an experience report on teaching programming and ... of lego mindstorms ev3 for teaching...

Research Motivation and AimRelated Work and Research Contributions

Experimental SetupStudent’s Feedback and Observations

References

An Experience Report on Teaching Programming and ComputationalThinking to Elementary Level Children using Lego Robotics Education Kit

Vidushi Chaudhary1 Vishnu Agrawal2 Pragya Sureka3

Ashish Sureka4

1Samsung, IndiaEmail: [email protected]

2EduTech, IndiaEmail: [email protected]

3Himalayan Group, IndiaEmail: pragya@himalayangroup

4ABB India, IndiaEmail: [email protected]

T4E 2016Vidushi Chaudhary, Vishnu Agrawal, Pragya Sureka, Ashish SurekaAn Experience Report on Teaching Programming and Computational Thinking to Elementary Level Children using Lego Robotics Education Kit



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Table of Contents

1 Research Motivation and Aim

2 Related Work and Research ContributionsLiterature SurveyNovel and Unique Contributions

3 Experimental SetupResearch FrameworkDemographics and Robotics BackgroundExpectationsAssessmentExperimental Design

Curriculum of the CourseEducational Program Learning Outcome

4 Student’s Feedback and Observations

5 References

Vidushi Chaudhary, Vishnu Agrawal, Pragya Sureka, Ashish SurekaAn Experience Report on Teaching Programming and Computational Thinking to Elementary Level Children using Lego Robotics Education Kit



References

Research Motivation and Aim

Research Motivation and Aim

Robotics education for teaching computational thinking, problemsolving, programming and engineering skills is gaining popularity.

STEM educators believe that teaching robotics construction andprogramming fosters essential skills in students.

Research motivation is to investigate the application and effective-ness of Lego Mindstorms EV3 for teaching computational thinking,problem solving, programming, team work and project managementto elementary level kids.




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Literature SurveyNovel and Unique Contributions

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5 References




References


Literature Survey

Garcia-Cerezo et al. [1]

Report on their experience of the 2008 international summer schoolon mechatronics based on the LEGO Mindstorms NXT Set.

Karp et al. [2]

Present their experiences on the implementation and developmentof a LEGO robotics engineering outreach program for elementaryschool students in West Texas




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Literature Survey

Karp et al. [3]

Describe the evaluation results from an annual LEGO robotics com-petition for students in elementary and middle schools held at Lub-bock, Texas, that aims at increasing interest in science, technology,engineering, and math

Kim et al. [4]

Present their approach on educating C language to students usingRobotic Invention System 2:0, a system that helps students to un-derstand the technology of both robot and programming language.




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Literature Survey

Taban et al. [5]

Present a study which describe their experiences on the impacts ofbasic engineering concepts of LEGO Bricks and Robotics in CoralAcademy of Science in Reno, Nevada (a Science, Math and Tech-nology Middle and High School)

Varney et al. [6]

Describe a program implemented in diverse schools which has beendeveloped for in-school sessions focused around LEGO robotics tofoster interest in STEM topics at a young age




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Research Contributions

Contributions to the Body of Knowledge

First experience report and case-study on using robot as ametaphor and using LEGO Mindstorm EV3 as educational kit toteach various skills to elementary kids.

Work qualitatively and quantitatively examines th effectivenessof course curriculum and teachign methods customized for students.

First of its kind in terms of the lessons, activities, worksheets, topics,structure and flow of the teaching material.




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Research FrameworkDemographics and Robotics BackgroundExpectationsAssessmentExperimental DesignEducational Program Learning Outcome

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5 References




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]Vidushi Chaudhary, Vishnu Agrawal, Pragya Sureka, Ashish SurekaAn Experience Report on Teaching Programming and Computational Thinking to Elementary Level Children using Lego Robotics Education Kit



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Table: Demographics and Robotics Background [SID: Student ID][GEN:Gender] [FPF: Fathers’ Profession] [MPF: Mothers’ Profession][PER: Prior Experience in Robotics] [REK: Robotics Education Kit]

SID AGE GEN Grade FPF MPF PER REK

S1 11 F 6th IT IT Practical EV3

S2 12 F 7th Non-IT Non-IT Theoretical EV3

S3 11 F 6th IT IT Practical EV3

S4 13 M 8th IT IT Theoretical EV3

S5 10 M 5th IT Non-IT Practical EV3

S6 10 M 5th IT IT Practical EV3

S7 13 M 8th IT IT NA NA

S8 7 M 2th IT IT NA NA

S9 13 M 8th Non-IT Non-IT NA NA




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Figure: Expectations of Students’ from the Course

The most significant expectation is to learn advance roboticsprogramming, which in itself accounts for almost half of the chart.

The lowest percentage is shared by Learn Robotics without usingLEGO Mindstorm EV3, Construct new Robots and PracticalHandson on Robotics, 11% each.




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Objective is to discern computational and logical thinking skills ofstudents.

Student’s were asked to play a game based on computationalthinking ability of the students. The game comprises 14 levels.The students were supposed to qualify all the levels of the game.




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Figure: Screenshot of Level 8 of the Game




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Figure: Assessment Results of Students in-terms of Level Achieved andNumber of Hints Provided

Out of the 9 students, 3 could not exceed Level 42 students crossed all the levels without any hints and the restlanded up somewhere in the range of 5-8.




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Curriculum of the Course

Conducted Total 9 classes of 2 hrs duration each in our researchstudy summer camp.

Each class dedicated to a particular topic, with introduction in thestarting followed by practical hands-on.




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Day 1

Introduction to LEGO MindStroms EV3kit, motors, sensors andbricks followed by a worksheet given to students




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Table: Curriculum of the camp- Lesson Description & Objective [ CPT-Computational thinking, PRG - Programming, HCD - Handlingcomplexity & Divide Task into Sub-tasks, PRM - Project Management,TMW - Team work, RBT - Robotics]

Lesson Description &Objective

CPT PRG HCD PRM TMW RBT

Introduction to robotics, dif-ference between robot, ma-chine & human

Introduction to EV3 hardware(processor, sensors, motors,small & big parts such as con-nectors, beams, axles, frames)




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Introduction to EV3 software(programming blocks such asplay, loop switch, move tank,move steering, display

Questions like: fill in theblanks, match the column.Identifying hardware & soft-ware components of EV3

Hands-on first time the pro-cessor, sensors, motors & pro-gramming




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Day 2

Construction of Robots and start the hands-on programming.Train the robot to move in forward and backward direction usingtank steering.




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Robot construction using thecomponents

Connection of programmingblocks with each other & theirusage

Changes in blocks to move therobot in backward direction




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Drive forward for rotations& see how much time therobot took to complete thetask

Front & back movement us-ing move tank & move steeringblocks by changing the modes(on, off, on for second, on fordegree & on for rotation




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Day 3

Concept of turning, how to turn robot using tank, steering anddifferent types of curve move.




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Concepts of turning (how dif-ferent vehicles take turns)

Concept of how power of 2 dif-ferent wheels differ from eachother, when any vehicle taketurn

Concept of taking left & rightturns by varying the powersof the motors, back left turn,back right turn




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Concept of turning the robotright side & observe the behav-ior using move tank block

Concept of left turn, rightturn, point turn, curve turn,about turn, 45 degree turn, 90degree turn, 135 degree turnetc.




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Day 4

Construction of the rotor arm to grab and move objects.




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Construction of robotic armfor grabbing the object usingmedium motor

Medium motor working, howto use the medium motor pro-gramming block

Learn about RPM of the mo-tors




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When you find the object infront of your robot, grab it& put it aside

Write a program for grabbingthe object & keeping it at thecenter point




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Day 5

Advance programming: Introduction to light sensor and programto stop the robot at a line.




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Concept of how we can see thethings around us, reflection ofthe light etc.

Working of light sensor

Program robot to stop at theblack line

By knowing the RLI (ReflectedLight Intensity) of the surface,perform certain tasks




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Day 6

Introduction to GYRO sensor, program to stop the robot at certainangle.




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Working of GYRO sensor

Understanding the working ofGYRO sensor by seeing anglevalues in port view of EV3 pro-cessor

Drive robot for 3 rotationsfront, take 135 degrees turn &again drive for 5 rotations

By using GYRO sensors, stopthe robot at certain angles,taking exact degrees such as45, 60 degrees etc.




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Day 7

Introduction to light sensor and program to stop the robot at aline.




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Concept of ultrasonic waves

What is ultrasonic sensor, Tx& Rx the ultrasonic sensors

Maximum & minimum dis-tance which the sensor can de-tect




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Program robot in such away that in starting it will atstop position, as soon as itdetects some object in frontof it, the robot starts mov-ing

Tasks such as stopping at cer-tain distance, taking turn orany other action when the ul-trasonic sensor detects someobject at some certain distance




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Example of Worksheets Given to Students

Table: [FIB: Fill in the Blanks, MCQ: Multiple Choice Questions, POP:Programming on Paper]

Day Topic Type Example

1 Identify hard-ware compo-nents

FIB

1 Identify softwarecomponents

MCQ




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2 Motion, move-ment, steeringblocks

POP Drive forward for 2 rotations, using movetank block and observe the time taken totravel

3 Curve move,turning therobot

POP Drive 2 rotations front then take rightturn in the backward direction using movesteering block and observe the behavior

4 Grab the object FIB,POP

How much rotations and degrees the armshould move to grab the object coming infront of it, while driving the robot




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5 Program robotto stop at line

POP When robot see the black line, it shouldtake about turn and come back to thesame position

6 Program robotto stop at angle

POP Drive for 5 rotations front, take 90 de-grees right turn, drive for 2 rotations for-ward and then stop the robot

7 Program robotto stop at object

FIB,POP

Program the robot s.t it will not moveuntil some object come in front of theultrasonic sensor distance less than 7cm




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Observed and assessed strengths, weaknesses and improvements instudent skills through the educational program.

Evaluated the 6 competencies of all the 9 students using a 5 pointor letter grade system: A (Excellent), B (Good), C (Average orAcceptable), D (Below Average or Poor) and E (Unacceptable orFail).

The improvement in skills were gradual and the program resultedin encouraging student and learning outcomes.




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Figure: Grading of Students’ Corresponding to Each Aimed Skill Beforethe Summer Camp

Only two students had a B grade on computational thinking.

The programming skills of the students was below average.Vidushi Chaudhary, Vishnu Agrawal, Pragya Sureka, Ashish SurekaAn Experience Report on Teaching Programming and Computational Thinking to Elementary Level Children using Lego Robotics Education Kit



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Figure: Grading of Students’ Corresponding to Each Aimed Skill AfterCompletion of the Summer Camp

Substantial improvement in collaboration skills of 7 out of 9students. However, 2 students were not effective group members.6 out of 9 students scored an A or B grade in programming afterthe completion of the program.




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Table: Students’ Feedback [VHF: Very Helpful, NHF: Not Helpful, CPM:Computer Programming, RBC: Robotics Concepts, RCO: RobotConstruction]

Question Students’ Feedback

Key Challenges Faced CPM (89%) RCO(11%)

Working in Team VHF (78%) NHF (22%)

Takeaways from the Camp CPM(44.5%)

RBC (44.5%) RCO(11%)

Participate in advance course Yes (89%) No(11%)




References

References I

Alfonso Garcıa-Cerezo, Jesus Gomez-de Gabriel, Jesus Fernandez-Lozano,Anthony Mandow, Victor F Munoz, Fernando Vidal-Verdu, and Klaus Janschek.Using lego robots with labview for a summer school on mechatronics.In Mechatronics, 2009. ICM 2009. IEEE International Conference on, pages 1–6.IEEE, 2009.

T. Karp, R. Gale, L. A. Lowe, V. Medina, and E. Beutlich.Generation nxt: Building young engineers with legos.IEEE Transactions on Education, 53(1):80–87, 2010.

Tanja Karp and Andreas Schneider.Evaluation of a k-8 lego robotics program.In Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 2011, pages T1D–1. IEEE, 2011.

Seung Han Kim and Jae Wook Jeon.Educating c language using lego mindstorms robotic invention system 2.0.In Proceedings 2006 IEEE International Conference on Robotics andAutomation, 2006. ICRA 2006., pages 715–720, 2006.




References

References II

Faruk Taban, Erdinc Acar, Ismail Fidan, and Ayhan Zora.Teaching basic engineering concepts in a k-12 environment using lego bricks androbotics.In Proceedings of the 2005 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, pages13727–13736, 2005.

Michael W Varney, Abed Janoudi, Dean M Aslam, and Diane Graham.Building young engineers: Tasem for third graders in woodcreek magnetelementary school.IEEE transactions on education, 55(1):78, 2012.


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