Scientific modeling practices can help students to make sense of the world around them, and to understand what a scientific model is, laying the foundation for students to develop their own models in future grades. VEX GO STEM Labs are a great way for teachers to incorporate scientific modeling into their science curriculum in fun, easy, and engaging ways. Using VEX GO STEM Labs in this way, students are learning scientific modeling concepts, while having collaborative hands-on experiences that help dispel scientific misconceptions!

And, because VEX GO STEM Labs function as an online teacher’s manual, providing step-by-step instructions for implementation, they are an ideal solution for busy teachers. Additionally, all the materials needed are ready for students in the VEX GO Kit, so there is no need to spend time rounding stuff up over the weekend or after school.

For example, in the Day and Night STEM Lab, students go through the process of building and revising a model, and using it to represent what is actually happening in the day/night cycle. In the Play section of Lab 1, they build a model of the Sun and Earth, in which they use the VEX GO Switch and a motor to cause the Earth to rotate. They use this model to explain the position of the Earth's rotation relative to the Sun, demonstrating that the Earth’s rotation causes day and night, and not the movement of the Sun as it seemingly appears. In addition to the three-dimensional model built with their GO Kits, they also draw and label the positions of the Sun and Earth, adding a multi-modal element to their modeling experience.

In the Play section of Day and Night Lab 2, students revise their model to include the VEX GO Brain and code it using VEXcode GO. This allows them to add light to their model using the Eye Sensor, and to have an initial experience coding the model. They then revise the model again, coding it to rotate 15 degrees (or one hour’s worth of rotation) at a time, giving students a concrete opportunity to understand and explain the phenomenon of the sun appearing to move across the sky throughout the day, as they use the evidence generated by the model.

In the Share sections of both Labs, students engage in provided discussion prompts that allow them to further develop their understanding of the model, and use it to predict related phenomena, such as the seasons, which could be used to again revise the model as an extension to the STEM Lab, if desired.

Day and Night is not the only VEX GO STEM Lab that incorporates scientific modeling. In the Fun Frogs STEM Lab, students engage in a Life Science modeling experience as they build the various stages of the frog life cycle out of VEX GO Pieces. In the Engage section of Lab 1, they create a habitat for their frog model. Then in Play Part 1, they build a model of a tadpole, and then revise the model to have back legs. In Play Part 2, they further revise their frog model to be a froglet, and then an adult frog.They document each stage of the model in a field journal in which they draw, label and describe their observations. This provides students with another example of what scientific modeling can look like.

Another Life Science VEX GO STEM Lab that incorporates modeling is Look Alike, in which students model how traits are passed from parents to their offspring by building models of bunnies with various traits. In the Engage section, they build the model of a parent bunny. Then in the Play sections of the Lab, build the second parent, this time with one variation. Finally, in Play Part 2, students revise their model again, using what they have learned to choose traits for a baby bunny. In the Share section of the lab, they discuss the observations made while building their bunny models, and predict the traits future generations of bunnies might inherit, gaining valuable experience in using models to describe and predict phenomena.

Using GO STEM Labs to incorporate scientific modeling is additionally compelling, because as students are learning about this essential scientific practice, they are also receiving opportunities to build their spatial reasoning capacity, learn computer science concepts, and practice essential collaboration and problem solving skills. These integrated STEM experiences are also thoroughly fun for students! They won’t even know they are engaged in multiple layers of learning as they build, revise, and observe their scientific models in action!