I am finding that this year’s V5 High Stakes field works perfectly with teaching path planning and pseudocode, among other things. I am currently modifying the RoboRally V5 STEM Lab and having the students code an EXP robot to travel through the High Stakes Field. The RoboRally STEM Lab has the students create their own racetrack; I am having students create a path around the rings on the field and using scale drawing to determine both the scale and real-life distance. As a former middle school math teacher, it was struggle teaching scale drawings then and I am seeing the gaps again, but this has a real-life application which I think is helping. I am looking forward to seeing how it all turns out next class!
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What a great idea @Leonard_Newman! Scale is definitely something that can be a little abstract and hard for kids to wrap their heads around - this kind of tangible, real world connection is a great way to make that visible!
I can’t wait to hear about how it goes! You could have groups of students swap their scaled distance calculations, and “test” each other’s work with the robots. Then they’d get some extra practice with scale, and a fun way to see math in action!
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Great feedback @Leonard_Newman - please keep us updated on how this lesson progresses. Can’t wait to hear more
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