VEX Robotics Reaches Summit
Peder Hansen, Summit School District (SSD) STEM Coordinator, recently sat down with us to talk about his most recent initiative, VEX Robotics for grades 3-12. STEM is short for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.
VEX Robotics has taken hold in Colorado over the last year.
There are many great school district leaders throughout Colorado investing in computer science as a K12 strategy. Last semester, District STEM teachers and staff launched VEX Robotics in Summit County public schools. “We want to show kids that this is a career path that’s accessible to them and it’s useful in their education. VEX Robotics helps students see that and it adds a level of excitement,” said Peder Hansen, SSD STEM Coordinator. Kids learn how to code and be engineers while also learning teamwork and project management skills.
SSD would like to grow it exponentially this year and take the kids to state competitions.
Students Share Robotics Experiences with Parents
There’s been a great response from kids who have an engineering mindset, both boys and girls. The district wasn’t expecting the kids to be competition-ready, but they were after only three months. That’s when the teachers decided to have a local competition.
There were 50-60 kids participating and the parents loved it.
One elementary kid’s dad flew in from Ohio to see his son compete. The student said to his teacherr, “I’ve never been part of anything this cool in my elementary school!”
Parents don’t always hear what happened during their child’s school day. “We know kids are participating and talking to their families about robotics, and that it’s an uplifting sign that what we’re doing is worthwhile,” said Peder.
Where Education Foundation of the Summit Fits In
It’s difficult to get enough robotics kits to get enough people involved, but EFS helped SSD through the Eileen Finkel Innovative Teaching Grant. This funding ensured that they had three VEX Robotics kits per school. With enough kits, twelve kids could be part of a club and teachers could learn how to teach robotics. Five schools’ clubs really took off—four elementary schools plus Summit Middle School.
Peder Hansen, SSD STEM Coordinator
“We know kids are participating and talking to their families about this, and that it’s an uplifting sign that what we’re doing is worthwhile.“
Program Sustainability
The VEX Robotics launch was a lot of work. This year SSD is looking at how to create a sustainable system so that the teachers don’t have to do all the work. Peder said, “We want to be sure we’re supporting the teachers, who already have a lot to do, to provide this opportunity for the kids.”
The parents are involved, too. If parents think their child might be interested, Peder hopes they will be open to it and consider volunteering during the club or even running a club.
The Challenges
Peder said the biggest challenge offering this to kids in an equitable manner, so that everyone has access. How do we overcome stereotypes? Studies say that girls don’t see themselves in computer science related fields, so how do we help girls do that?
SSD wants to make robotics interesting, available and accessible. They want students to give it a try. They have had very few kids drop out of it, and 20 kids (4th-8th grade) spent 5 days working well together during a VEX Robotics summer camp.
Allowing for time and resources to do this long-term is another challenge. Peder would love to see more teachers involved, but it’s time that teachers have to give up, in or out of school.
How You Can Help
Peder said, “I think the best thing to do is get people to a competition. To see the excitement and benefits and opportunities this brings to kids. When you see it you get it.” He also encourages parents to ask their schools about the competitions and ask how they can help.
Investing in Ideas
Peder has had many ideas over the years. He said, “It’s hard to invest in ideas as a school district because sometimes it takes a big investment, like VEX Robotics. The Eileen Finkel Innovative Teaching Grant gives that fuel to an idea that the district can’t support. I’ve had so many ideas I want to vet because I think it would be great for kids, but I need to try it out. That’s where EFS has been a blessing to my practice. EFS is investing in teacher ideas, and not a lot of people do that. I would urge teachers to take that idea to the next level and apply for the grant. You never know till you try it. Sometimes you need someone to add fuel to your fire and that’s what the grants do.”