The Exotic Car of Education: FIRST Robotics in the Physics & Computer Science Curriculum
One of the biggest selling features of any exotic car isn’t its high performance engine, its increased torque or its sleek design. It’s its rarity. Exotic car buyers want what other people can’t possess. Holy Name of Mary College School (HNMCS) has a Physics and Computer Science programme that is one-of-a-kind. Only our families can have it and do you know why? It’s because of Dr. Karen Kozma. No other school in the world has one of her.
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when FIRST Robotics wanted to link its programme to the high school syllabus, Dr. Kozma was on that FIRST Robotics curriculum committee for two years. She was a strong voice in getting other FIRST mentors to see how this could be utilized in teaching Physics and Computer Science courses at the high school level.
This was easier said than done however as, while at HNMCS our Robotics Coach, Dr. Kozma, is also the Physics teacher, who has a PhD in electrical engineering, a Bachelor of Education degree, and understands electronics and coding, this is not necessarily the case with coaches for other schools who might not be similarly multifaceted. As well, some schools may have outsourced the running of their robotics programme to skilled engineers, who while passionate about the programme, are unfortunately not certified teachers. This is problematic from a curriculum integration perspective as they have no direct connection to the classroom, and may not be able to connect FIRST Robotics to school curriculum in an age-and-stage appropriate way.
But here’s just two examples of how Dr. Kozma does it. In Grade 11 Physics, they use the robot to shoot a disc into the air. Students then look at and study the projectile to understand the kinematics of motion. In Grade 12, these students not only study launch kinematics, but they design and code a machine to perform the launch. To do this, they work above grade level and start touching upon university level Physics, as the lab goes beyond just calculation. The student knows if the launch worked, and if it didn’t they want to go back and fix it by reviewing the math at the source by reading peer-reviewed technical documents published by the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Who needs Google now?
By integrating FIRST Robotics into Physics curriculum, our students combine one of their co-curricular passion projects - FIRST Robotics - with their Physics labs, enhancing their learning because they’re studying what they love. The benefits of this programme extend beyond high school. When our students reach university, they are leveraging knowledge gained from various HNMCS Robotics-run after school workshops, including coding and solid modelling at the university level, into internships and job offers at companies such as Hatch and Pratt & Whitney Canada.
When you add to this the fact that HNMCS Robotics is one of only six all-girls FIRST Robotics teams in Canada, a team founded by and mentored by females, you have something worthy of the call former Chicago White Sox announcer Ken “Hawk” Harrelson made when Mark Buehrle headed into the ninth inning with that other rare thing, a no-hitter, this one against the Tampa Bay Rays in 2009. He said, “Call your daughters, call your friends, call your neighbors”. Yes, HNMCS Robotics is worth watching and bragging about.
Dr. Kozma is just one of the many talented and creative staff members at HNMCS that offers exceptional programming to get our students future-ready.
- Mr. Ryan Baker, Acting Co-Head of School & Director of Academics
