Promoting STEM Education through the Preparation of Multicultural National Robotics Teams in Qatar (Evaluation)

Tala Katbeh; G. Benjamin Cieslinski; Hassan Bazzi

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Conference: 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Baltimore , Maryland
Publication Date: June 25, 2023
Start Date: June 25, 2023
End Date: June 28, 2023
Conference Session: Pre-College Engineering Education Division (PCEE) Technical Session 14:Robotics and Careers
Tagged Division: Pre-College Engineering Education Division (PCEE)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 12
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--43987
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/43987
Download Count: 195

Paper Authors

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Tala Katbeh Texas A&M University at Qatar orcid.org/0000-0002-0088-0752

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Tala Katbeh is a STEM Instructor and Program Coordinator at Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ) where she applies her enthusiasm for engineering to create curricula and engineering courses for school students. Katbeh is currently also pursuing her PhD at Texas A&M University, having graduated from TAMUQ with a BSc and MSc both in chemical engineering.

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G. Benjamin Cieslinski Texas A&M University at Qatar

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STEM Initiatives and Laboratory Manager

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Hassan Bazzi

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Abstract

In recent years, university outreach programs have increased as an effective method of imparting a comprehensive perspective into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers and disciplines to school students. Different models of STEM education exist and the implementation of educational robotics to pre-college students has been deemed impactful in influencing the students’ interest in STEM fields. This is due to the accessibility of educational robotics as well as the fact that it provides an engaging, hands-on method of combining technology, engineering, and design. Therefore, with the increase in educational robotics programs, having an end goal for the students is necessary for learning motivation. That is why involvement in international robotics competitions would meet this component. Moreover, combining the multicultural aspect that has been increasingly predominant in STEM helps raise the educational structure to a melting pot pedagogy. This provides a solid foundation for the students’ development as they experience diversity consciousness even in a technical setting. This paper highlights the importance and the technique behind joining groups of multicultural backgrounds in Qatar to represent national teams in international competitions – notably the well-renowned FIRST Global Challenge, an olympics-style robotics competition that brings teams from different countries to solve the challenges facing our world. Preparing for the FIRST Global Challenge includes gaining effective communication and problem-solving skills as the students work as a team to devise creative solutions to real-world engineering problems. The approach with which the students representing two different nations – Afghanistan and Qatar – were trained in a shared workspace will be presented. Qatar is known for its cultural diversity, and the schools across Qatar include students from over 100 nationalities. Therefore, determining a technique to be delivered to a multicultural environment is essential to the learning process involved. The details explained in this paper include the preparation, the topics and instructional materials taught, the structure of the training, and the end results.

Citation
Format

Katbeh, T., & Cieslinski, G. B., & Bazzi, H. (2023, June), Promoting STEM Education through the Preparation of Multicultural National Robotics Teams in Qatar (Evaluation) Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43987

TY - CPAPER
AB - In recent years, university outreach programs have increased as an effective method of imparting a comprehensive perspective into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers and disciplines to school students. Different models of STEM education exist and the implementation of educational robotics to pre-college students has been deemed impactful in influencing the students’ interest in STEM fields. This is due to the accessibility of educational robotics as well as the fact that it provides an engaging, hands-on method of combining technology, engineering, and design. Therefore, with the increase in educational robotics programs, having an end goal for the students is necessary for learning motivation. That is why involvement in international robotics competitions would meet this component. Moreover, combining the multicultural aspect that has been increasingly predominant in STEM helps raise the educational structure to a melting pot pedagogy. This provides a solid foundation for the students’ development as they experience diversity consciousness even in a technical setting.
This paper highlights the importance and the technique behind joining groups of multicultural backgrounds in Qatar to represent national teams in international competitions – notably the well-renowned FIRST Global Challenge, an olympics-style robotics competition that brings teams from different countries to solve the challenges facing our world. Preparing for the FIRST Global Challenge includes gaining effective communication and problem-solving skills as the students work as a team to devise creative solutions to real-world engineering problems. The approach with which the students representing two different nations – Afghanistan and Qatar – were trained in a shared workspace will be presented. Qatar is known for its cultural diversity, and the schools across Qatar include students from over 100 nationalities. Therefore, determining a technique to be delivered to a multicultural environment is essential to the learning process involved. The details explained in this paper include the preparation, the topics and instructional materials taught, the structure of the training, and the end results.

AU - Tala Katbeh
AU - G. Benjamin Cieslinski
AU - Hassan Bazzi
CY - Baltimore , Maryland
DA - 2023/06/25
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Promoting STEM Education through the Preparation of Multicultural National Robotics Teams in Qatar (Evaluation)
UR - https://peer.asee.org/43987
DO - 10.18260/1-2--43987
ER -