From Satisfaction To Inspiration: Using a Lego Robot Olympiad to Engage Programmers in Collaborative Problem Solving

Scott, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6803-1490 and Zarb, Mark (2017) From Satisfaction To Inspiration: Using a Lego Robot Olympiad to Engage Programmers in Collaborative Problem Solving. In: Proceedings of the 5th HEA Conference on Learning and Teaching in STEM Disciplines, 1-2 February, 2017, Manchester, UK. (In Press)

Abstract / Summary

Employers in the software development industry want graduates to have interpersonal and problem solving skills. To ensure the development of such skills, they must be embedded in the curriculum as early as possible. However, many students fail to engage with their peers and in self-regulated practice early in their course. An explicit scaffold is needed to motivate such engagement. This session proposes that an ice-breaker using Lego robots resolves this challenge. Insights from trials at Falmouth University and Robert Gordon University show greater peer interaction and self-regulated practice over the first four weeks of 2016-17 compared to 2015-16.

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