Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics in the Classroom
ROVS (Remote Operated Vehicles)
I worked with my mentor teacher Mrs. Lamdin to get a grant worth $1582 in equipment for ROV's (Remote Operated Vehicles) in a bag through the SEAPERCH organization and the Office of National Research. This program is a STEAM initiative program funded by the Office of Naval Research and supported by SEAPERCH.ORG. Students were able to build them as part of a STEAM unit and then tested the ROVs on May 15 during the Mere Point Field Trip where I ran a station that included quadrat studies and operating ROVs.
To wrap up my time in the 7th grade classroom, I taught students and allowed them to discover trouble shooting problems through ROV's. Students were able to put their knowledge of circuits to use when they construct their own circuit boards that allowed for remote operation of their ROV's. They received hands-on STEAM based learning through this project and were able to see why school is really important to them. The grant provides all the necessary equipment with tools to build 10 ROV's and a teachers toolkit.
To make this project work my mentor teacher and I created 2 teams per classroom made up of 9-12 students. Each group had to decided who was going to be the Mechanical Engineers, Electrical Engineers, Mechanical Engineers, Project Managers, and Presentation Managers. Each job had a list of specific tasks to complete. The project includes drafting different drawing designs to scale for ROV's, then applying those drafts to the structural design of the ROV's, measuring and cutting parts, calculating buoyancy, soldering all electrical components, building a usable structure, deciding where to drill drain and fill holds, equipment inventory, staying on task, providing leadership, and much more. I was able to witness students being successful and finding talents they did not know they had such as soldering talents. Students normally not engaged were completely submersed in each and every part of this project. I loved seeing the students learn that they are good at using power drills, that they had a talent for architectural design or that they had steady hands and could solder perfectly. I was so invested in this project that I decided to stay on past my student teaching time to help the students finish. I also attended the field trip where the students successfully operated their ROV's. You can see the process and the success in the photograph below.
In my previous 8 year career as a Marine Biologist I had extensive experience with these types of STEAM learning opportunities and I will strive to bring those to my classroom and school community, while connecting multiple units and showing students the real world applications for what they are learning.
To wrap up my time in the 7th grade classroom, I taught students and allowed them to discover trouble shooting problems through ROV's. Students were able to put their knowledge of circuits to use when they construct their own circuit boards that allowed for remote operation of their ROV's. They received hands-on STEAM based learning through this project and were able to see why school is really important to them. The grant provides all the necessary equipment with tools to build 10 ROV's and a teachers toolkit.
To make this project work my mentor teacher and I created 2 teams per classroom made up of 9-12 students. Each group had to decided who was going to be the Mechanical Engineers, Electrical Engineers, Mechanical Engineers, Project Managers, and Presentation Managers. Each job had a list of specific tasks to complete. The project includes drafting different drawing designs to scale for ROV's, then applying those drafts to the structural design of the ROV's, measuring and cutting parts, calculating buoyancy, soldering all electrical components, building a usable structure, deciding where to drill drain and fill holds, equipment inventory, staying on task, providing leadership, and much more. I was able to witness students being successful and finding talents they did not know they had such as soldering talents. Students normally not engaged were completely submersed in each and every part of this project. I loved seeing the students learn that they are good at using power drills, that they had a talent for architectural design or that they had steady hands and could solder perfectly. I was so invested in this project that I decided to stay on past my student teaching time to help the students finish. I also attended the field trip where the students successfully operated their ROV's. You can see the process and the success in the photograph below.
In my previous 8 year career as a Marine Biologist I had extensive experience with these types of STEAM learning opportunities and I will strive to bring those to my classroom and school community, while connecting multiple units and showing students the real world applications for what they are learning.