My name is Derrick Jones and I am a sophomore mathematics major at Mississippi Valley State University. I became interested in math during my eighth grade year. Due to a placement test I was promoted to an advanced math class, Algebra I.  In Mississippi, Algebra I requires a subject area test to pass the course. As a junior high student, I scored higher than most high school students. I knew then that math was the subject I would excel in.  In the summer of 2011 I was accepted into the HBCU-UP Summer Science Program at Mississippi Valley State University. Due to my outstanding work in this program, I received a full scholarship to major in mathematics at Mississippi Valley State University.

I heard about the program called Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) through my advisor and professor, Dr. Constance Bland. She urged me to apply to the program and to attend the ADMI conference 2012. There, I was introduced to Dr. Linda Hayden and was offered an internship at Elizabeth City State University (ECSU). Here at ECSU, I have learned how to use operating systems such as Linux; make webpages using Dreamweaver, use GPS, and became familiar with Ubuntu. Under the leadership of Dr. Darrell Johnson, we looked to apply the Common Core Standard at the K-12 academic level using NXT LEGO robotics. This research was designed to apply mathematics processes of the Common Core Standard in a lesson plan on the K-12 levels of elementary, middle and high school. The team planned to used LEGO robotics to teach various scientific, mathematical, and design concepts through designing, building, and programming the robots at each level. The students’ received hands on experience with physics, mathematics, motion, environmental factors, and use problem solving in a collaborative group setting. The software that was used was an object oriented programming software that made programming the robots much easier. The students were very attentive and easily grasped the concept before them.