4-H Junk Drawer Robotics

Brief Description: The curriculum engages youth in learning scientific concepts and processes, the engineering design process cycle, and technology creation and building. Junk Drawer Robotics provides youth with these experiences by working with household items to complete simple design challenges.

STEM Subject: Science, Engineering, and Technology
Other Subject: Positive Youth Development
Grades: 5 to 8 (to participate in the robotics activities), 9-12 (to serve as teen facilitators for younger participants)
Student participants: Up to groups of 30
Format: Facilitator’s Guides (3 levels); Youth Notebook (one book that includes all three levels); online PDF facilitator’s notes

Description: The national 4-H program, titled “4-H Robotics: Engineering for Today and Tomorrow,” helps youth build an understanding of basic science concepts related to robotics. The Junk Drawer Robotics curriculum engages youth, ages 10 through 13, in understanding scientific concepts and processes, the engineering design process cycle, and technology creation and building. Junk Drawer Robotics provides youth these experiences by working with household items to complete simple design challenges. These robotics activities emphasize science, engineering and technology process skills, cross-age instruction (teens-as-teachers), the experiential learning cycle, and small group learning. Activities are designed to be led by an adult or teen facilitator following the experiential learning cycle and promoting inquiry.

Central themes in each level are: 1) Robot arms and hands; 2) Robot movement; and 3) Synergy when mechanical, electronic, and feedback systems are merged.  Modules are designed around three phases – To Learn (science), To Do (engineering), and To Make (technology). To Learn (science) activities emphasize exploration and form the foundation upon which youth build conceptual understanding. To Do (engineering) activities build upon the knowledge gained in the exploration phase related to the concepts in the module. Youth are presented with a design problem and work together in small groups to design and plan a solution. To Make (technology) activities allow youth to build and test their design while solidifying their understanding of the concepts.

Evaluation data collected for the Junk Drawer Robotics curriculum demonstrates gains in content knowledge around engineering and robots (Mahacek & Worker, in press). These findings confirm other research on using robots in engineering and technology education suggest hands-on robotics activities engage youth and increase science knowledge.

The Junk Drawer Robotics curriculum is part of 4-H Youth Development’s efforts to help address youth science literacy needs in the U.S. 4-H seeks to engage youth across the country in out-of-school time science programming that is experientially based, and uses inquiry methods. By offering engaging science programming in informal settings, youth are provided with a variety of options that address different learning needs and promote excitement in learning about phenomena in the natural world.

 http://www.4-h.org/resource-library/curriculum/4-h-robotics/junk-drawer-robotics/