MINDSTORMS® Education + TETRIX

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MINDSTORMS® Education + TETRIX® Indiana high school teacher gets students actively involved in problem-based learning projects. About the School: Pike Central High School

• Petersburg, Indiana • Grades: 9-12 • LEGO Education classroom solution: ®

MINDSTORMS® Education + TETRIX®

The Need

Like many educators, Ray Neihaus needed a way to get

more students involved in problem-based projects. He knew he needed a solution that would get students excited about robotics



Through robotics and programming, students are using

and programming. The product he chose would also have to

math and problem-solving skills as well as communication and

be reliable in order to keep students interested and engaged in

teamwork skills. Often, high school students want to guess

expanding their knowledge. Four years ago, Pike Central High

calculations by inputting numbers until they get the correct

School in Petersburg, Indiana, implemented a robotics class

answer. Ray makes it a high priority for all of his robotics

using LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Education + TETRIX® to teach

students to learn math and problem-solving skills by doing their

high school students about the many things they could do with

calculations ahead of time. Many of the projects the students

robotics and programming. News about student involvement in

work on are autonomous, such as robots that pick items up or

robotics at Pike Central has spread, which has led to a couple of

go around obstacles. This makes it very important for students

great partnerships.

not to guess but to use their problem-solving skills to determine

The Solution

calculations ahead of time.



After being disappointed by the quality of other robotics

brands, Ray turned to MINDSTORMS Education + TETRIX parts,



Through a school-wide STEM initiative, Ray often has his

students work with other classes, including geometry, calculus,

which are used by fifty to one hundred students annually and

biology, and machine shop classes, to create innovative projects

have not yet had to be replaced. Instead, he has been able to

and ideas. These collaborative efforts enable students to grow

spend his budget on growing his range of parts and accessories

both their communication and teamwork skills. Ray has his class

for students to use. According to Ray, “the reliability of the parts

use ROBOTC ® to program, which he says has also enabled

gives students confidence and makes it easier for them to

students to work on many adventurous projects. In fact, using the

design and assemble robots.” The durability and the reliability of

Carnegie Mellon program with MINDSTORMS Education + TETRIX

the parts also gives students the flexibility of prototyping many

hardware “allows students to easily get started and also keeps

different ideas.

students interested,” said Ray.

The Results

Because there was a high interest level in robotics and

programming, Ray developed an after-school program for any student to join. Those students who have developed a special interest in programming are logging more than thirty hours a week after school and on weekends. Due to the extra time spent learning outside of class, these students are now programming in JAVA, C, and C++. News of this success has spread, and students from another local high school travel to join Ray and his students in their robotics club on Friday nights.

Another partnership was formed with a local community

college. The community college reached out to Ray in an effort to learn more about robotics and programming. Together, the robotics club and the community college developed a challenge for both the high school and college students to collaboratively work on: build a working lawn mower. Together, they used their MINDSTORMS Education + TETRIX parts, along with their programming knowledge, to design and build a prototype in only two weeks. They then built the working model based off of their prototype and were provided the chance to present their project at the Indiana State Capitol. This is an example of how, for many high school students in a rural school in Indiana, being involved in the school’s robotics program has provided them opportunities they didn’t know existed. According to Ray, he has seen “students of all ages and levels excel in problem-solving skills and taking ideas they have drawn on paper and bringing them to life using physics and teamwork to create projects. The results over and over are projects that look great and are durable enough to present at any science fair. Every year, we proudly present various projects at the Indiana State Capitol.”

For more information visit LEGOeducation.us/MINDSTORMS+TETRIX.