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Teacher Education Faculty Publications

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Robotics

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Impact Of Robotics And Geospatial Technology Interventions On Youth Stem Learning And Attitudes, Gwen Nugent, Bradley S. Barker, Neal Grandgenett, Viacheslav I. Adamchuk Jun 2010

Impact Of Robotics And Geospatial Technology Interventions On Youth Stem Learning And Attitudes, Gwen Nugent, Bradley S. Barker, Neal Grandgenett, Viacheslav I. Adamchuk

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

This study examined the impact of robotics and geospatial technologies interventions on middle school youth’s learning of and attitudes toward science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Two interventions were tested. The first was a 40-hour intensive robotics/GPS/GIS summer camp; the second was a 3-hour event modeled on the camp experiences and intended to provide an introduction to these technologies. Results showed that the longer intervention led to significantly greater learning than a control group not receiving the instruction, whereas the short-term intervention primarily impacted youth attitude and motivation. Although the short-term intervention did not have the learning advantages of a …


A New Model Of 4-H Volunteer Development In Science, Engineering, And Technology Programs, Bradley S. Barker, Neal Grandgenett, Gwen Nugent Apr 2009

A New Model Of 4-H Volunteer Development In Science, Engineering, And Technology Programs, Bradley S. Barker, Neal Grandgenett, Gwen Nugent

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

New initiatives centered on science, engineering, and technology (SET) in 4-H may be moving away from the long-established adult volunteer delivery model. This shift in delivery may be due to a lack of availability of adult volunteers who possess the necessary SET competencies to effectively lead 4-H clubs. One way to offset this trend may be to blend traditional face-to-face training with continuous training efforts that include asynchronous on-line training modules, synchronous Web-based meetings, and self-directed learning. This new 4-H SET Volunteer Competencies Training Model is being tested in the Nebraska 4-H Robotics and GPS/GIS program.


Examining 4-H Robotics And Geospatial Technologies In The Learning Of Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics Topics, Bradley S. Barker, Gwen Nugent, Neal Grandgenett Jun 2008

Examining 4-H Robotics And Geospatial Technologies In The Learning Of Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics Topics, Bradley S. Barker, Gwen Nugent, Neal Grandgenett

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

The study reported here investigated the use of educational robotics, paired with GPS and GIS geospatial technologies, as a context for learning selected concepts in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics within a 4-H camp setting. The study involved 38 students between the ages of 11 to 15. A pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was used in the study, with a 29-question multiple-choice instrument targeting various academic topics. The results of the study suggest that the 4-H robotics and geospatial summer camp program is a promising approach for supporting STEM-related learning, as represented by a significant increase of means from pretest to posttest.


Examining 4-H Robotics In The Learning Of Science, Engineering And Technology Topics And The Related Student Attitudes, Bradley S. Barker, Gwen Nugent, Neal Grandgenett, Amy Hampton Apr 2008

Examining 4-H Robotics In The Learning Of Science, Engineering And Technology Topics And The Related Student Attitudes, Bradley S. Barker, Gwen Nugent, Neal Grandgenett, Amy Hampton

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Youths’ natural fascination and identification with robots make them an ideal teaching and learning platform. Robots would seem to be excellent hands-on tools to teach science, engineering and technology (SET) concepts. However, while research supports their use to increase interest and motivation, the effectiveness of robots to directly teach science, engineering, and technology concepts is less clear. The purpose of this study was to measure the effectiveness of a 4-H robotics program to support the learning of specific SET concepts and to examine related student attitudes towards science. This study compared the pretest and posttest scores on an assessment of …