Summary

260 Year 4 students from 51 schools undertook a programming task called Robot on the Move.

The task involved working with a simple programmable robot, in a one-to-one interview situation with a trained Teacher Assessor. Students used an 8 x 3 grid, which showed iconic sculptures from around New Zealand, such as the ‘sheep’ in Omarama and the ‘cow’ in Morrinsville. The task had two components. Firstly, students were asked to program the robot to travel to three of the sculptures, from specified locations. The programs became increasingly complex. Secondly, students were asked to write some instructions for the Teacher Assessor to give to the robot to travel to the Crayfish in Kaikōura.

Before starting the task, students were asked if they had used “robots like these” before. They were also shown the buttons on the robot and given some time to experiment with them.

The robots were controlled using buttons, which each represented a command. Commands included forward, backward, 90° left turn, 90° right turn, and start the programme.