Robotics is breaking into mainstream curriculum in Queensland schools thanks to a push from a Bundaberg university lecturer and the State Government.

CQUniversity Education lecturer Dr Rosie Thrupp has backed the Government's (Office of Advanced Manufacturing) K-12 Robotics Program by introducing pre-service teachers to robotics as part of their teaching studies.

Sam Williams teaches students from Gin Gin using robotics.The State Government has already acknowledged robotics education as a key way to engage and motivate students to develop skills in problem-solving and team work, as well as to gain insight into maths, science, technology, literacy and numeracy. Now a University is giving new teachers the tools to make it work in the classroom.

Dr Thrupp said by providing pre-service teachers with the opportunity to learn about robotics in their studies and to hone their practical teaching skills in the area, school children are reaping the benefits.

"The pre-service teachers are working with local schools and students to introduce robotics and are even taking on presentation roles at weekend robotics workshops for existing teachers," Dr Thrupp said.

"Robotics has given our students enormous opportunities to develop their practical teaching skills. It's become an excellent way to help them develop their confidence in the classroom and gives them a host of new tools to engage students in learning."

Dr Thrupp said many experienced teachers appeared to lack confidence when it came to introducing a perceived 'high tech' activity like robotics into the classroom, but she saw it as a key tool for engagement within the modern classroom.

"Robotics is a great learning tool that shouldn't be isolated in the technology department - kids learn more than just about robots, they learn science, literacy, numeracy, mathematics, technology design.

CQUniversity's Theresa Larcombe shows Raùl leBoydre-Pershouse how to use robotics in Bundaberg."It's just a brilliant tool and really great for kids on alternative pathways."

Former CQUniversity learning management student Sam Williams is now teaching at Gin Gin State High School and has already firmly entrenched robotics into her classes.

"My first exposure to robotics was through my son who was competing in the Maryborough Technology Challenge," she said.

"It just seemed so interesting and the students involved really enjoyed it, so as an early career teacher looking for ideas I was keen to learn more.

"Robotics has the potential to make every subject engaging - in fact I have used them to teach English.

"And while it's great for boys, some of my best students are girls."

 "It's very self-directed learning which gives students a sense of control over what they are doing and a sense of accomplishment. For a lot of my students robotics is the highlight of the day."

Sam already has students lined up to display their robotics skills in the CQUniversity Secondary Robotics Challenge next term and hopefully they'll give the competition a shake up in the Maryborough Technology Challenge next year.

Robots are being used to education children in the classroom.

For more information about Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in Education (STEM) related education Dr Rosie Thrupp and some of her students will be talking about their success in the classroom at the QUT's inaugural STEM conference. More information is available at http://stemconference.com.au/