Abstract:

This research project examines the integration of STEM and literacy through the creation of a First LEGO League (FLL) robotics program. The after school robotics program is housed on a university campus and its team members, fourth through eighth-grade students are English Learners (EL) who are also enrolled in a literacy support program. Using the annual FLL science theme, students come together to research, write, and present information on the specific scientific theme using academic language skills and learn to construct and program robots to accomplish multiple tasks. Throughout the program, literacy and linguistic skills are supported and enriched through the use and creation of multimodal texts.

The research question that undergirds this project is: In what ways do students use informational text and multimodal literacy practices to negotiate meaning and develop academic language in a robotics environment?

The First Lego League program is available worldwide and involves an annual thematic release that focuses on different aspects within the field of science. Students research and come up with a real-world problem and a solution that focuses on the theme and produce a five-minute research presentation. Along with the research presentation, teams build the mission game board and build and program an autonomous robot. Using this framework I created a FLL robotics program held at the Center. I saw the robotics program as a way for all students but especially the EL students to socially interact, negotiate, and creatively construct a linguistic base within the robotics context.

Many students report that reading informational text in school is often difficult, boring and they don’t see how it connects to their life (Alvermann, 2002). The robotics program is a motivating factor to get students involved in reading informational texts that are necessary to successfully compete in the FLL program. In addition through robotics, students engage in Multimodal texts which are both and nonprint materials. Multimodal texts are an important element in engaging students in accessing, reading and creating informational text and media.

The research was conducted on a university campus where fourth through eighth-grade students convened two to three times a week to participate in the FLL robotics program.

Data collection is ongoing and includes videotapes of group sessions, individual formal and informal interviews, written products, and the researcher’s reflective journals. Linguistic ethnographic methods were used to analyze data. Preliminary findings show that the inclusion of multimodal literacy methods and text support within a robotics framework can lead to an increase in the children’s linguistic confidence, research skills, and written products. In addition, students gain valuable robotics and programming knowledge as well as team-building skills.

Keywords:

Literacy, academic language, STEM, robotics, informational texts, multimodal texts, English Learners.