Implementing VEX 123 STEM Labs

STEM Labs are designed to be the online teacher’s manual for VEX 123. Like a printed teacher’s manual, the teacher-facing content of the STEM Labs provides all of the resources, materials, and information needed to be able to plan, teach, and assess with VEX 123. The Lab Image Slideshows are the student-facing companion to this material. For more detailed information about how to implement a STEM Lab in your classroom, see the Implementing VEX 123 STEM Labs article.

Goals and Standards

Goals

Students will apply

Observing behaviors of the 123 Robot to identify bugs in a project.
Identifying bugs using the Step feature on the Coder.
Changing the sequence of Coder cards to fix a bug in a project.

Students will make meaning of

Recognizing that each behavior of the 123 Robot matches a step in the coding project.
Observing the robot’s behaviors and comparing those actions to the desired outcome in order to debug a project.

Students will be skilled at

Waking the 123 Robot.
Connecting the 123 Robot to a Coder.
Inserting Coder cards into the Coder.
Sequencing Coder cards in the correct order.
Starting a project using the Coder.
Identifying when a project is not running as intended.
Debugging a Coder project.
Using the Step feature on the Coder.

Students will know

That bugs are errors in a coding project.
How to identify bugs in a project and fix those errors.

Objective(s)

Objective

Students will discuss how the sequence of Coder cards directly relates to the behaviors of the 123 Robot.
Students will identify errors in a Coder project.
Students will adjust a coding sequence with errors.

Activity

During Engage, students will discuss why the sequence of Coder cards in the Coder do not match with the intended behaviors of the 123 Robot. Students will recognize that the order of the Coder cards relates to the order that the robot performs behaviors.
In Play Part 1, students will identify, as a whole class, the incorrect Coder cards in a sequence by comparing the cards to the intended behaviors of the 123 Robot.
During Play Part 1, students will adjust the sequence of the Coder cards as a whole class to code the 123 Robot to perform the intended behaviors.

Assessment

During the Mid-Play Break, students will discuss why it is important to understand a coding sequence and the intended behaviors of the 123 Robot in order to debug code.
In Play Part 2, students, in groups, will identify the incorrect Coder cards in a certain sequence by comparing the cards to the intended behaviors of the 123 Robot.
During Play Part 2, students, in groups, will adjust the sequence of the Coder cards to code the 123 Robot to perform the intended behaviors.

Connections to Standards

Showcase Standards

Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA)

CSTA 1A-AP-11: Decompose (break down) the steps needed to solve a problem into a precise sequence of instructions.

How Standard is Achieved: During the Play Part 1, students will decompose their code in order to understand how each step follows another in a proper sequence to either solve a problem or perform a specific task. The students will then use this information to identify which, if any, steps in the sequence are incorrect and would result in an undesired behavior or outcome.

Showcase Standards

Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA)

CSTA 1A-AP-12: Develop plans that describe a program’s sequence of events, goals, and expected outcomes.

How Standard is Achieved: During the Mid-Play Break, students will have to describe a project's goals and outcomes in order to understand which behaviors or steps in the sequence are incorrect.

Showcase Standards

Common Core State Standards (CCSS)

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.G.A.1: Describe objects in the environment using names of shapes, and describe the relative positions of these objects using terms such as above, below, beside, in front of, behind, and next to.

How Standard is Achieved: During the Play sections, students will be asked to describe, using gestures, how the 123 Robot moves based on the Coder cards in the Coder. They will be asked to specify how far the robot will travel, what direction the robot will be turning, and other specifics using spatial language.

Additional Standards

Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA)

CSTA 1A-AP-14: Debug (identify and fix) errors in an algorithm or program that includes sequences and simple loops.

How Standard is Achieved: During the Play sections, the students will be given an incorrect sequence of Coding cards. The students will have to identify the errors in the sequence then reorganize or restructure the Coder cards so that the 123 Robot performs the desired behaviors.

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