A wave of making projects in a box is making its way in Lithuania! Led by enthusiastic teachers, students of grades 5-8 and 9-12 create their own projects inside the box. More than 20 schools from across the country have already joined the challenge! The activities are a part of the Erasmus + Strategic Partnership project "Think Inside The Box!" A methodological STEAM toolkit for schools”, coordinated by “School of Robotics”. During the three-day creative STEAM event, students learn through practical activities, look for creative solutions, and present their projects. Different grades have different challenges. The younger ones (grades 5-8) have to design the runways inside the box so that the ball takes as slow as possible while rolling down. Exactly, not as fast as possible, but as slow as possible! When creating their projects, students put into practice the knowledge of physics, mathematics and micro:bit programming. The teams of senior students (grades 9-12) have to construct boxes using the details already provided and fill in the missing part with the detail they create. This task requires knowledge of electronics, programming and 3D printing, which is acquired in the first part of the event. After the sessions, students and teachers fill in methodological evaluation questionnaires, the results of which will help to improve the teaching material and help to assess its impact on the development of STEAM competencies. The first impressions from the sessions that had already ended were presented on April 7, during a remote session for teachers. Teachers presented the experiences from: - Nemenčinė Gediminas Gymnasium (27 students from grades 5-8 participated in the activities); - Public Institution “Šiaurės licėjus” (students from grades 5-8 participated in the activities); - Vilniaus Žemynos progimnazija (21 students from grades 5-8 participated in the activities); - Vilniaus Žygimanto Augusto progimnazija (29 students from grades 5-8 participated in the activities).
Activities at Vilnius Žygimanto Augusto progimnazija
In March-April 2022, a part of the students in grades 8b, 8c and 8d took part in the project. They divided into groups, discussed the origin of objects and their improvement, studied the transformations of mechanical energy by studying the dependence of the speed of a tennis ball on the angle of the cardboard tray, got acquainted with and programmed BBC Micro: bit microcomputers, designed and manufactured the slowest rolling ball system in the box. We are proud that all the groups managed to achieve the goal of the project - to create a system of a ball that rolls for as long as possible in a limited space. At the school, the project was coordinated and implemented by physics / IT teacher Milana Ambroževič and technology teacher Romualdas Tonkūnas. More impressions can be found here.
Activities at Vilniaus Žemynos progimnazija
Pupils of 7th and 8th grades of progymnasium, led by teacher R.Čiupaila, took on a bigger challenge - to create a box according to the methodology of grades 9-12. The box uses electronic and 3D printing elements. The student teams improved the wiring diagram, creating their own solutions for the missing part of the box.
Activities at Nemenčinės Gedimino gimnazija
Students in grades 7a and 6a participated in the non-traditional "Think Inside The Box! A methodological STEAM toolkit for schools”. The aim of the activity is to encourage students to think like inventors. Students discussed where things came from, what improvements were made before they came to our day. The main work was to create a ball-rolling system in a box (60 x 60 cm). The students were very successful in overcoming all the challenges, each group not only created their own boxes, but was also able to compare the rolling time of the ball. It was fun to be involved in such activities. The activity was initiated and carried out by teachers S. Sčastnaja and L. Janušaitienė More impressions from the sessions can be found here.
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