VEX Robots can be more competitive when they have addressed several drive motor control challenges:
- Stopping a motor completely when the joystick is released. Joysticks often do not output a value of “zero” when released, which can cause motors to continue turning slowly instead of stopping.
- Starting to move gradually, not suddenly, after being stopped. When a robot is carrying game objects more than 12 inches or so above the playing field, a sudden start can cause the robot to tip over.
- Having motor speeds be less sensitive to small joystick movements at slow speeds. Divers seeking to position the robot precisely during competition need “finer” control over slow motor speeds than fast motor speeds.
These challenges can be solved using one or more “if” statements in the code controlling the robot, however using a single polynomial function can often solve all of these challenges in one step. A graph can help illustrate the challenges and their solution:
Continue reading Polynomials and VEX Drive Motor Control
As a parent, I look for two categories of attributes when choosing a school for my child:
– Ones which benefit my child directly
– Ones which benefit my child indirectly, by helping others (teachers, parents) do their jobs more effectively
Schools that satisfy more of the attributes in both categories are likely to have happier parents and more successful students.
The Administration and Teachers Should Help My Child
- Being aware of history. Before the start of each school year, my child’s current teacher(s) should have reviewed all of
– last years’ teacher comments for my child
– my child’s transcript (all courses, all years at the school)
- Helping my child to both pursue existing Continue reading What A Parent Wants From A School
The phrase “Flipped Classroom” is appearing with increasing frequency in publications and blog postings. Yet, it seems to mean different things to different people. Many of the references I see to flipped classrooms are made by people or organizations who have a vested interest in selling goods or services, which probably affects their view of the issues.
As proposed by Salman Khan in his TED Lecture, flipping the classroom involves using internet-based video to move “lecture” out of the classroom to some other place and time of a student’s choosing. Class time can then be used for student problem solving and group work. Dan Meyer and others have critiqued aspects of Salman Khan’s approach, with some such as Michael Pershan offering constructive ideas for improvements.
Eric Mazur, a physics professor at Harvard, has also been advocating a “flipped” approach – and for considerably longer than Salman Khan. His conception of “flipping” focuses on getting students to Continue reading Flipped Classroom: It’s About Timely Formative Feedback
What is the difference between a Problem and a Project? While it is difficult to draw a definitive line that separates one from the other, the attributes of each and their differences as I see them are:
- Require less student time to complete (usually less than an hour)
- Focus on a single task, with fewer than 10 questions relating to it
- Can involve open-ended questions, but more often does not
- Are often one of a series of problems relating to a topic
- Look similar to many exam questions
- Can be used to introduce new concepts (Exeter Math)
- Can be used as practice on previously introduced concepts (most math texts)
- Require more student time to complete (hours to weeks)
- Focus on a theme, but with many tasks and questions to complete
- Provide an opportunity to acquire and demonstrate mastery
- Ask students to demonstrate a greater depth of understanding
- Ask students to reach and defend a conclusion, to connect ideas or procedures
- Can introduce new ideas or situations in a more scaffolded manner
Why Use Problems?
Once a set of learning objectives have been settled on for an activity, problem, or project, what should the problem’s context be? Since linear equations model situations where there is a constant rate of change, common contexts for linear equation projects often include the following:
- Steepness, height, angle
Examples: road grade, hillside, roof, skateboard park element, tide height over the two weeks before (or after) a full moon, sun angle at noon over a six month period
- Estimating time to complete a task (setup plus completion)
Examples: mowing a lawn, painting a wall, writing a research paper
- Purchase and delivery costs of bulk materials
Examples: mulch, gravel, lumber
- Purchasing a service that charges by consumption
Examples: cell phone, electricity, water, movie rental, etc.
- Total earnings over time from differing wage and bonus plan structures
Examples: hiring bonuses, longevity bonuses
- Energy use over time
Examples: calories burned, electricity, heating oil, gasoline
- Game points accumulated over time
Examples: by a professional athlete, a team, a video game player
- Pollutant levels over time Continue reading Linear Equation Activity Ideas
I recently came across a start-up organization called the Peer Instruction Network. It sounds like it is seeking to expand on Eric Mazur‘s teaching approach, something which would be very interesting to me on the Mathematics side of things. Check out their web site, and sign up to be included in their network if it sounds interesting.
A recent eSchool News article by Meris Stansbury lists ten skills cited by its readers as being most important for today’s students to acquire:
- Communicate effectively, and with respect
- Be resourceful
- Be accountable
- Know how to learn
- Think critically
- Be happy
The list is interesting to ponder. I would not argue that any skills on the list should be dropped, however I suspect we could have endless debates about what order to list them in or how to best group them. I am happy to note that all of the skills are beneficial in studying just about any subject or discipline.
There are a few additional skills that I would advocate adding to, or being more explicit about in the above list: