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Olympics for young minds are a hit as new school year gets under way

 
Students Xander Keeler, left, and Damion Sheerer put the final touches on a program to put their robotic Lego soccer goalie into motion.
Students Xander Keeler, left, and Damion Sheerer put the final touches on a program to put their robotic Lego soccer goalie into motion.
Published Aug. 24, 2016

NEW PORT RICHEY — Trinity Cardona, 10, was feeling pretty good about her move to a new school as she watched a blinking, miniature robot skirt across a table in the newly painted media center at Cotee River Elementary School.

"This is incredible. I've never seen anything like this before," Trinity said as the robot moved left, then right, then twirled around.

It might seem magical, but it wasn't. The robot's color sensor was following a circuitous route that Trinity designed by drawing static codes with red, blue, green and black colored markers on a sheet of white paper.

"I love these robots. I need one for myself," she said, smiling broadly. "I would definitely not be bored if I were doing this all day."

That's the response that learning design coaches Steve Loveless and Kara Owen were hoping for when they planned the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) Olympics activity for fourth- and fifth-grade students during the first week of the 2016-17 school year.

The STEAM Olympics were scheduled as a way to engage students early and get them excited about learning while introducing them to the school's new Makerspace and the technical gadgets purchased with Title 1 grant funds.

"This is a place for kids to come to use both sides of their brain, and today we're using the right side of the brain with math and science," Owen said, adding that future arts activities might include learning how to sew or make movies. "This allows kids to tinker and explore and perhaps prepare them for jobs that don't even exist yet. This motivates them to be critical thinkers — 21st century thinkers."

Cotee River Elementary is one of 39 Title 1 schools in Pasco County to receive federal funding to provide services in schools where at least 75 percent of the student population qualifies for free and reduced-price lunches.

"The grants are designed to increase student achievement," said Brian Schultz, program coordinator for Title 1 for the Pasco School District.

The implementation of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and STEAM activities is a major initiative within the Title 1 program as well as in the school district, Schultz said.

Sanders Memorial Elementary School reopened in 2015 as the district's first STEAM magnet school. This year, Bayonet Point and Centennial middle schools became STEM magnet schools. Classrooms at Fox Hollow and Cypress elementary schools have been converted to STEM labs using grants from Duke Energy and the Pasco Education Foundation, with two more elementary STEM labs on the agenda at Sunray and West Zephyrhills elementary schools.

At Cotee River Elementary, the STEAM Olympics coincided with the Olympic games being held in Rio de Janeiro. And while all students earned a shiny medal, the games weren't necessarily about winning.

"Learning doesn't always have to happen in a classroom, and we want students to realize that while we're not textbook reading in here today, they are using critical thinking skills and that failure is okay," Loveless said.

"When you do this, are you going to do it perfect the first time?" Loveless asked the students.

"No," came the answer.

"Are you going to make mistakes?"

"Yes!"

"That's okay," Loveless said. "I want you to figure it out. Your time here is whatever you make it."

Figuring it out entailed using Lego robotics to build a soccer goalie and kicker. Students could tackle the basics of coding using pint-sized Ozobots that could be programmed to knock pins down in a bowling competition. Or they could build a miniature working fan or a timer using littleBits electronic building blocks, as John Lacen, 10, did.

"It was awesome trying to figure it out," John said. "It's pretty fun because they have all these activities. You make it your own."

Fifth-grade teacher Zach Fout was enthusiastic as his students weaved through the Makerspace.

"I love this stuff," Fout said. "Sometimes you have kids that have a difficult time connecting. But when they work with a robot, the kids just come alive. The more exposure they have, the more they learn how to make mistakes and move past that, the better. It gives them the opportunity to make mistakes in a safe environment and try again."

"This was awesome — the ideal situation," said Stephanie Sheridan, the district STEAM coach for K-12 Title 1 schools. "It's the first week of school, and the kids are already getting their hands in it. It's exposing them to critical-thinking skills and to things they might not have at home. It's a great engagement tool to keep them coming to school."

Contact Michele Miller at mmiller@tampabay.com. Follow @MicheleMiller52.