Imagine walking into a STEM classroom that’s buzzing with excitement. Students are standing clustered around a large table in the classroom, cheering and laughing, and so focused on what they are engaged in they don’t even notice you. If you get a little closer, you will understand the source of this spirited learning. Four teams of students have formed alliances to compete in a friendly game of 2-on-2 robot freeze tag. This is the moment in which the students are synthesizing everything they’ve been learning in STEM class this week. They’ve collaborated to engineer their robot, learn about sensors, choose a driver, and create a strategy for winning the competition. Now all eyes are on the Field as the students try to tag each other’s bumper switches and come out the winning team. 

It’s not just the energy, or the hands-on, active nature of competitions or the desire to win that captures students’ attention so thoroughly, although all of those elements are certainly part of the magic of bringing the fun and excitement of a VEX Robotics competition to the classroom. Classroom robotics competitions are fantastic motivators for students, because they provide them with the experience of authentic collaboration, an opportunity for genuine ownership of their learning, and a sense of belonging. These fundamental qualities of classroom competitions contribute greatly to students’ positive attitudes towards STEM.

The idea of collaboration as a critical 21st century skill is ever present in current educational discourse. Yet providing students with truly authentic collaborative experiences on a regular basis can be challenging. Authentic collaboration should center around real-world problem solving that has relevance and meaning to students. VEX classroom competitions provide students with complex, open-ended challenges with inherent relevance. For instance, in the IQ (2nd gen) Robot Soccer Unit, students are challenged to design a manipulator for their robot that will enable them to score the most goals in a robot soccer match.

To be effective, collaborative work needs to involve all students in a group equally, with no opportunity for “free riding”. Students need to know that their contributions are important and feel equipped to contribute. VEX IQ and EXP STEM labs are designed with authentic collaboration in mind. Each lesson builds student understanding through practice and challenge activities, providing the scaffolding needed for students to feel confident they are ready to contribute when they reach the competition lesson. The robot design, engineering, and strategy involved in classroom competitions are complex enough that there is plenty of room for everyone in the group to play an important role in the process as well as the competition outcome.

Also, students need support in order to understand what good collaboration looks like and how to solve group conflicts successfully with no hurt feelings. A strong emphasis on collaborative decision making is incorporated into STEM labs. Students are encouraged to take all viewpoints into consideration and to create strategies based on data they have collected throughout the unit, rather than on popularity or other intangible factors.

Another way classroom competitions motivate students is by giving them the opportunity for genuine ownership of their learning. When students prepare to compete in a classroom competition, by iterating on their robot design or their coding project, or refining their game strategy, the work is truly their own. The challenges in STEM Labs encourage creativity and divergent thinking and are never prescriptive, yet provide both the necessary background knowledge and constraints that allow students to succeed. For example, in the coding-focused VEX EXP Castle Crasher Unit, students learn about drivetrain commands, incorporating sensors, and using algorithms, gradually building up expertise as they go through the Unit. When it is time to compete in the Castle Crasher competition, they are ready to compete using their team’s own unique approach, developed by the students over the course of the Unit.

Additionally, students are never “done” with a project in the STEM labs. They are encouraged to continue to iterate on their work and improve upon it right up through the classroom competition. The competition itself provides continued motivation for iteration and improvement throughout the lesson, naturally extending student learning to the maximum extent possible.

Classroom competitions also provide motivation through the sense of belonging they bring to students. Much like participating on a sports team, classroom competitions allow students to forge bonds with their fellow team members, and enhance their social and emotional skills in the process! Because VEX classroom competitions are iterative, students are able to take risks and try again along with their teammates. Making mistakes and using them as a catalyst for improvement is not only expected, but highly valued. This makes for a supportive learning environment that all students, even those who are often reluctant to compete in other settings, can be a part of.

As teachers, what we most want is for our students to come to class each day, motivated to participate and learn. The authentic collaboration, powerful student agency, and sense of inclusion that being part of a team offers, all work together to make classroom competitions a fundamental part of STEM education.