(Edited by Cabe Atwell)
I have been looking for ways to incorporate engineering in my 6th grade Earth Science class. We created a weather balloon using laytex balloons earlier in the year, but I wanted something a little more robot in it. So, I contacted the people at SeaPerch about how to get some of their underwater ROVs for use during our Ocean unit. Luckily, I got a grant from AUVSI to purchase 10 SeaPerch ROV kits. My students were excited to get started and build. I divided them into groups; one group build the ROV body, one built the thrusters and one built the controller. I likened it to an engineering company where different teams put together subsystems and then they finally put the entire project together. We watched training videos, read teh instructions multiple times, had training on measurement, safety and soldering. Then, I turned the whole thing over to them and gave them a time line. Panic ensued. They came to me asking waht to do and when to do it. A few groups just stood arond waiting for me to give tehm step by step instruction. Slowly, they began to realize they had to do it. They had to start themselves and figure out what to do when something went wrong. They policed their own behavior. The did their own troubleshooting. They came to me if they didn't remember how to operate a tool or they broke something. I watched several classes take their subsystems apart and put them back together several times. I watched the leaders of tomorrow step forward and take control of the process. It made me think that this is the way education should be done.
I'm linking here to my Youtube channel. I have video of the ROVs and some of the build. Watch "New Project 2" and look at the guy in yellow. He will be an engineer in a few years. He was sparked.
