January 2025 BGCC Center Spotlight

As 2024 comes to a close, I find myself reflecting on the events of the year and looking forward to many exciting things to come. The move to the College of Education and Human Development has already proven to be one that is going to move both the Centers into the spotlight not only in Bryan-College Station, but throughout Texas and beyond.  

The mission statement for the Texas A&M Children’s Centers was updated with the transition to CEHD.  The updated mission statement includes a focus on partnering in leading-edge research.  

To our stakeholders and community, our mission is to be an integral component of a world-class academic institution contributing to pioneering advancements in early childhood development and education by partnering in leading-edge research and delivering top-tier clinical educational opportunities for Texas A&M students, the local community, and beyond.  

TexCS Project

A ground breaking project began in Sept. 2024 in collaboration with Drs. Margaret Quinn and Hope Gerde. Throughout the school year, the children in 12th Man, Aggies and Reveille classrooms will be implementing an innovative computer science, coding and robotics program in their everyday routines. This program was developed through a grant funded by the National Science Foundation and has been used with great success in classrooms in Tennessee and North Carolina. Now, TexCS is here! 

The activities for this project are embedded into the children’s everyday learning. This program infuses valuable activities including blocks, pretend play, reading, writing and mathematics with computational thinking to allow the children to solve problems, be creative and collaborative, and work on problem solving. The goal of the study is to understand how the computer science program works in early childhood classrooms and to understand the types of supports teachers need to use the program in their classrooms.

Now that the TexCS Project has been implemented in 3 classrooms for 4 months, we wanted to ask the teachers some questions about the project.

Do you think this project will benefit the children short term and long term?

When discussing the program with the teachers, they cited many benefits they have noticed from participation in this research project including the building of their vocabulary. The children have been using words such as “charging” and “rebooting.” The children are exploring sequencing, breaking down tasks into smaller pieces, cause and effect such as if/then, debugging, problem solving, and using signs and symbols to represent concepts. The children are beginning to understand what technology they are exposed to each day. The students will benefit from practicing these ideas now, so they are familiar with them as they learn and grow academically, socially and in regard to technology. 

What are your thoughts about children learning through robots versus other toys such as blocks and puzzles?

Both learning experiences are beneficial. Technology is a different approach, and it can be added to elements of other toys. There are many benefits to open-ended items in the classroom which doesn’t mean we can’t hold space for our robots. Engaging with these robots means they are focused on certain skills such as problem solving, sequencing and creating algorithms (coding). They both offer different skill sets.

What opportunities do you think this project presents for the children?

We have completed several STEM activities, but now this gives us a way to add more STEM activities to the daily curriculum. This project gives them the opportunity to practice some of the critical thinking skills needed in their everyday lives.

When introducing one of the robots, TaleBot, who speaks a variety of languages, curiosity of different languages spoken in the classroom by the students and teachers was sparked. The children spent a significant amount of time listening to all the languages and became excited about learning new things about their peers and teachers. In doing this, the children not only practiced critical thinking skills with the robot but enhanced their social and emotional skills while learning about their peers. 

This program offers them opportunities to code and program, practice maneuvering, and learn direction. One of their favorite activities included a zoo map and there are different animals that the robot can visit based on how the children program it. There are arrows they can work with to program the robot to follow the directions they create.

Not all robots are what we imagined, such as a metal human looking robot that we typically imagine. Problem solving is a key skill, when their coding doesn’t work, they have another opportunity to fix their mistakes. Students who don’t like making mistakes are learning to handle their emotions and learn that mistakes are okay. The world does not end when they make a programming mistake, and they want to try again instead of giving up. 

How do you implement TexCS into your everyday learning routine?

It is fun to add TexCS to our routine with different activities for the children to complete each day. We did a rhyming activity, we attached a card on top of the robot, the robot had to go find the rhyming word through a maze, where the kids had to instruct the robot where to go through the maze. We have built blocks around the robot and the robot had to escape. We find different areas of the classroom to apply where the kids have an opportunity to learn something or try something new. 

We regularly read books about robots or different significant people in STEM or other books that lend themselves to sequencing, or problem solving. This brings a lot of new literature into the classroom. This also gives us a new way of thinking about old classics such as “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.” The book lends itself to a sequence of events but then we can also think about what would happen if one event in the storyline changed, would the book change or stay the same? We wrote and illustrated a book together, used the robots to help with number and letter recognition (coding to different letters or numbers), and compare and contrast the different robots we use. 

This project is also implemented in a way that is more subtle such as our daily schedule because it is linear. Using linear examples shows that there is a reason and order for everything. Sometimes we have a problem that arises, and we solve it together. STEM activities give us so many opportunities to practice these vital skills. We go over the beginning, middle and end just like reading books. Read aloud times, what happens at the front, middle and end of the book. We try to connect our daily routines to these computer science skills implemented in this program. 

Do you think the children are doing more critical thinking with these activities? How can you tell?

Yes. When we work with the robots, the children remind each other of the rules and steps to make the robot work. If someone struggles, the children help each other. For example, you must clear the robot before starting another activity and the children help remind each other how to work together to make the robot work. They retain the steps and activities we do. 

One of the first activities was sequencing how to wash our hands, which is an event that occurs multiple times a day for us, but we rarely think about the steps that go into it. At first, this student gave simple steps such as “get soap, get water and get paper towel” and then upon following their own steps, they quickly realized there are many more steps they could add.  After thought and collaboration, they provided many detailed steps on how to correctly wash their hands, starting with “walk to the sink” and ending with “throw your paper towel away in the trash can.” 

During free art time, the kids are creating their own versions of robots. They are using free materials to create new versions of art they hadn’t created before. They identify the parts of the robots and work with 2D and 3D projects. A student made a robot out of blocks and was using their imagination to create what they thought represented their version of a robot. 

What information have you collected so far about the children with their thinking and learning?

When we first started, they couldn’t explain what robots are or what purpose they serve. Now, most students can identify and elaborate on robots, what they do and how robots do what they do. The children are retaining the information better now and grasping the concept of how the robot works. The more activities we do, the more they remember and can help each other. 

The children can now problem solve and find solutions after working with these robots. They can identify the difference in each robot, what each button means and how to make it work. They use the words “program” as a way of communicating how to make it work. 

Why do you think computer science and this research is important for early childhood education?

This is the way of the future, there is so much that is changing in our environment now. This project is going to build a strong and solid foundation of the critical thinking skills needed to engage with technology. The amount we use and depend on technology is only going to grow so it is important for the kids how these simple pieces of technology operate so they can be prepared for the more complex machines that they will engage with as they get older.

Staff Highlight

Meet Bertha Votion, a familiar face at our center and a valued member of the BGCC family for five years. With a total of eight years at TAMU, Bertha also spent three years working at the MSC on campus. Prior to her time at Texas A&M, she worked for CNA, where she gained experience in caring for others and building meaningful connections. Bertha’s goal is to serve the people, meet their needs, and help where others cannot. Whether it’s cleaning classrooms, sanitizing restrooms, or fixing broken items, Bertha ensures that everyone at the center is safe, healthy, and happy.

“I enjoy my job because I know I’m needed and can make a difference. The children’s health and cleanliness are a top priority, and I take pride in keeping everything germ-free and sanitized. I love interacting with the kids—they always tell me hi, and their smiles brighten my day. Everyone here is so respectful and kind, and that makes this a great place to work.”

When Bertha is not working, she enjoys spending time with her great-granddaughter and tending to her plants at home. She is also actively involved in her church, where she enjoys preaching and serving others. Every couple of years, Bertha takes a trip to Mexico to visit family and friends.

“I plan to stay here and continue serving, I don’t want to go anywhere else,” Bertha added. “Working for Texas A&M provides a respectful and peaceful environment for me. I’m grateful for the opportunity to help others. The people here, especially the children, are what make this place special.”

As part of her role, Bertha is responsible for maintaining a clean and safe environment, including sanitizing classrooms and restrooms, keeping supplies stocked, and taking care of work orders. She’s always searching for ways to improve the center and ensure everything is in working order.

Thank you, Bertha, for everything you do for the BGCC family. Your hard work and dedication mean the world to us!