This fall, seventh graders at Pound Middle School in Lincoln, Nebraska, used robots in their mathematics lessons. April Schermann, a new teacher at the school with 23 years of experience in math, physics, and computer science, led the activity. Students in Math Course 2D studied distance, rate, and time by working with aqua-colored robots, measuring sticks, and graph paper.
The main goal was to help students understand constant speed as a rate of change. Students programmed robots to move at set speeds and measured the distance traveled over specific time intervals. They collected data, made predictions, and graphed their results. This helped them build mathematical models to solve problems involving distance, rate, and time. Students said the hands-on activity was more engaging than traditional textbook work.
Schermann chose robots instead of wind-up toys or videos to make the lesson more interactive. She said the activity allowed students to participate directly by programming, timing, measuring, and analyzing the robots’ movements. She believes this method helps students remember key concepts for future lessons about proportions and rates…