8 September 2014
More than 500 teachers from around 200 schools have learned how to use robotics in their classrooms at this year's Go Robot teachers' training programme.
The Go Robot programme aims to boost student interest in Stem subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) by focusing on teacher professional development, student robotics competitions and investment in school robotics kits.
A key aim of the programme is to help increase the number of students who choose science tracks at school or technical and engineering degrees at university.
The school robotics programme, Go Robot, has been running since 2012 as a partnership between College of the North Atlantic - Qatar (CNA-Q) and Maersk Oil Qatar, supported by the Supreme Education Council and Qatar Petroleum.
Part of the programme sees teachers undergo a series of professional training courses of up to 30 hours each, covering different topics on robot programming and construction. These skills and knowledge, together with free robotics kits provided as part of the programme, are then taken into classrooms or after-school clubs where student teams prepare to compete in national and international competitions, including the Qatar National Robot Olympiad and World Robot Olympiad Finals.
"By engaging with students while they are young and increasing their interest in Stem disciplines, we aim to increase the number of high-quality graduates entering our industry," said Sheikh Faisal al-Thani, deputy managing director of Maersk Oil Qatar.
"It is fantastic to see such great enthusiasm and involvement from teachers. We hope that as many teachers as possible take this training as it clearly has an extremely positive impact on both teachers and students," said Dr Ken MacLeod, president of CNA-Q.
Teachers, on their part, have hailed the success of this year's programme.
"I found the field to be very interesting and courses to be beneficial because they added a lot of value to me as a teacher and improved my teaching practices," said Adel Ali, a teacher at Salah al-Deen Preparatory School in Doha.
"Introducing students to the programme, particularly at an early age, is a proactive step in promoting science and technology literacy," said Mazen Noueihed, a teacher at Qatar Academy.
Research abroad points to an improvement in the attitudes of girls towards science and technology when exposed to robotics programmes. Commenting on this issue, a teacher at Barzan Preparatory Independent Girls School said: "Many girls enjoy taking part in the programme and we have two teams taking part in the National Robotics Olympiad this year."
© Gulf Times 2014
