Monday 02 March 2009
by: Chau Lam, Newsday
Quinn Johnston, an eighth-grader at Fowler Middle School, listens to her teacher assessing her answer to an algebra problem. (Photo: Benjamin Brink / The Oregonian)
Anastasia Giddens-Merritt and lab partner Kevin Peña watched the robot they had built and programmed try to hurl a ball over a wall.
The throw, however, was a bit short.
"The robot's arm went all the way down and crashed into the floor," said Anastasia, 10, who is in a program for gifted and talented students in the Westbury school district.
So the two went back to their shared computer, made some adjustments and this time the robot lobbed the plastic ball right over the wall at a Westbury school. "It's fun," said Kevin, 10, a student in the special education program.
The students are fifth-graders at Powells Lane Elementary School and Drexel Avenue School, both in Westbury, and are part of a program that teams special education students, who are learning-disabled, and counterparts in the gifted and talented program.
Math, science and technology lessons are incorporated into the robotics program, which teaches the fundamental engineering and basic principles of building and programming machines capable of performing simple human tasks.
And, just as important, the students learn from each other.
"It's boosting the confidence of my special education students," said Alexa Johnides, a teacher at Drexel.
The program, consisting of 10 two-hour lessons, is run by Game Builders Academy, a private company based in Westbury.
Working in teams of two, students built working robots using interlocking plastic bricks and varying gears made by LEGO, manufacturer of construction toys. They use skills including creative thinking and graphing to build and design the robots, said Phil Lipsky, president of Game Builders Academy.
"We teach math, science and technology through robots," Lipsky said.
Thursday's class was the end of the 10-week session. The most important lesson that Gabby Davis, 10, from the gifted and talented program at Drexel, took away wasn't math or science.
"I learned that it's important to work with your partner because doing it by yourself is tricky," said Gabby.
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