A youth team that is coached at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette turned in an impressive performance at a recent international robotics competition.
Team Phoenix, composed of six Acadiana students between the ages of 9 and 14, competed against teams from 32 states and 13 countries at the First Lego League Razorback Invitational. The event was held last month at the University of Arkansas.
Students who participate in the competitions learn science, technology, engineering and math skills by building and programming autonomous robots covered with Lego toy pieces. The robots must navigate and complete tasks on small playing surfaces about the size of a billiard table.
Students are judged in areas such as robot performance, programming, design, and on values like teamwork and sportsmanship.
They also present research projects that detail solutions to problems.
Projects for the competition were based on a theme of improving methods for learning and instruction, said Dr. Doug Williams, a professor of education who led the team.
“In their research, students discovered that an effective type of learning is having kids build and design things, learning by doing, basically,” he said.
Students built a desk that aids hands-on learning and group projects. They created a small prototype several inches high, then a full-sized version with a variety of functions and configurations.
“Most desks today are the same style that have always been used,” Williams said. “So, this desk was designed to better support those more innovative approaches for teaching and learning.”
The height is adjustable, so that students might be able to stand while working, for example. Another feature is a larger writing surface that can be tilted, like a draftsman’s table, and provides more area for classroom projects.
The desk also is equipped with mechanisms that allow it to be connected to others of the same type, enabling “children to be paired together for study,” Williams said.
Team members consulted with professors from the University’s College of Education and its School of Architecture and Design. The desk was constructed of thick cardboard.
The project earned Team Phoenix third place in the Innovative Solutions category, among a 72-team field. The award recognizes “a solution that is exceptionally well-considered and creative, with good potential to solve the problem researched," according to information included on the team’s award.
The youth teams are sponsored by the University’s College of Education. Team members include students who are home-schooled and another student who attends an area school.
Home-schooled students are: Miguel Pagan, 9; Francisco Pagan, 14; Joseph Williams, 9; Aaron Williams, 12; and Grant Thomas, 14. Caleb Williams, 14, attends John Paul the Great Academy in Lafayette.
Team Phoenix began practice last September at the College of Education’s Center for Innovative Learning and Assessment Technologies. CILAT’s director, Dr. Doug Williams, a professor of education, led the team.
It earned a spot in the international competition when it won the Champion Award in December at the Louisiana Championship Tournament held in New Orleans.
Team Phoenix was one of only two Louisiana teams among the 60-team field that earned the right to advance.
Learn more about first Lego League.
Photo: Team Phoenix members, from left to right, Aaron Williams, Caleb Williams, Francisco Pagan, Miguel Pagan, Joseph Williams, and Grant Thomas, discuss design with Corey Saft, a professor of architecture. The project earned Team Phoenix a third place in the Innovative Solutions category against teams from 32 states and 13 countries during competition at the University of Arkansas.