STEAM and Robotics Education

The future for STEAM and robotics education has never been brighter. There is overwhelming enthusiasm to reengage in authentic hands-on STEAM and robotics education for the 2021–2022 school year. This comes after a year of restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic

There have been significant articles written about how robotics education and robotic instruction engage students in the 21st Century Skills of Communication, Collaboration, Creativity and Critical Thinking. While these skills are critical and necessary for the 21st Century learner, another often overlooked, result of robotics education is leadership and character development. …

What was the Armenian Genocide and Why is it a Difficult Topic?

Recently President Joe Biden officially recognized the Armenian genocide on the 106th anniversary of start of the massacre. While there no official number of Armenians killed estimates range between 300,000 and 2 million. This is a subject that is typically not studied in public schools in the United States in European history and if it is it not on a sufficient level.

What was the Armenian Genocide and Why is it a Difficult Topic?

The violence began during the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor of modern…

This is a very important topic in our public schools, I am very glad to read over such detailed and organized article.

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020–2021 greatly impacted robotics instruction and competitions at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Most, if not all robotic competitions were canceled or significantly curtailed. One explicit example was the VEX and VEX IQ Robot Challenges and Tournaments. During the 2019–2020 school year, there were many tournaments or leagues throughout the Southern California region and the state.

Many teams worked extremely had to qualify for the state tournaments, Nationals or Worlds until the pandemic closed all public events. …

This a critical element in the education capacity and by ignoring this is a damaging approach

Why is robotics instruction and education the ultimate STEAM? Many progressive educators advocate for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) to be a cornerstone of a robust and engaging 21st Century education. STEAM education encapsulates the skills that organizations and businesses desire: cooperation, communication, critical-thinking, and creativity as well as high citizenship and high character. Additionally, the STEAM construct is interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary, highly desired 21st Century skills. Let us consider how and why robotics instruction and education is the ultimate STEAM.

It has been debated to what degree robotics truly engage students in the hard disciplines of Science…

There has been a significant focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) instruction in primary and secondary educational levels throughout the country and around the world. One key component of a robust STEAM education program has robotics instruction. Developmentally appropriate robotic education can start as early as kindergarten (5–6 years old) and continue through college and beyond.

Over the past few years, robotics and robotic instruction has become mainstream in elementary and middle schools throughout the country and the world. Additionally, robotic tournaments at all educational levels have shown exponential growth and have been a great showcase for…

What is the future of education? There have been countless theories about the future of education since John Dewey. John Dewey (1859–1952), believed that human beings learned through a “hands-on” approach which is identified as the educational philosophy of pragmatism. This educational philosophy believes that students must interact with their environment in order to adapt and learn. Some of the most notable pragmatic philosophers from the 19th Century include Charles Peirce, William James, and John Dewey.

Additionally, there are several other educational philosophies including: Perennialism, Essentialism, Progressivism, and Reconstructionism. These philosophies tend to focus on what we should teach and…