The UC Davis C-STEM Center has received a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to study collaborative learning of Algebra with computing and robots. This two-year project aims to transform math education by integrating computer programming, robotics, and handheld computing into middle and high school math classrooms. Robotics involves a variety of math, information technology, and engineering concepts. Introducing computing and robotics into the math curriculum helps make abstract ideas concrete and allows students to apply mathematical concepts to real world problems. This pilot project, led by C-STEM Center Director Professor Harry Cheng and Professor Tobin White, will be conducted at Westmore Oaks and Bridgeway Island Elementary Schools in Washington Unified School District in West Sacramento, CA. These two schools were selected because over the past several years their dedicated math teachers have been working very closely with the C-STEM Center on integrating computing and robotics into math education. The demographics and exceptional administrative support at the school and district level make these sites ideal for the study. Each student in an Algebra class will have a Mobot for personalized and collaborative learning of Algebra with computing and robotics for real-world problem solving with support from the UC Davis project team. As we move forward, we expect that the project will be expanded into other schools and school districts.
