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Share
Each group should share their test runs with you. If a group is successful, congratulate them and share their path with the class. Make sure to acknowledge each and every group in this process, and find specific ways to highlight their successes - whether in attention to detail, teamwork, direction following, etc. Specific praise for every group lets students know that these explorations are not merely a race to the finish line, but that thoughtful procedures and careful work is valued and appreciated.
If there are groups who have not successfully completed the experience, they should share their progress with the class and encourage other groups to help troubleshoot together with the team. This can help the students begin to see one another as resources, in addition to the teacher, as well as help the students to internalize their learning by articulating their thinking, and explaining their processes and strategies with others. For an optional collaboration rubric, click one of the following links (Google Doc/.docx/.pdf)
Teacher Tips
To learn how design and coding go hand in hand, click one of the following links (Google Doc/.docx/.pdf)
Reflection Questions
Congratulations on your project! Now that you have completed a design and coding experience, take a moment to think about the process you just engaged in. In your engineering notebooks, answer the following questions to help you reflect on your choices and your roles in the group:
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What did you consider when planning the path for the robot?
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What indicator did you choose and why?
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What part of the process was your or your group’s biggest success?
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What part of the process was your or your group’s biggest challenge?
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Stop and Discuss
When each group has successfully completed the project (or time runs out), have the groups share their plans and run their entire project for the group. Each group should report on four key components of the experience—one per role in the group. Here are some examples:
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Landmarks that they planned the map around
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What indicator they chose to use and why
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Troubleshooting successes and challenges
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Strategies that supported their teamwork, etc.
Motivate Discussion
At the conclusion of the groups’ sharing their projects, reflect on the process as a whole group.
Here are some potential discussion questions:
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What was the most challenging part of the coding process for you and/or your group?
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What is one thing you learned about programming directions for a robot?
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How do you think the designing and coding work together to create a successful project?
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If you wanted the robot to repeat this path every afternoon, how do you think you would code that?
(Students should answer these in their engineering notebook either before or after discussing verbally.)
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Closing the Experience
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Leave Time to Properly Put Things Away...
Students should be given time to take down and properly put away the materials. Large maps should be labeled with the Team Name, Project Name, and date, so that they can be kept for future reference and learning. -
Highlight Successful Strategies and Collaboration
Remember to highlight successful strategies and positive collaborative behaviors throughout the experience, even as it wraps up.Create a list of specific behaviors you want to encourage. Examples could include:
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Students self-organizing with the roles within a group
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Students performing each of their roles well within a group
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Students handling the robot and the computers/tablets with care
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Students praising and encouraging one another during the exploration
When students use these behaviors, praise them immediately. Be specific when offering praise. For example, instead of saying, “good job,” you could instead say, “good job carefully returning the Autopilot robot to the correct spot.”
For an optional collaboration rubric used for assessment, click one of the following links (Google Doc/.docx/.pdf)
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