Preparing for the First Lego League Competition in Thailand

We have recently received the 2014 FLL World Class Challenge playing field. The Middle School Robotics Club is putting the pieces together to set the stage for our preparation for the official tournament, hosted by the FIRST LEGO League Partner in Thailand called GAMMACO.

Each Challenge has three parts: the Robot Game, the Project, and the FLL Core Values. Teams of up to ten children, with one adult coach, participate in the Challenge by programming an autonomous robot to score points on a themed playing field (Robot Game), developing a solution to a problem they have identified (Project), all guided by the FLL Core Values.

So, what's going to happen this year. You have probably learned so many things in your life that it is hard to count them. You started learning as soon as you were born. You learned to walk, tie your shoes, and how to read this Challenge. You might have learned to dance, paint, or play an instrument. You might even have learned how to kick a soccer ball at the perfect angle to score a goal. To have fun in many core subjects — like history, science, art, and math — you need to develop specific skills. In fact, skills are your tools to learn at any age. They might include: critical thinking, teamwork, creativity, problem solving, communication, information literacy (knowing how to find and use the information you need), and understanding technology.

There is so much to learn, but people do not all learn the same way. Just like there is more than one way to build your robot, there is more than one way to learn most things. We call these different ways of learning “learning styles.” Most people learn through some combination of watching, listening, reading, writing, moving, and even playing. Do you have a favorite way to learn new knowledge or skills?

No matter what learning style you use most, there are many surprising tricks that might help a person learn. For example:

• Some video games help you understand how the three-dimensional world fits together. This skill is called “spatial reasoning.” It could help you engineer and innovate.
• Singing the rules of a new game might help you remember them more easily than reading them.
• Building with LEGO bricks could help you learn math and engineering concepts. (You probably 
• knew that already – you're in FLL!)

Some learning tools or techniques might make learning more exciting, while others help you remember the information for a longer time.

This season's project mission is to find a better or more innovative way to help someone learn.