Title of Project: Development of Methodologies to Assess the Impact of Autonomous Robotics Competitions in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Education
Type: Research
Guide: Dr. CJ Chung

Competitions improve students' science, technology, engineering, and math skills. To prove the unique benefit of interdisciplinary robotic competitions we need measurable data that quantifies the student's experiences. This can be acquired through short assessments given to a group of students before and after a robotics competition. Another group of students, who did not participate in the competition, act as a control group by also taking the same pre- and post-assessments. Methodologies including assessment questions, procedures and web-based database tools were developed to aid in this research. User friendliness was a key requirement. Robofest (www.robofest.net), an annual autonomous robotics competition for 5th to 12th grade students, was used to complete this research. Robofest challenges teams of students to design, build, and program robots. In this Quest Project, Emily Trudell developed a web-based assessment tool, allowing her to anonymously gather assessment data and analyze the students' performance, and integrate it into the website Robofest.org. This tool included functions for contacting competition coaches using the Robofest database, posting online assessments, gathering data, and analyzing results. The tool also generated unique codes to insure full anonymity for students.