I adjusted the requirements and created Escape 2. This time the robot could not touch the walls of the box. Of course, they tried to wiggle out of this one by asking if the cords could touch. "Okay" I said looking at the cords sticking out of the back and thinking that would be fine. Then of course, one pair students takes all the cords out of the kit to wrap around the robot as a bumper. "No. That doesn't work."
Escape 2 turned out to be a fairly significant challenge. Several pairs of students were able to program the robot using the ultrasonic sensor to sense the long distance at the opening of the box and move their robot towards the exit. But more often than not their robots would catch a wheel on edge of the opening and get stuck. Another group decided to rebuild their robot in a minimalist fashion by changing out the big wheels and tires on the base robot for thin wheels and tires.
Ultimately, this group and one other out of 6 were able to complete the challenge. As the teacher, what to do? We have spent a lot of time already on this challenge and I felt it was time to move on. Some nagging questions remained. Do I allow all students time to complete challenges? Is it okay to move on with some having not done so? My initial thought is YES, this is okay to do. In today's world where many kids are so quick to shout "That's unfair!" when one kid gets something and they do not, this seems like an important lesson. People have different strengths. Many kids expect everything to be easy and doable, and if it is not, they give up. Certainly, if a student wants to take some time outside of class to pursue the challenge, I would gladly provide that time.
Any thoughts, ideas or advice on this topic would be much appreciated.
