Teacher Education on Robotics-Enhanced Constructivist Pedagogical Methods - TERECoP Teacher Training Course : “LEGO NXT ROBOTICS: a CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH” “NTX robot as a learning object” OBJECTIVES PROBLEM P1: “How to assembly very simple cars with only one motor” Knowledge of the basic assembling technics of LEGO NXT pieces: Parallel assembling of beams with connector pegs (with/without friction) Transversal assembling of beams with cross elements Axes, bushes and wheels Motor; NXT brick Knowledge of basic mechanical technics to improve: Simplicity and aesthetic (number of pieces of the robotic construction, symmetry,…) Rigidity (as a solid body) Stability (of the center of mass)

Teacher Education on Robotics-Enhanced Constructivist Pedagogical Methods - TERECoP Teacher Training Course : “LEGO NXT ROBOTICS: a CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH” “NTX robot as a learning object” PROBLEM P1: “How to assembly very simple cars with only one motor” COMPETENCES At the end of this unit, the pupils will be able of: Constructing a simple but well designed robot-car with only lineal motion, including one motor and the NXT brick Comparing several robot-cars (already made or only designed) evaluating and classifying them from their simplicity, rigidity and stability

Teacher Education on Robotics-Enhanced Constructivist Pedagogical Methods - TERECoP Teacher Training Course : “LEGO NXT ROBOTICS: a CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH” A.- ENGAGEMENT STAGE TEACHER'S ACTIONS STUDENT'S ACTIONS LINGUISTIC OUTPUT PROBLEM’S PROGRESION MEDIA

Teacher Education on Robotics-Enhanced Constructivist Pedagogical Methods - TERECoP Teacher Training Course : “LEGO NXT ROBOTICS: a CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH” A.- ENGAGEMENT STAGE Did you like this robot behaviour…? What did you like the most… ? Do you think is it difficult to make a robot like this one…? … We could start making simpler robots !!!

Teacher Education on Robotics-Enhanced Constructivist Pedagogical Methods - TERECoP Teacher Training Course : “LEGO NXT ROBOTICS: a CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH” B.- EXPLORATION STAGE Look this wonderful car… you could assembly something like this one…

Teacher Education on Robotics-Enhanced Constructivist Pedagogical Methods - TERECoP Teacher Training Course : “LEGO NXT ROBOTICS: a CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH” B.- EXPLORATION STAGE Or assembly something like this one…

Teacher Education on Robotics-Enhanced Constructivist Pedagogical Methods - TERECoP Teacher Training Course : “LEGO NXT ROBOTICS: a CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH” B.- EXPLORATION STAGE We can see how to build the robot step by step… With the LEGO Digital Designer Do you like to see the building instructions for this simple robot…?

Teacher Education on Robotics-Enhanced Constructivist Pedagogical Methods - TERECoP Teacher Training Course : “LEGO NXT ROBOTICS: a CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH” C.- PRODUCTION AND EVALUATION STAGES Rules to evaluate the “simplicity” of the cars: The less pieces has a car, the simpler it is The less pigs has a car, the simpler it is The more symmetric is a car, the simpler it is Rules to evaluate the “rigidity” of the cars: The less is the bending of a car (with a small external force made by hand) the more rigid a car is The longer the distance between the connector pegs, the stronger the compound beam is The better a strong attach of the transversal beams (using the cross blocks) is, the more rigid a car is

Teacher Education on Robotics-Enhanced Constructivist Pedagogical Methods - TERECoP Teacher Training Course : “LEGO NXT ROBOTICS: a CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH” C.- PRODUCTION AND EVALUATION STAGES Rules to evaluate the “stability” of the cars The lower is the mass centre (the lower the weight parts of the car are), the better the stability is (It should be better begin the construction with the brick, no with the motor…) The more separate are the wheels, the better the stability is (It is better four wheels than three,…) Additional rules: The more weight is upon the driving wheels (the more heavy is the car,…), the more threat the wheels have (The brick should be placed over the driving wheels…)