STEM 3.0 for Chinese Students with Sea Perch Underwater Robots: An Experimental Summer Camp for Hands-on Thinkers in Shanghai

Abstract

In the last 5 years, we see a drastically increasing demand and interest in the STEM education from every aspect of Chinese public and private educational sectors. However due to the short-time development and hence a lack of experience, Chinese STEM education faces two major challenges: the lack of the student engagement and the lack of the teaching guidelines. Therefore, we propose a new idea of “STEM 3.0” teaching methods and its corresponding classroom framework. Using an underwater robot called “Sea Perch”, we then tested and implemented the concept two experimental science summer camps of more than 120 students at Shanghai in the summer of 2019. The camp is successful manifestation of the “STEM 3.0” teaching and learning method, featuring encouragingly positive student feedbacks.