Case study: Bangor University
Bangor University, North Wales
Status: ongoing
How can robotics, engineering and computer science be used together to make autonomous robots?
Bangor University was awarded a Royal Society Partnership Seed Grant to support secondary schools in north-west Wales to carry out hands-on practical science investigating how robotics, engineering and computing can be applied together, facilitated by using Lego SPIKE kits.
The grant has funded several Lego SPIKE kits which, after the completion of the grant, will remain with schools to support the legacy of the project. They have placed an emphasis on working with schools in areas of high deprivation and hope to tackle the barrier of non-participation in families where there is no or low history of progression into further and higher education in STEM.
The project aligns with several areas of the Welsh curriculum around developing communication, numeracy, and mathematical and scientific literacy. They also have the capability for the project to run in both Welsh and English, in line with Bangor University and local authority policies on the promotion of the Welsh language.
At the start of the investigation, students learn about the first principles of mechanical and civil engineering to explore how to build the tallest free-standing tower out of Lego. This helps to develop strategic thinking, problem-solving skills and pattern recognition. The next part of the investigation explores how to build an autonomous robot that plays games from Lego SPIKE kits and students design and build their own robot. They use basic programming skills to develop their robot to play games such as collecting different coloured blocks and playing snap; this means each robot must include at least one type of sensor (eg colour sensor, camera). At the end of the investigation, each school selects the best robot in the class, and they are invited to Bangor University to showcase their project alongside other participating schools and join a chain reaction challenge. During this event, students also give a presentation on what engineering and computer science principles they have used to build their robot and talk about how they worked as a team to design and develop their robot. Students can see robots in action that have been built by researchers at Bangor University and see demonstrations of complex robots such as a robotic arm that can play checkers.
When planning CPD for teachers as part of the grant, Bangor University found it beneficial to consider the location of in-person training to facilitate attendance. They offered two sessions in different locations within their region and hosted them at schools on inset days, making it easier for teachers to attend. As a result, they had a very good uptake of these CPD sessions, with positive feedback on the content and ease of attending.
The team at Bangor University has recruited postgraduate researchers from the School of Computer Science and Engineering to be the STEM professionals that support teachers with the projects in schools. They also received CPD from Bangor University, which introduced them to the project and gave them an opportunity to meet the teachers they would be working with. The event day was a success, bringing schools and researchers together to celebrate all the robots that have been built. The Royal Society ran a session for participating teachers to support and inspire them to apply for a Partnership Grant and continue hands-on investigations within their school.
Their delivery model splits participating schools into two phases to help manage workload across the grant. Therefore, the practical investigation, associated CPD, and event day will now be repeated with their next phase of schools.
STEM professional - “I would like to say how much I have enjoyed helping with the chain reaction challenge, it was nice to see how invested and excited they were about the project and was great to see so many schools taking part.”