Two high schools on the NSW Mid-North Coast have launched Academies of STEM robotics programs as part of their innovative STEM initiatives targeting the future workforce.
The STEM Industry School Partnerships Program (SISP) is a government funded program aimed at building teachers’ capacity to deliver integrated STEM education programs. An equal focus is directly impacting the growth and readiness of the STEM workforce for current and future industries.
Academies of STEM Excellence are already established in most regions of NSW. The aim is to create hubs for promoting and supporting STEM activities. A great example is at Port Macquarie, on the Mid-North Coast of NSW where two Academies have been implemented - one at Hastings Secondary College and another at Kempsey High School.
The robotics platform has been a critical curriculum focus for teachers, and students have responded with enthusiasm and keen interest. We needed to consider extension programs that would keep students engaged in STEM and want to pursue STEM careers in the future.
STEM Robotics by Pitsco
After reviewing the possibilities, we identified a stand-out product offered by Kookaburra Educational Resources – the Pitsco robotics platform called TETRIX.
The TETRIX MAX system was selected because of its excellent engineering and the quality of its components. It has an extensive playlist of step-by-step videos, uses easily programmable software, and has a vast catalogue of teacher resource support. It is a total package for the high school setting.
In 2020, we launched the Academies of STEM robotics program in the Year 8 STEM class and the iSTEM class in Years 9 and 10 at Hastings Secondary College and Kempsey High School.
In small groups, students designed and built a team robot that was both autonomous and radio controlled. It allowed students to have instant success with radio control, then begin the development of specific programming to take control of the robot using sensors and coding.
We introduced a new element to create a robotic field that allows students to design their robots to be capable to tackle specific challenges. In 2020 the robotic field is a simulated Mars surface space station. Robots need to be able to collect and deliver fuel cells to various parts of the Mars station.
Project-based learning is a future focus educational model that engages students, inspires them to study STEM and prepares them for challenging and interesting STEM careers.
To find out more about TETRIX for your school STEM robotics program, click here or for the entire STEM and Robotics range, click here.
STEM refers to the focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics in the public education sector. The ultimate aim is to guarantee Australia’s future workforce is adequately skilled to meet the capability demands we are facing.