Thursday, 28th March 2024

Thursday, 28th March 2024

Using Robotics to Encourage Independent Learning

09 Oct 2013

“My dream is to be an engineer,” said Rebecca Yang, 14, a student of Hai Sing Catholic School, who hopes that she will be able to solve problems and give Singaporeans a better life in future.

To reduce the amount of space needed for the waste we produce, Rebecca, together with four team members, developed a mechanism, dubbed “The Crusher”. Robotics and Engineering is the school’s niche. The niche programme, introduced in 2005, helps schools to develop their strengths and unique areas, and provides students with opportunities to develop various talents.

Robotics and Engineering Niche at Hai Sing Catholic School

At Hai Sing Catholic School, students can apply their knowledge of mathematics and science in robotics, which is a niche for the school.

At the Ministry of Education’s Work Plan Seminar 2013, Education Minister Heng Swee Keat announced the introduction of the Applied Learning Programme and the Learning for Life Programme, which will build upon schools’ niches. The Applied Learning Programme will allow students to use what they have learnt in science, mathematics, humanities or the languages in real-life situations.

“In this way, our student sees the value and relevance of academic learning to real world situations,” said Minister Heng.

Schools with an existing niche, like Hai Sing Catholic School, are likely to make modifications to their niche programmes or re-position the niche area to realise the intended outcomes of the distinctive programmes. A comprehensive school-wide programme will need to be developed, and links with relevant industry partners or community sectors will need to be made to give students a wider exposure.

Learning in Real Life Situations

Before Rebecca embarked on “The Crusher”, she lacked confidence in approaching her school projects. Whenever she encountered a problem, she would ask her seniors for help while observing how they would go about resolving the problem. To complete this project, Rebecca and her team mates had to identify a problem, apply their knowledge in mathematics and science and develop a prototype solution. She also took the initiative by researching online to find out what other countries were doing to handle their waste capacity.

Robotics and Engineering Niche at Hai Sing Catholic School

Rebecca Yang, 14, a student at Hai Sing Catholic School, hopes to become an engineer so she can solve problems and give Singaporeans a better future.

What she had learnt in class also came in handy. Using the formulae “Torque = Force x Perpendicular Distance”, the team devised a crushing system for her prototype and used the movement of gears to create force.

“I’ve learnt to face my problems,” said Rebecca, who is now more confident of testing out ideas on her own.

For another student, Harel Yee, 14, perseverance was a key learning point. His team discussed and threw out more than twenty ideas, but the sense of accomplishment derived from eventual success was worth it all.

“The students learn about perseverance, risk-taking and honesty when they face failure,” said Mrs Judina Cheong, Principal of Hai Sing Catholic School.

Robotics and Engineering Niche at Hai Sing Catholic School

Harel Yee, 14, with four team members, created The Smart Fan, which automatically regulates its speed according to the surrounding wind speed.

Harel’s team project, “The Smart Fan”, was developed as an energy saving solution, especially for young children and the elderly, who would find it difficult to constantly adjust the fan speed. Their device was based on the theory that wind speed would be in inverse proportion to fan speed. When there was more wind in the house, the fan speed would automatically decrease, and vice versa.

“It helped me to understand the concept behind the mathematical formulae,” said Harel.

Benefiting All Students

With the new Applied Learning Programme and $50,000 grant, Hai Sing Catholic School will progressively roll out a more pervasive programme that will benefit all students in the school in time to come. For a start, robotics will be aligned with the Secondary Two math curriculum in 2014, so that more students can experience the relevance of their academic knowledge. Teachers will also work with external partners to design appropriate lessons.

Robotics and Engineering Niche at Hai Sing Catholic School

In time, robotics will be aligned with the mathematics curriculum at Hai Sing Catholic School, so students can see the relevance of their academic learning.

“No matter how difficult a task is, if the lesson is well planned at a progressive level, we can engage students,” said Mr Teo Yee Ming, Subject Head of Robotics, who is one of the two teachers in the school with research engineering experience.

Mr Teo explained that instead of having students puzzle over difficult coding language, a user-friendly Graphic User Interface (GUI) is used as a programming tool. It allows the students to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons. By arranging the icons in a logical manner, the students are able to give instructions to the robots.

“It’s not like industrial programming where codes have to be keyed in,” added Mr Teo.

As his students go through the programme, Mr Teo has observed in them qualities such as logical thinking skills, inventiveness, resourcefulness, confidence and risk-taking.