One thing that struck me during many conversations I had with educators was a theme of wondering if they were doing things “right”. Questions like, “Am I supposed to be teaching that?” or “Is what I did this year ok?” to “This is what I inherited, but it doesn’t feel right—what should I be doing?” Part of what makes teaching with robots so unique and engaging is that we can use robots as a tool to meet our students, and ourselves, where we are - in that year, and in that moment. Something I found myself saying repeatedly was that there is no such thing as “supposed to” in this case, and encouraging teachers to see how freeing that can be. I spent a lot of time sharing resources and connecting things like VEXcode VR to physical robots and helping teachers see the possibilities in being creative with existing resources.
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@Margaret_Tanzosh and I during a 1-on-1 Session discussing this topic.
The ‘a ha’ moments that happened as teachers began to say things like “I can totally see this in my classroom” or “Oh that makes me excited!” spoke to how each classroom and each year can be different. What we teach and how we teach it doesn’t have to be the same year to year, or the same as anyone else, but should instead speak to where we are and where we are meeting our students. If gear trains don’t seem like something relevant and meaningful to your students, but coding with sensors would spark more interest - lean into that! As STEM educators, part of the fun of our role is to bring fun into the classroom, so don’t be afraid to learn and teach what gets you as excited as your students. And to be creative with how you explore and use VEX resources to make everyone’s learning come to life in the way that works best for all involved.
I’d love to hear more about YOUR takeaways from this year’s conference! Read more about others’ reflections in this Insights post. Please share your thoughts with any of us 
