WITHIN ARM’S TEACH
NASA robotic module pushes project-based learning
It’s OK to fail.
Engineers hardly ever design a perfect project the first time, NASA Solar Ambassador Brittany Hughes told students Thursday at Gila Vista Junior High during a robotic arm exercise.
“Does anyone know why they call it WD-40?” Hughes asked, referring to a common household lubricant. “Because it took 40 tries to get it right, and that’s a true story.”
Hughes came to Yuma as part of the Arizona State University’s Teachers Academy, of which she is a program coordinator. Teachers attending the academy in Yuma invited her after sitting in a module about the NASA ambassador program.
“This is as part of the two-year teacher degree that our students are getting here in Yuma through the iTeachAZ student program,” said Joena Ezroj, an ASU professor and Teachers Academy representative. “This is another layer of their learning where they get more professional development and experiences and trainings that are going to help them just be extraordinary teachers.”
NASA and the ASU Teachers Academy are working to instruct teachers on how to teach problem-based learning, Ezroj said.
The Robotic Arm project is just one way to do that; materials for the robotic arm module are paid for by NASA, as is travel by Hughes, as a Solar Ambassador.
Hughes said she is available for more teaching modules in Yuma. She can be reached at SSAKominska@gmail.com
And it’s not just the student teachers who benefit, Ezroj said, but ultimately those who will benefit from instruction — younger students.
After a presentation by Hughes about robotic arms, students worked in teams to create their own robotic arms using their knowledge from the presentation and also from their robotics class at the school.
Students based their designs on the six simple types of machines — wedges, levers, pulleys, axles, inclined planes, and screws.
“Armed” with popsicle sticks, wooden skewers, paper clips, cardboard, pipe cleaners and some basic office clips, the students worked in teams to come up with their own robotic arm which they then tested.
Student teams made up of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders came up with a “scoop” idea, another team tried popsicles as chopsticks, and one team built a replica Mars Rover, complete with “robotic tentacles.”
Hughes related the WD40 story after the teams were finished to reiterate that failure is a normal occurrence in engineering design processes.
“They shouldn’t be discouraged by the math and science. women always have the stigma of “Oh I can’t do that.” But you can be whatever you want to be.
Hughes said she uses her role as a solar ambassador for NASA JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) to help students see their potential, and their future in space careers.
“I like to use it to connect with students, because I used to be a teacher, so connecting with students, trying to get them connected with STEM Fields so that eventually they will continue their education with space exploration and improving the world.”