Practice Description

The Playful Robotics Workshops (PlayRobs)

by School Student Research Center (in German: Schülerforschungszentrum) of the Technical University of Munich in Berchtesgaden added on 07 Nov 2019

Brief description:
The Playful Robotics Workshop (PlayRobs) is a 3-day robotics course for children aged 7 to 12 years with no or only a minimum of previous experience in coding. The hands-on “PlayRobs” courses take place regularly throughout the year at the School and Research Center (in German: Schülerforschungszentrum) of the Technical University of Munich in Berchtesgaden. In a playful way, children build self-designed devices and program the actions of these robots. A professional computer scientist guides the small group of maximum 10 participants through the workshop, supporting and encouraging them where necessary.
Photos:
Countries:
(where the practice takes place)
Germany
Cities:
(where the practice takes place)
Berchtesgaden
Organization name:
(running the practice)
School Student Research Center (in German: Schülerforschungszentrum) of the Technical University of Munich in Berchtesgaden
Organization type:
Public
Contact person:
Contact email:
(for further information and inquiries)
buero@schuelerforschung.de
Social media:
Related resources:
(e.g., web site, publications,media)
Participants’ age groups:
7 - 12
Indicative number of participants:
2 - 10
Oriented to a specific gender?
No
Frequency:
(for the same group of participants)
Single-occasion
Total duration:
(for the same group of participants)
9 hours
Location:
(where the practice takes place)
  • Community lab, FabLab, non-formal learning space, etc.
What are the role(s) of the adult(s) running the practice?
  • Teacher
  • Facilitator
  • Mentor / Guide
  • Maker/coder/scientist
During the practice, participants…
  • Make
  • Play
  • Code
Participants work…
  • In pairs
    • What type of materials do participants use?
    • Board
    • Manipulatives (blocks, beads, etc.)
    • Tablets
    • Robotics
    Pedagogical approach:
    • Problem-based learning
    • Project (or task)-based learning
    • Design-based learning
    • Collaborative-learning
    • Creative thinking
    Social justice/equity approaches:
    • Activities are designed to empower participants and meet their needs
    Does the practice have (explicit or implicit) learning objectives?
    		Implicit: using robotics to get familiar with basic programming structures (sequence, (conditional) loop,...)
    Is the practice (explicitly or implicitly) connected to school curricula?
    		Yes, implicitly
    If connected in any way to school curricula, which subjects are covered?
    • Computer science
    • Technology
    Does the practice aim to have an impact on the engagement / interest of participants with a particular scientific topic, concept, phenomena, theory or career?
    		No
    Does the practice aim to have an impact on the attitude of participants with a particular scientific topic, concept, phenomena, theory, or career?
    		Yes: The spirit/attitude of “anyone can learn how to code” is encouraged in a playful way.
    Does the practice aim to have an impact on the behavior of participants related to a particular scientific topic, concept, phenomena, theory, or career?
    		No
    Does the practice aim to have an impact on the development / reinforcement / practice of skills of participants?
    		Yes: The PlayRobs workshop aims to teach the basics of programming using robotics to a fairly young target group (children and young people between 7 and 12 years).
    Additional notes: