Robotics teams come to grade schools

Bringing the challenge and excitement of robotics to all grade levels has been on the mind of Bloomfield High School teacher Michael Warholak for some time.

Starting off as an Industrial Arts teacher who transitioned into Technology Education and eventually became the BHS Robotics Team coach, his vision closed in on reality this spring when, as a pilot program, Watsessing and Oak View elementary school robotic clubs competed against each other at the high school.

“I’ve been trying to come up with a viable program for all schools,” he said recently. “I wanted something starting in elementary school, the fourth or fifth grade, where the kids could put their technology knowledge into something more demonstrative.”

He thought the best way would be competitions between schools.

“Every career path has a goal,” he said. “Our world is technologically oriented. Getting kids ready for this is why teachers are here.”

He wanted a natural flow of robotics education, from elementary to high school, giving kids a consistent structure. Comparing it to sports, he said first you practice with your teammate, but eventually compete against someone else. Warholak said he was trying to install a problem-solving process.

“It’s what I teach,” he said. “Unfortunately, in our modern world, problem-solving is not as innate as it once was.”

After coming up with his goal, the next step was a game plan and it was basic — build a robot and put it to work. They would lift and carry pegs and drop them into an opening. But the more important aspect of the contest, Warholak stressed, was not building and programming the “bot,” but having the kids work together collectively.

All the elementary schools were invited to compete, but only Watsessing and Oak View showed enough interest. BHS Robotics team members mentored these students.

“It required a big effort for those schools,” Warholak said. “It was a concerted effort and worked out well. There were very few kinks. The kids loved it and were fully engaged. They wouldn’t have been doing it if they weren’t interested.

The competition, held in early April, took place in “The Pit,” a small first-floor gym. Parents, siblings and friends attended as though it was a sports match. One high schooler was the emcee. Music was played in the background.

“There were a lot of different elements going on and a lot of interest,” Warholak said. “People were waiting to see what the heck this was all about. I wanted involvement from a lot of different people. This has to carry through to middle school where we can set up another event, but age appropriate. And at the high school, there’s the robotics team.”

As for the competition, using another sports analogy, the kids were the pit crew and the robot was their racing vehicle. Only thing, the kids were not allowed to touch the surface on which the competition took place. This was a long plywood board, fashioned with guard rails, painted and with a dozen small pins — thread spools, at one end. At the other end was the starting line, the robot and the opening in the board surface through which the retrieved pins had to be dropped. Competing teams faced each other. Robots would race down the board, grab a pin, turn and head back to the goal opening.

There were two sections to the competition. For the first, the robot received instructions only from its internal program. For the second, commands were relayed to it via a wireless transmitter controlled by the pit crew. When the robot had a problem, kids would ask each other, “Why don’t we do this?” or “We should try this” or “It’s not going to fit.” One time, a robot did not travel in a straight line, but veered to one side. While the boys were puzzled over the problem, a girl pit mate noticed one robot wheel was rubbing against the chassis and had to be realigned. Problem solved!

“All these trial and error statements,” Warholak said, “they’re all goal-oriented and the kids are engaged 100 percent. As a teacher, it’s a treat to hear focused attention.”

And it was not a dog-eat-dog competition. If a competitor’s robot strayed off course and was unable to recoup, camaraderie points were given if a team pushed the errant opponent back to its own side.

Warholak, however, will not be back in September and will no longer be teaching or coaching robots. He is taking over the woodworking class for a retiring teacher.

“My hope is that my successor will continue with my concept and add to it and improve it,” he said. “I’ll still be here as a mentor and advisor.”

His successor will be BHS teacher Lauren Bsales.

Warholak was assisted throughout the year by chemistry teacher Pohun Chen. The robotics team was supported by the Bloomfield Education Foundation. The district supervisor for science, STEM and industrial arts is Kerwith Lewis.

“There are a lot of people involved here,” he said. “One person didn’t do it all.”

  bloomfield, elementary school, robotics