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Goal

A "Quiet Crisis" continues to exist in how we educate excelling students in our country. Young students of all backgrounds with gifts and talents in all academic, creativity, leadership and motivation areas are still not challenged in education to perform to their full potential. My goal with the Sphero Bolt coding robots is to inspire gifted and talented students' curiosity, enabling them to explore their creativity and inventiveness. The goal is also to help improve the motivation of these students, who statistically speaking, can often struggle with work ethic or perseverance due to a lack of exposure to difficult concepts at early ages. In reference to Bloom’s Taxonomy, offering students the opportunity to utilize higher level thinking skills, including analysis, synthesis and evaluation will improve their ability to reason and think abstractly in real world situations. The Sphero Bolt robots enable students to tap into these higher level skills, offering opportunities for a growing impact on society while developing a love for the learning process. As both a gifted resource teacher and a science intervention teacher, these bots will also be used with Grades 3-5 Science Intervention to develop mastery of science standards including force and motion, electricity, circuits, and energy. One grant= hundreds of students benefit.  

What will be done with my students

In the Florida State Science Standards, Big Idea 1 for K-5 is: The Practice of Science. At the basic level, SC.K.N.SC.1.1 states to "Collaborate with a partner to collect information is the Kindergarten bridge into investigating." The Sphero bots will encourage this collaboration, while exploring the nature of science in a hands-on environment. This Big Idea then is addressed in SC.1.N.1.1, SC.2.N.1.1, SC.3.N.1.1, and SC.4.N.1.1 which all state to "Raise questions about the nature world, investigate." Students using the coding robots will be investigating daily as they work to learn programming, perseverance, and trial and error in a engaging, interactive learning experience. SC.5.N.1.2 then takes this learning to "Define a problem, use appropriate reference materials to support scientific understanding, plan and carry out scientific investigations of various types such as: systematic observations, experiments requiring the identification of variables, collecting and organizing data, interpreting data in charts, tables, and graphics, analyze information, make predictions, and defend conclusions." These robots truly move students from the Kindergarten standards, to the 5th grade standards using STEM concepts. Florida Computer Science Standard, SC.35.CS-CP.2.2 Create, test, and modify a program in a graphical environment (e.g., block-based visual programming language), individually and collaboratively will also be met in small group settings during Gifted and Talented Learning groups, as well as during after school STEM enrichment clubs. In grades K-5, students are pulled in small gifted and talented resource groups (each grade separately) 3-4 times per week to receive enrichment in learning opportunities. During these groups, students will complete a computer science unit on programming and coding to program the robots to complete various tasks. They will collaborate with one another and persevere to accomplish set goals. Students will direct their own learning to create new programs and explore with the robots. Students will then be invited to after school clubs where they can explore the possibilities further, diving deeper into their learning and the content standards. In Grades 3-5 during Science Intervention (50 minute special area blocks of time) students will be using the bots to help model force and motion and energy in motion (both transfer of energy and different types of energy).  

Benefits to my students

Sphero Bolt robots can transform K-5 education by encouraging exploration, imagination, and perseverance through STEAM and hands-on investigating. The gifted and talented students of all backgrounds will be awarded opportunities to dive into the basics of computer science and engineering, two real world fields that can lead to endless possibilities for these students in the future. Just as we focus and strive to help our Tier 3 students close achievement gaps and meet proficiency in areas of deficit, we must also invest in our gifted and talented learners that have different abilities and needs. These include a precocious ability to think abstractly, a need for constant mental stimulation, and to explore subjects in depth. The Sphero Bolt enables all of these things to occur simultaneously. These bots engage students in meaningful learning journeys where they will create, consider and challenge their learning, and work collaboratively to persevere in tasks. The coding is used to help students decode lifelong skills and lessons, while extending their minds to places not yet explored. In our science intervention classes, students who have not yet mastered the Florida State Science standards will be engaged in hands-on learning experiences investigating types of energy (electrical, light, mechanical, chemical, and sound are all modeled with these bots) and the transfer of this energy. Force and motion will be modeled as they control these bots through changes in direction, gaining and slowing speed, and investigating different forces while completing challenges. The Sphero bolt learning is paving the way for the next generation of innovative thinkers and learners. We are SPHERE-heading the way to a brighter future! 

Budget Narrative

The Sphero Bolt bots will serve as an introductory stage to the students coding learning process. The Bolts will integrate the technology and computer science aspects of learning into engaging lessons of programming. The purchase of 5 Sphero Bolt Robots will enable students to collaborate in groups of 1-3 to challenge and enrich their learning experience. The course tape will enable groups of students to construct a course for the Sphero Bolts to navigate, adding another layer of challenge to the new generation of coders. The Sphero Terrain Park will put the students skills to the ultimate test by offering five challenging configurations to ramp, roll, and ride their way to learning adventures.  

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