Goodrich-Following a last place finish in the practice competition, the Goodrich Middle School Lego FIRST robotics team rebounded to place in the top 12 at a Nov.18 regional competition, allowing them to advance to next month’s championship.
‘They were ecstatic,? said coach Brad Dawson. ‘We were planning on having one more meeting just to wrap things up and then (following the competition) we were moving on.?
Dawson has been teaching the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) LEGO league for two years at GMS, where he works as one of the school’s four science teachers.
According to their website, www.usfirst.org, FIRST ‘is a multinational non-profit organization, that aspires to transform culture, making science, math, engineering, and technology as cool for kids as sports are today.?
Goodrich High School has produced international champion FIRST Teams; The LEGO league in the seventh and eighth grades of the middle school is a prelude to that competition.
‘This is kind of the farm team for the high school,? said Dawson. ‘We have mentors from the high school robotics team come over and help out.?
Dawson described the program as being ‘all about problem solving. ‘They’re introduced to a problem,? said Dawson, ‘and have to come up with a solution.?
According to the web site ‘with the help of LEGO MINDSTORMS Robotics Invention System technology, young participants can build a robot and compete in a friendly, FIRST-style robotics event specially designed for their age group. Using LEGO bricks and other elements such as sensors, motors, and gears, teams gain hands-on experience in engineering and computer programming principles as they construct and program their unique robot inventions.?
‘They have a robot go out and drop a ball at a specific location,? said Dawson, ‘or pull a lever or pick something up.?
Additionally a large part of the competition is based on the students? ability to solve a problem. This year’s task was defined by the website as follows: ‘explore a current or potential application of nanotechnology…learn what scientists are facing in improving upon the existing application or making the potential application a reality. Design an improvement for the existing nanotechnology, or choose a potential application that faces a challenge and solve it.?
The GMS team decided to apply nanotechnology to vision correction.
Dawson said interest in the team is strong in the middle school? so much so that some students are turned away from the program so all the members on the ten person team are able to participate to the extent he feels is necessary.
Involvement in the program, said Dawson, is beneficial to the students in several ways. ‘They get to work with students that aren’t in their general peer group.? Additionally, students learn about teamwork and role placement, as well as integration of technology into the environment. ‘They get to discuss ideas that aren’t typically taught at this age level,? said Dawson.
Though methods of instruction vary, Dawson said he teaches by making suggestions and allowing students to pick and choose what they will do. And while a robot can be initially completed within a matter of hours, Dawson said the modifications made by a team over the weeks of competition are what makes a winner.
Following their disappointing showing in the practice competition, Dawson said students were willing to learn from the experience and make adjustments.
‘The judges (at the practice competition) gave us a rubric and told us what we needed to work on,? said Dawson.
The changes paid off, and the team placed in the top 12 of the 35 teams competing.
‘We are invited to go to the next tournament which is called a championship tournament,? said Dawson.
The GMS LEGO team will compete on Dec. 16 at Carmen-Ainsworth Middle School, 1409 W. Maple Ave., in Flint.