The Arm School Program (ASP) recently ran a phenomenal maker day in collaboration Outwood Grange Academies Trust. Year 8 learners (ages 12-13) designed a ‘smart street light’ in the Computing lessons using an ASP lesson plan and resources and the best four learners from each of Outwood’s 20 schools were selected to attend the maker day. The teams from each school were made up of two boys and two girls and most had not worked with each other before.
It’s incredibly important for technology companies such as Arm to engage in education to raise awareness of careers in STEM and to enthuse and engage learners in the STEM subjects and to show how STEM skills can be applied in a fun, innovative and creative way.
Within the context of physical computing, the Project-Based Learning approach encourages students to practice a range of technical- and soft-skills, such as:
On the day the learners were given micro:bits as well as additional sensors and LED expansion boards to realise their designs. They were also challenged with additional criteria and features to implement to gain extra points, this was a competition after all! The teams also had to create marketing materials such as a logo and a website design as well as an ‘elevator’ pitch that they would have to present to judges in the afternoon.
The teams handled the challenges exceptionally well and the atmosphere was electric. To be successful the learners had to manage their time effectively and ensure they met as many of the criteria as possible to gain maximum points. Whilst some of the learners had used micro:bits before, many had never utilised the more advanced features such as radio communication between multiple micro:bits and using additional libraries for the expansion boards to make the most of the additional sensors.
“This was the best Computer Science trip we have ever done!” Ben Barnes, Director of Computer Science, Outwood Grange Academies Trust.
“This was the best Computer Science trip we have ever done!”
Ben Barnes, Director of Computer Science, Outwood Grange Academies Trust.
I witnessed many ‘got it’ moments as captured in the picture below and the drive and determination demonstrated by these learners was impressive and reminded me why I love working in education. They also drove home why engaging with schools and educators is so important in addressing the STEM skills gap as well as inspiring young learners to engage with STEM and take it further academically.
ASP are collaborating with many educational institutions and organisations to promote curriculum linked STEM resources using effective pedagogy that are delivered in an inspiring and engaging fashion through use of physical computing. This methodology brings the subjects of Computer Science, Design & Technology and STEM more widely alive.
Whilst many schools struggle to use project-based learning (PBL) as a staple in the curriculum due to time and resource issues, ASP are taking the pain out of teaching in the way by providing all the teaching resources, planning and assessment free of charge. These resources are provided in a format that teachers are familiar with and are accessible by learners as well as being mapped to the wider curriculum. These resources are also being made available to all Arm education ambassadors to use in educational outreach activities. A kit will be developed with all the required delivery material and then education ambassadors can work with their local schools to arrange similar events. These can be easily adapted to cater to large groups or to smaller interactions, or even just for a single lesson.
We are also developing a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) to house all our teaching and learning resources and this will offer a blend of traditional and interactive resources to help learners engage with STEM technology and aid in exam preparedness in subjects such as Computer Science GCSE.
The maker day was a huge success and ASP look forward to bringing our resources to a global audience in the coming months. You can view the event video below.
Find out more about Arm School Program and its initiatives below.
Arm School Program