Giving Compass' Take:

• In Iowa, some schools are using robots to teach students the 4C's: critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity. By using a robot to learn these principals, educators are barring other types of technology that could be harmful to student productivity. 

• What challenges can arise from introducing robotics and coding too early? What are the benefits?

• Read about students in Missouri that are building robots. 

Here in Iowa, we have thousands of jobs open for people who have knowledge of computer science and a dearth of students coming out of school each year with the 21st-century skills to fill those positions.

We serve students ranging from Pre-K through 12 in 23 school districts in Iowa. To teach our K-2 students how coding works through a process of discovery and exploration, we have incorporated robots that can be programmed with little or limited screen time into our introductory coding classes. We’ve been pleasantly surprised that not only has student engagement increased, but that these projects promote the Four Cs: creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and communication.

Critical thinking: In a recent introductory lesson for kindergarteners, we introduced the coding robot, KIBO. The first thing we did was have the students put their own robots together. The robot has wheels, which won’t move smoothly if you don’t put the wheels on right. Rather than having an adult tell them what to do, we let the kids problem-solve and figure that out.

Collaboration: When screens aren’t an option, students are more likely to move around the room, sharing what they’re learning and collaborating on their work.

Communication: Once students have a little more coding experience using introductory tools like KIBO and ScratchJr, we move them onto platforms like Coding Duo, which allows two students to program at the same time, collaboratively moving characters through levels. Code.org also has a K-5 curriculum that involves paired programming.

Creativity: We teach a lot of lessons that have to do with culture. K–2 students like dance and music, so we bring in music from other cultures. The kids program their robot to dance to music from that culture, as well as use craft materials to decorate their robot to become that dancer.

Read the full article about using robots to teach students by Kathy Hay at Getting Smart