Applying VEX GO

Connection to VEX GO

The Day and Night STEM Lab is a hands-on activity that teaches students about the rotation of Earth and how it leads to the patterns of day and night we experience. To start, students build a model using components from the VEX GO kit, such as a Motor and Switch, with the Eye Sensor's light symbolizing the Sun. During this build, students will need to rotate their builds to match the build instructions and be asked to explain how the pieces are going together using descriptions or gestures to practice their spatial reasoning skills. After the build is complete, they will add a marker to their model Earth to represent their own location.

As they turn on the Motor and the model Earth begins to spin, students can watch their marker move from the "day" side, illuminated by the Eye Sensor, to the "night" side, away from the light. This model makes the rotation of Earth – a concept that can be hard to grasp – something they can see and understand. It provides a visual reference that helps them connect the Earth's rotation with changes in day and night. This also provides students with an opportunity to engage with spatial talk to describe the rotation of the Earth and how it moves in relation to the Sun. During this investigation, students also look to to the build to see how the position of the Earth's axis impacts the rotation.

In the next stage of the Lab, students deepen their understanding by exploring how the Sun appears to move across the sky during the day, due to the Earth's rotation. In Lab 2, they use the Brain and VEXcode GO to program their model Earth to rotate from day to night, and then rotate again one hour at a time. This shows them the link between Earth's rotation and the position of the Sun in the sky. As they run their VEXcode GO project, they are asked to observe and describe how the Earth moves as compared to the Sun to compare and contrast the two planetary bodies. They also use directional language to explain the incremental movement of the Earth based on their VEXcode GO project.

Through these activities and engaging in spatial talk, students are not only describing what they observe but also connecting it to broader concepts, asking questions, making predictions, and drawing connections to real-world phenomena. This fosters a deeper understanding of the spatial relationships involved in the Earth's rotation and how it influences the cycle of day and night.

Teaching with Building

Throughout this Unit, students will be engaged with different engineering, building or inquiry-based learning concepts. The Labs within this unit will follow a similar format:

• Engage:
  • Teachers will help students make a personal connection to the concepts that will be taught in the Lab.
  • Students will complete the build.
• Play:
  • Instruct: Explain the activity/experiment that the students are doing. How should they get started? What are the rules? What is the success criteria?
  • Model: Show an example of a partially filled out data sheet, game sheet, or an illustration of what the robot should be doing during the activity. Make that activity visible and give the teacher tips on how to also make it visible.
  • Facilitate: Teachers will be given prompts to engage students in a discussion about what the goals of the activity are, the spatial reasoning involved with the building, and how to troubleshoot unexpected outcomes for their designs or plans for an activity. This discussion will also verify that the students understand the purpose of the activity and how to properly use the pieces from the VEX GO Kit.
  • Remind: Teachers will remind students that their build, design, or attempt at the activity will not be fully correct the first time. Encourage multiple iterations and remind students that trial and error is a part of learning.
  • Ask: Teachers will engage students in a discussion that will focus on developing a growth mindset. Some examples could include, “Did something go wrong? Great! How can you use this mistake to improve your design?” or “Not happy with your design? Fantastic! Who can you seek feedback from to make your design better?”
• Share: Students have an opportunity to communicate their learning in multiple ways. Using the Choice Board, students will be given a “voice and choice” for how they best display their learning.

Facilitate examples

Facilitate a discussion by asking the student one or more of the following:

• Tell me/show me what you have learned so far
• Tell me what you are going to do first
• What do you mean by? (Frame a question around a learning objective for the STEM Lab)
• Why do you think? (Ask a question about a phenomenon that is observed during the experiment/activity
• Can you explain that (something going on during the experiment/activity) further?
• Can you give me an example of _____ ?
• Can you explain how the robot/build is working? What is making it move? What is making one part perform this action?

Ask examples

Facilitate a discussion by asking the student one or more of the following:

• Finished? Have you put in the effort to achieve a result you are proud of?
• Stuck? Awesome! What can you try next? What other ways might there be?
• Finding it tricky? Wonderful! What will you practice to get better? What strategies will you use?
• Not the best? Brilliant! Who can you learn more from?
• Proud of your design? Congratulations! Where to next? What are your goals?