembled vocational learning since they got to think of ways of solving real-world problems.”
It was lovely to see how our pupils’ imagination came to life in their presentations. The event helped future leaders from Emerson, as well as our own pupils, develop their leadership, problem-solving and critical thinking skills, in a fun, hands-on and engaging way.
One of our families commented on their child’s experience, “My son and the other children enjoyed today’s event and it was definitely a wonderful learning experience for them. Memorable!”
Benjamin Atkins, Head of Secondary, said; “Working in an unfamiliar location, with pupils of different abilities, under the direction of engineers they have never met, put our pupils outside of their comfort zone and into their zone of proximal development – allowing them to rapidly accelerate their learning. Combining STEM activities through robotics is a key area we are driving forward with our computing curriculum. We want to ensure our pupils are ready for the challenges the future will bring.”
We were delighted that the robots our children helped make, are back at The Aquila School, ready for our pupils to use in future coding projects and STEM learning opportunities.
