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UC Davis Center for Integrated Computing and STEM Education (C-STEM) --- Research and Outreach
Home > C-STEM Day > C-STEM Day > 2012 C-STEM Day > Synopsis

Synopsis

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The 2nd UC Davis C-STEM Day was held on Saturday May 5, 2012. The 2012 C-STEM Day was organized by the UC Davis K-14 Outreach Center for Computing and STEM Education (C-STEM) and College of Engineering with help from the UC Davis Computing and Robotics Outreach Club.

The UC Davis C-STEM Center aims to improve computing, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (C-STEM) education in both formal and informal programs in K-14. The goal of the C-STEM Center is to broaden participation of students typically underrepresented in computing and to develop students’ computer-aided problem-solving skills to tackle real-world STEM problems. The C-STEM Center studies how to use computing technology to help students learn and increase student interest in STEM subjects. The C-STEM Center also studies how to streamline the curriculum on computing education in the context of STEM subjects in elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as the first two years in colleges. Through various outreach activities, the C-STEM Center seeks to inspire students to pursue computing and STEM related careers and post-secondary study. One of them is to organize the UC Davis C-STEM Day to build public awareness and advocate for C-STEM education.

The 2012 C-STEM Day included two distinct events: RoboPlay – Robot Challenge Competition, an Annual Conference on Computing and STEM Education. The overall focus of the C-STEM Day was the integration of computing and robotics with STEM education.

Conference on Computing and STEM Education: Showcasing STEM in Action — Integrating Technology and Engineering with Math and Science Education

The C-STEM Center has been actively engaged in technology and curriculum development with the support from the National Science Foundation to close the achievement gap by broadening participation of students traditionally underrepresented in computing and STEM and to develop students’ computer-aided problem-solving skills to tackle real-world STEM problems. The event offers a first-hand opportunity to examine the groundbreaking work of the C-STEM Center and join a dedicated cohort of K-14 researchers, educators and policy makers to discuss and influence the future direction of STEM education. Because participation is highly valued, registration will be paid for by our National Science Foundation grant and generous support from UC Davis.

Demos of the Robots Developed by UC Davis Faculty and Students

The first agenda in the afternoon was the demos of robots designed by UC Davis faculty and students. The participants saw a demo of Mobot, an intelligent modular robot, developed by the C-STEM Center Director Harry Cheng and his research group. The participants also saw a demo of the Sumo robot, designed and built by the UC Davis Robotics Club for the regional sumo competition. The robots competed in an autonomous sumo wrestling match. The last demo was of the newly formed Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) team from the UC Davis Robotics Club.

RoboPlay Competitions

RoboPlay Competitions are open-ended design challenges. The goal of the RoboPlay Competitions is to broaden student participation in computing, science, technology, engineering, and math (C-STEM) education with positive development for all students. The RoboPlay teamwork will engage all students including those who might otherwise be inclined to pursue careers in the arts or humanities.

RoboPlay is designed for K-12 students to play with robots while exploring their creativity in writing, art, music, choreography, design, and film making and at the same time seamlessly learn C-STEM subjects. The handling of robot coordination between multiple modules and music requires not only teamwork in designing a well-organized visual performance but also the math and programming skills to produce the desired actions for robots. The competitions will enable students working in different interest groups to explore the basic concepts of C-STEM in conjunction with their artistic and music talents.

RoboPlay – Robot Challenge Competition

The RoboPlay Robot Challenge Competition is designed for students to showcase their real-world problem solving skills in a competitive environment. This competition simulates an unexpected problem occurring at a remote location such as a space station or planetary habitat, where a robotic solution must be quickly developed and deployed, using only existing resources. The competition challenges students to creatively use modular robots and accessories to complete various tasks. The competition arena and specific challenge will be kept secret until the day of the competition. Using their math, programming, and problem solving skills, students try to most efficiently get the highest score for each task.

RoboPlay – Robot Dance Competition

The Dance competition is a video submission competition in which students create a robot dance.

RoboPlay . Robot Show Competition

A RoboPlay Robot Show shall present a story using robots in a movie style.

Awards Ceremony

The C-STEM Day was concluded with the awards ceremony for both students and teachers. Professor Harry H. Cheng, Director of the C-STEM Center presented the UC Davis C-STEM Awards to K-12 teachers and students for their exceptional work in C-STEM education. The C-STEM Awards recipients, in the northern California region, were nominated by their teachers or school administrators and selected by the C-STEM Awards Committee consisting of UC Davis faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students. Four types of C-STEM awards were presented at the ceremony.

C-STEM Award of Achievement

The C-STEM Award of Achievement recognizes middle-school students for their demonstrated outstanding performance on computing and its applications in STEM subjects. An award recipient shall show great promise for continued education in computing or computing related STEM fields. The awards this year were given to

  • Ryan DelaRosa, Bridgeway Island Elementary School, Washington Unified School District
  • Fred Gordon, North Area Community School, Sacramento County Office of Education
  • David Henning, Bridgeway Island Elementary School, Washington Unified School District

 

Ryan DelaRosa,
Bridgeway Island Elementary School,
West Sacramento		 Fred Gordon,
North Area Community School,
Sacramento		 David Henning,
Bridgeway Island Elementary School,
West Sacramento

C-STEM Award of Excellence

The C-STEM Award of Excellence recognizes high-school students for their demonstrated excellent performance on computing and its applications in STEM subjects. An award recipient shall be motivated and shows exceptional promise for pursuing post-secondary study in computing or computing-related STEM fields. An award recipient not only excels, but also helps others actively participate in computing and computing-related activities in STEM fields. This year’s C-STEM Award of Excellence was awarded to

  • Elmer Martinez, Hiram Johnson High School, Sacramento City Unified School District
  • Lourdes Rodriguez, Hiram Johnson High School, Sacramento City Unified School District
  • Denis Slobodyanyuk, River City High School, Washington Unified School District

 

Elmer Martinez,
Hiram Johnson High School,
Sacramento		 Lordes Rodriguez,
Hiram Johnson High School,
Sacramento		 Denis Slobodyanyuk,
River City High School,
West Sacramento

C-STEM Scholarship

The UC Davis C-STEM Scholarship is for college-bound seniors in the northern California region for their exceptional achievement on C-STEM and pursuing computing related post-secondary study in a university. Each scholarship award is $500. Award recipients are selected by the C-STEM Awards Committee consisting of UC Davis faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students. The awards this year was given to

  • Denis Slobodyanyuk, River City High School, Washington Unified School District

 

Denis Slobodyanyuk,
River City High School,
West Sacramento

C-STEM Teacher of the Year

The C-STEM Teacher of the Year recognizes C-STEM teachers for their exceptional contributions in teaching computing, integrating computing into STEM subjects, and inspiring students to pursue careers and post-secondary study in C-STEM fields. This year’s C-STEM Teacher of the Year award was given to the following four STEM teachers.

  • Terry Ahrens, North Area Community School, Sacramento County Office of Education
  • Brian Donnelly, Harper Junior High School, Davis Joint Unified School District
  • Chris Schlesselman, Hiram Johnson High School, Sacramento City Unified School District
  • Megan Schoellhamer, Bridgeway Island Elementary School, Washington Unified School District

 

Terry Ahrens,
North Area Community School,
Sacramento		 Brian Donnelly,
Harper Junior High School,
Davis		 Chris Schlesselman,
Hiram Johnson High School,
Sacramento		 Megan Schoellhamer,
Bridgeway Island Elementary School,
West Sacramento

Math Programming Competition

The UC Davis Secondary School Math Programming Competition provides students in secondary schools with the opportunity to apply their fundamental computer programming skills for applications in mathematics. Being the gatekeeper to STEM careers, mathematics is necessary for all secondary school students. This competition challenges students to apply their programming skills to solve math problems. Students will use structured programming in C, including basic programming concepts such as variables, math expressions and operators, selection statements, and loops for computer-aided math problem solving.

1st Place,
Denis Slobodyanyuk,
Mao Vang,
Michael Miller
Advisor: Dubarrie Fagout		 2nd Place,
Usama Chaudhary,
Gabriela Fabri,
Cameron Guiliano Puzi
Advisor: Megan Schoellhamer		 3rd Place,
Jessica Hageman,
Jim Nang,
Charlie Lee
Advisor: Chris Schlesselman

RoboPlay – Robot Dance Competition

The Dance competition is a video submission competition in which students create a robot dance. The winning videos were shown during the C-STEM Day Afternoon Demos. Michael Schirle, President of the Computing and Robotics Outreach Club, presented the awards to the students.

1st Place
NACS Robotics Club
Advisor: Terry Ahrens		 2nd Place
Fancy Moose
Advisor: Liliana Lazo		 3rd Place
HJHS Technology & Education
Advisor: Chris Schlesselman

RoboPlay – Robot Show Competition

A RoboPlay Robot Show shall present a story using robots in a movie style. The videos were submitted and chosen by the C-STEM Awards Committee. Michael Schirle, President of the Computing and Robotics Outreach Club, presented the award to the teams.

1st Place
Bridgeway Bees
Advisor: Megan Schoellhamer		 2nd Place
Dragons
Advisor: Francesca DeFazio		 3rd Place
River City High School
Advisor: Dubarrie Fagout

RoboPlay – Robot Challenge Competition

The RoboPlay Robot Challenge Competition is designed for students to showcase their real-world problem solving skills in a competitive environment. This competition simulates an unexpected problem occurring at a remote location such as a space station or planetary habitat, where a robotic solution must be quickly developed and deployed, using only existing resources. The competition challenges students to creatively use modular robots and accessories to complete various tasks. The competition arena and specific challenge will be kept secret until the day of the competition. Using their math, programming, and problem solving skills, students try to most efficiently get the highest score for each task.

1st Place
River City High School
Advisor: Dubarrie Fagout		 2nd Place
HJHS Technology & Education
Advisor: Chris Schlesselman		 3rd Place
Bridgeway Island Elementary School
Advisor: Megan Schoellhamer