2013 Senior Admissions Handbook - The Southport School

The Southport School Senior Handbook 2013 21
Robotics Program
Nearly everyone is familiar with the LEGO brick. It spans differences in age, gender, culture, and levels of skill. It is
therefore the ideal classroom solution which can include all students in the learning process.
Teaching with LEGO provides important opportunities for students to acquire a wide range of personal skills for the
future through:
• Promoting creative thinking
• Improving communication skills
• Strengthening the ability to acquire understanding.
The Southport School has developed a World Class ‘Prep Year to Year 10’ LEGO Technology and Robotics Program.
The classroom programs are designed to support a four-step learning process consisting of the following phases:
Connect, Construct, Contemplate and Continue.
One of the key aspects to ‘learning by making’ is the fact that students learn best when they can either relate new
experiences to their existing ‘knowledge bank’ or are exposed to an idea so compelling that it inspires them to learn more
about it. This is the Connect phase.
The Construct phase is all about constructing things in the real world and piecing knowledge together in the mind. The
children plan, program software or build solutions to solve given Challenges.
An important phase in an effective learning process is the Contemplate phase, which involves students taking time to
think about what they have seen or constructed, and deepening their understanding of what they experience. They
discuss the project, reflect and adapt their idea, and the teacher encourages this process by asking questions.
The Continue phase builds on the natural urge to want to know more. Doing so will lead students to a new Connect
phase, thus allowing them to enter a positive learning curve, where they overcome increasingly difficult challenges.
Optimal Learning
Learning is best when students are given the opportunity to explore the world on their own, but within a guided
environment. When students actively construct things in the physical world, it helps them to build understanding in
their own minds. This enables them to create even more sophisticated solutions, yielding more skills, more knowledge,
and more solved challenges in a self-reinforcing cycle. Students retain more of what they learn from a creative process of
this kind. This is called learning by making.
Let It Flow
Research into human development and learning has demonstrated that being challenged to the limits of one’s ability
is fun, and creates experiences that are rich in learning. When students are sufficiently challenged, and thus enjoying
themselves, learning becomes as natural as breathing - you aren’t even aware that you are doing it. And when the
challenge of solving a problem is matched to the student’s current level of knowledge and skills, a formula for optimal
learning emerges. This state is called Flow. Students who create their own solutions to problems experience the thrill
of genuine achievement - an experience altogether different from simply memorising the achievements of others. This
makes learning an adventure. The more empowered students feel, the more they enjoy their classes, and the more they
begin to take charge of their own learning process.
LEGO Toolsets and Programs by Grades.
Each of the LEGO Technology and Robotics Year level programs are based around a Technological or Engineering
theme.