Implementing VEX GO STEM Labs

STEM Labs are designed to be the online teacher’s manual for VEX GO. 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 GO. 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 GO STEM Labs article.

Goals and Standards

Goals

Students will apply

Using calculations with individual motor blocks, such as the [Spin for] blocks, in a project to have the Code Base turn a set distance.
Determining the number of wheel rotations necessary for the Code Base to successfully execute turns in order to complete a parade route.

Students will make meaning of

How to use mathematical formulas and calculations to solve an authentic challenge, such as driving the Code Base the length of a parade route with turns.

Students will be skilled at

Saving and naming projects in VEXcode GO.
Adding VEXcode GO blocks to a project.
Using individual motor blocks in a project to have the Code Base execute turns.
Using mathematical calculations to plan and build a VEXcode GO project.
Changing parameters in VEXcode GO blocks.
Starting and stopping a project in VEXcode GO.

Students will know

How to use a formula to calculate the exact distance around a circle made by the robot in one rotation (circumference), in order to turn the robot a set distance.
How to calculate the number of wheel rotations necessary to turn the robot with precision.

Objective(s)

Objective

Students will use the formula (C=Pi x D) to calculate the distance the Code Base will travel to turn 360 degrees (circumference), where the diameter is the wheelbase of the robot. This formula is the distance around the circle (or circumference) equals Pi times diameter.
Students will determine the number of wheel turns needed in order for the Code Base to make a 360 degree turn.
Students will determine the number of wheel turns needed in order for the Code Base to make an 180 degree turn.

Activity

In Engage, students use the formula πD to determine the correct distance around a 360 degree turn of the Code Base robot.
In Play Part 1, students determine the number of wheel turns needed in order for the Code Base to make a 360 degree turn, knowing the distance the robot has to travel. They then test their answers in projects in VEXcode GO.
In Play Part 2, students use what they have learned in Play Part 1 to test a VEXcode GO project in which the robot drives the length of a parade route and makes a 180 degree turn.

Assessment

At the end of the Engage section, students calculate the distance the robot must travel to complete a 360 degree turn (circumference). In Play Part 1, students must use the answer from this calculation to correctly calculate the number of wheel turns needed for the robot make a 360 degree turn.
In the Mid-Play Break, students share how they determined the number of wheel turns needed to turn the robot 360 degrees and explain their calculations. They do so again in Share, when they explain how they used their solutions in their project and any changes needed to solve the challenge successfully.
In Share, students discuss whether their Code Base completed the parade route successfully, and the changes they needed to make if it did not do so. They predict what they would need to to do to change the the numbers in the [Spin for] blocks inputs if the parade route changed, or the turns were a different number of degrees.

Connections to Standards

Additional Standards

Common Core State Standards (CCSS)

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.B.7: Add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals to hundredths, using concrete models or drawings and strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction; relate the strategy to a written method and explain the reasoning used.

How Standard is Achieved: In Play Part 1, students will multiply and divide decimals to calculate the number of turns that each wheel must complete to for the robot to turn 360 degrees. In the Mid-Play Break, students will explain their calculations and how they used them to input the correct values into [Spin for] blocks in VEXcode GO to test the accuracy of their calculations. In Play Part 2, students will apply their learning by calculating the number of wheel turns necessary for the robot to turn 180 degrees, and input the values into a [Spin for] blocks in a VEXcode go project in which their robot will travel a parade route including 180 degree turn, in order to see if the robot travels the correct distance and turns for the correct number of degrees. In Share, students will explain how they used their calculations to travel the parade route successfully.

Additional Standards

Common Core State Standards (CCSS)

CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP6: Attend to Precision: Attend to Precision

How Standard is Achieved: In Play Part 1, students will multiply and divide decimals to calculate the number of turns that each wheel must complete to for the robot to turn 360 degrees. They will use this information to calculate the number of wheel turns needed in order to enter the correct values in the inputs of [Spin for] blocks to have the robot execute a 360 degree turn. In Play Part 2, they will calculate the number of wheel turns needed in order to enter the correct values in the inputs of [Spin for] blocks to have the robot execute a 180 degree turn as the robot completes the parade route. In Share, students will discuss how to calculate the number of wheel turns needed for the robot to complete additional types of turns.

Additional Standards

Common Core State Standards (CCSS)

CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP4: Model with Mathematics

How Standard is Achieved: In Play Part 1, students apply the formula for circumference (πD) to determine the distance of the circle created by one wheel turn of the robot. They then use that information to determine the number of wheel turns needed to input correct values into blocks in VEXcode GO, so their robot can turn exactly 360 degrees. They test their projects and improve on them if necessary, until the robot turns correctly. In the Mid-Play Break, students share and discuss their calculations and why they did or didn't work in their projects. In Play Part 2, they build on this by determining the number of wheel turns needed to input correct values for their robot to turn exactly 180 degrees and complete a specific parade route. In Share, they transfer this knowledge in a discussion about how their projects would change if they needed their robots to turn a different number of degrees.

Additional Standards

Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA)

CSTA 1B-IC-20: Seek diverse perspectives for the purpose of improving computational artifacts.

How Standard is Achieved: Students brainstorm and plan the path the robot needs to take in order to complete the task. They discuss their plan with other groups and share ideas on how to complete the activity. The teacher facilitates these discussions so students have guidance on how to seek those differing perspectives from other groups in order to improve their VEXcode GO projects.

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