Robotics and GPS/GIS in 4-H: Workforce Skills for the 21st Century is a-five year scale-up project to use 4-H clubs to prepare middle school youth for the STEM workplace. The project builds on and extends an existing research-based ITEST project by developing and testing new national curricula to introduce basic technology skills, foster problem solving and inquiry skills, and encourage teamwork. A professional development model to support youth learning of concepts focused on information and communications technology is designed and delivered to adult volunteers, after-school educators, and parents. The participation of girls and underrepresented populations is broadened through opportunities for collaboration and social networking and infusing cultural awareness within the project deliverables. The impact of these activities on youth STEM literacy, attitudes and workplace skills is documented. Research is performed to better understand how hands-on, inquiry-based robotics and GPS/GIS activities presented in an informal learning environment can effectively interest and prepare youth for the STEM workforce. Research questions include measures of how educational robotics interventions impact youth STEM literacy, workforce skills, and attitudes about STEM content. The research also investigates the use of the 4-H robotics curriculum to positively impact instructional practice of informal educators, their STEM content knowledge and their confidence.
The Robotics and GPS/GIS in 4-H: Workforce Skills for the 21st Century and Scale-Up later renamed to the Geospatial and Robotics Technologies for the 21st Century (GEAR-Tech-21) project focused on the 4-H informal learning environment to support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related learning and careers by providing opportunities for students to use robotics and GPS/GIS to optimize natural resources and other precision agriculture concepts. These projects leveraged robotics, GPS/GIS, natural resources and precision agriculture concepts in order to a) test a model of how STEM experiences delivered in 4-H’s informal learning environment support STEM learning and increase youths’ interest in STEM and b) demonstrate scale-up to a national audience. In addition, the project applied and tested the fundamentals of the scaling framework developed by Corburn (2003) and Dede (2006). The guiding principle of the scaling framework is that scaling efforts need to avoid replicating an intervention that worked locally without taking into consideration the variations and complexities of new locations. Addressing the variation and complexities of a new target population or setting, by carefully reflecting on scale, can lead to a better understanding of what is needed to make a difference in teaching and learning for a wider or larger context. Coburn (2003) provided a basic framework for scale-up and suggested that scale-up is indeed more than increasing the number of participants, educators, and sites. Overall the scaling framework was successfully applied to the GEAR-Tech-21 project as the project moved from a statewide initiative to a national program. However, the original scaling framework was developed for technology innovations conducted in formal educational environments, and some of the assumptions for the scaling framework did not hold true for the project. The projects intellectual merits included the development and robust testing of a teaching and learning model to better understand how to increase interest in STEM using robotics and GPS/GIS activities presented in informal learning environments like the 4-H clubs, robotics competitions, and summer camps, and provided a better understanding of scaling-up a project from a regional to a national project. The project found that educational robotics represents a powerful, engaging tool for youth learning because participants can touch and directly manipulate the robots, resulting in hands-on, minds-on, self-directed learning. The model included curricular activities formatted with a short introductory presentation by an informal educator followed by hands-on activities supported by structured worksheets. Participants typically worked in same-sex pairs to complete the majority of robotics and GPS/GIS tasks, and small groups of three or four students are formed for more advanced challenges. The camps and clubs utilized the same basic curriculum but educators were given the latitude to modify and adapt the instruction to meet the needs of their participants. The camps were delivered in the summer and typically last 40 hours (one week). The clubs, which usually met during the academic year, vary considerably depending on the organizational sponsor (i.e. 4-H, after school). The project developed considerable professional development materials including a printed leaders guide and on-line instructional videos. Broader Impacts: GEAR-Tech-21 provided STEM experiences to over 9,000 youth and trained over 400 teachers and educators. The project’s intensive robotics and GPS/GIS curriculum supported more than 200 camps in 30 states over the five years of the project. The project has also partnered with the SPIRIT (Silicon Prairie Initiative for Robotics in Information Technology) project #0733228 to host five consecutive Nebraska Robotics Expositions, that have directly engaged more than 10,000 youth in educational robotics competitions and showcase events. The GEAR-Tech-21 project also featured a comprehensive and rigorous research and evaluation component. The project developed and refined research and evaluation instruments to examine the impact of the robotics and GPS/GIS activities on academic achievement and students’ STEM attitudes. Research results show that the GEAR-Tech-21 summer camps, academic year clubs, and competitions promote STEM learning, particularly in terms of knowledge of engineering, engineering design, and programming. In addition, the project found that participation in GEAR-Tech-21 camps, clubs, and competitions increases student self-confidence in performing robotics tasks. The self-efficacy results, which focused on student robotics performance, complement those from the knowledge assessment, which assessed basic knowledge. The self-efficacy increases reflect youth growing in self-efficacy as they gain experience in writing programs to effectively control their robot’s actions. The project has resulted in 17 publications. It has also provided leadership for a major book publication on robotics entitled Robots in K12 Education: A New Technology for Learning, which provides a research-based overview of curriculum strategies, perspectives, and research (Barker, Nugent, Grandgenett, & Adamchuk, 2012).
