Starter Challenge: Building Your Robot (1-2 sessions)

Batteries are charged.

Firmware is updated. This needs to be done every few weeks.

LEGO® Core Sets are organised and ready to hand out.

Each team has reliable computer access to the LEGO® MINDSTORMS® software, and internet.

Extra challenge-specific materials/resources are available and set up: Nil.

Teacher computer is open to the Robotics Club website and the relevant Challenge page, connected to projector ready to display videos.

The relevant Teacher Monitoring Chart is prepared (printed and laminated for re-use, or projected), and relevant Student Reflection Sheets (or Student Booklets) are printed and ready to hand out.

You have reviewed your Teacher Reflection from the previous session, and have a plan to implement strategies.

Schedule of the session is written on the board, and a poster of the Club rules is displayed.

Introduction

5 minutes

1. Introduce visual schedule of the session, e.g.

3:15pm – Introduction

3:20pm – Planning

3:30pm – Robotics Challenge

3:50pm – Halfway Monitoring

4:15pm – Evaluation & Pack Up

2. Briefly outline or review the Club rules (refer to poster).
3. If necessary, teachers facilitate formation of new teams and record new team and robot names.
4. Play the short Robotics Challenge video clip on projector.

Planning

10 – 15 minutes

What does it look like? How can I achieve this?

1. Briefly introduce the specific teamwork skill, learning intention and success criteria (refer to Student Reflection Sheet and/or Monitoring Chart).
2. Teachers demonstrate/model the skill (e.g. through role play, or giving examples of language. You may choose to demonstrate meeting OR not meeting the success criteria).
3. Students evaluate the teacher(s) against the success criteria.
4. Students generate their own demonstration/examples of how to meet the success criteria (e.g. through a “think, pair, share” activity; use discretion as to whether students are ready to demonstrate in front of the group, this is not necessary).
5. Depending on the Robotics Challenge, you may choose to prompt students to use the Robot Design Process to plan their Robotics Challenge before beginning working time (add 5 minutes to Planning time).

Robotics Challenge

& Monitoring

45 – 55 minutes

Pause for student monitoring halfway through working time: What am I doing well? What do I need to keep working on?

1. Teach programming content if necessary, referring to programming video as needed.
2. Working time: students complete the Robotics Challenge in their teams, and teachers implement effective strategies to support students’ learning of the teamwork skill (e.g. growth mindset, prompting; praise and positive reinforcement; refer to Teacher Reflection as a reminder).
3. Monitoring by teachers: Team or Whole-Club Monitoring Chart/positive reinforcement system for successful demonstration of success criteria, throughout working time.
4. Monitoring by students: pause halfway through the Robotics Challenge working time, for students to complete the success criteria rubric and identify what they are doing well and what they can improve on.
5. If parents have been invited, they may be present for approximately last 30 minutes of session (last 20 minutes of Robotics Challenge time).

Evaluation & Pack Up

15 minutes

What did I do well? What do I need to keep working on next time?

1. Evaluation by students: at end of the session, students once again complete the success criteria rubric, reflect on what they did well and what they can improve on next time. Support students to self-reflect on their demonstration of teamwork skills.
2. Evaluation by teachers: refer to Team or Whole-Club Monitoring Chart/positive reinforcement system and praise/provide feedback to specific teams and students. Invite students to give positive/constructive feedback to peers.
3. Pack up, farewell and advise students of Robotics Challenge for following session, providing them with “something to think about” to help prepare for following session if helpful.