I’ve been very happy using LEGO bricks for the Jr. Structural Engineering class, but I’m not wedded to LEGO. I just want to the kids to get good at engineering, so I’m more than happy to use whatever they think is awesome, and then adopting the curriculum to make the most of the materials at …
Hey – my family is covered in the National Society of Professional Engineers' July issue "A Family Edu-vacation" #STEM http://t.co/yl6Fi4kd — JJ Rohrer (@ascendlyJJ) July 2, 2012 Here are the short highlights: “His third-grader son wanted to go to Dubai to see Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. ” & “Rohrer would love …
I wanted to make an overview of how to name LEGO® parts. This is a little rough, but a good start. You can also see this on the ShowMe.com website or in your ShowMe app for the iPad.
So, in case you didn’t hear, Finland keeps scoring at the top of PISA tests for education. It’s a big deal. Their kids don’t study like crazy. They don’t test like crazy. Their teachers are highly unionized. They are experiencing an expanding, yet equally well educated, immigrant community. They also have teachers that, on average, …
The Atlantic Monthly Article about Finland Mainly Leaves Me with More Questions Read More »
Yeah, but are the kids learning? – Thoughts on improving the Ascendly assessment system. Ascendly’s after-school engineering classes are popular, but are they good? In other words, “Are the kids actually learning?” Every organization needs to know if its latest changes, both purposeful and accidental, are affecting improvements, or are they just making things worse. …
Yeah, but are the kids learning? – Thoughts on improving the Ascendly assessment system. Read More »
The debate about the sources of weakness in American students’ test scores vis-a-vis those students in other countries continues. The most recent addition to this debate comes in the form of some research recently released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD) in conjunction with the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and recently reported …
Read to your kids, give them a better life (and better test scores) Read More »
Last Thursday marked the completion of the first season of The Capital Lego Robot Club. Lisa, my spouse and occasional business partner, and I had tentatively decided to take the after-school-robot concept and expand it to more school districts, but we were also waiting for more formal feedback before emotionally committing ourselves. The feedback was …
Just Finished the First Season – Feedback was Good – Getting Ready for Next Five Years. Read More »
So what is going on with Everybody Does Robots? Other than finishing up our first class (just two more sessions), I’m scheming about how to scale our efforts. I want to bring engineering confidence and competence to the kids of America, starting with the Kindergarteners. Ok – America is big, so how can I spread …
Operating Vision: Bringing social media to after-school education programs Read More »
Last night we held the third gathering of the Capital Lego Robot Club. It is an educational organization I started for K – 3rd graders, mainly for the benefit of my six year old son and for me, because I love robots. I was inspired by usfirst.org. We use Lego educational kits and emphasize lots, …
