Junior Botball Challenge

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“The JBC program is now the center-point of our district’s STEM student experience. We have been able to see a positive effect in so many of our students and families with the critical and computational thinking opportunities that the program exposes our students to. It is easy for our teachers to implement and the students love participating.”

Roger Clement STEM Director, Noble Public Schools

Program Type

Hands on/Project-Based
Informal /Out of School

Target Audience

All Students

Teachers/Educational Leaders

Location

Nationwide

Grades

Pre-K - 5
Grades 6 - 8
Grades 9 - 12

 Accomplished link

Program Impact

2017-18 implementations include over 1,400 schools in 29 states (58% in-class), impacting ~28,000 students (56% female) and ~3,500 educators. External and internal evaluation data indicate significant increases in student STEM interest, identity and efficacy and improvement in attention to detail, perseverance on task and 21st century skills including; problem solving, critical thinking and communication with both peers and adults. 80% of participating educators indicate they now routinely incorporate computational thinking and engineering into their daily lessons with 98% of them planning on continuing to participate in future years.

 

Program Overview

The JBC program is a sustainable Computer Science (CS) and engineering, design-focused STEM program. This program is designed to support and empower Pre K- 12 grade educators with zero experience teaching computer science or engineering in teaching their classroom students integrated computer science, coupled with engineering design concepts. The strategy revolves around three main components: educator friendly reusable autonomous robotics equipment, a standards-aligned curriculum and professional development.
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How To Get Involved

There are multiple options to support and partner with the KISS Institute for Practical Robotics

•    Funders can help with state, national and international strategic initiatives

•    Funders can support local regional and national Junior Botball Challenge events

•    Funders can support individual classrooms, teachers and teams

•    Volunteers can help individual classrooms, teachers and teams

•    Volunteers can help at local, regional, national and international Junior Botball Challenge events

Funders and Partners

NASA, iRobot, Dell Corporation, Infosys Foundation, Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission,  Carnegie Mellon University Qatar, George Mason University, Loyola University of Chicago, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, University of Maryland, University of Massachusetts Lowell, University of Oklahoma, University of San Diego, University of Southern California, Vienna Institute of Technology

Contacts

Steve Goodgame

Executive Director

sgoodgame@kipr.org

o. 405-579-4609

c. 405-830-6685

www.kipr.org

Design Principles

The programs in this database clear a high bar. STEMworks reviewed each program against the Design Principles for Effective STEM Philanthropy.

  • Accomplished
  • Developing
  • Undeveloped

Overarching Principles

  • Need

    Identify and target a compelling and well-defined need.

  • Evaluation

    Use rigorous evaluation to continuously measure and inform progress towards the compelling need identified.

  • Sustainability

    Ensure work is sustainable.

  • Replication and Scalability

    Demonstrate replicability and scalability.

  • Partnerships

    Create high impact partnerships

  • Capacity

    Ensure organizational capacity to achieve goals.

STEM Principles

  • Challenging and Relevant Content

    Offer challenging and relevant STEM content for the target audience

  • STEM Practices

    Incorporate and encourage STEM practices.

  • Inspiration

    Inspire interest and engagement in STEM.

  • Under-Represented Groups

    Identify and address the needs of under-represented groups.