CTE Workcell courses are available to help your students gain familiarity with industrial robotics and coding concepts. CTE Workcell courses are made up of Units and a Capstone. Both the courses and Units are student-facing and designed to be completed sequentially starting with Unit 1 of the Introduction to the 6-Axis Arm course and ending with the Capstone for the course.
The CTE Workcell Pacing Guide estimates the amount of time each of the Units within a course will take. While this time will vary from classroom to classroom, it is important to note that the time is based not only on the time to complete the activities, but also the conversations you will have with your students as part of implementing these courses. This article will guide you through what is included in these courses and how to implement the courses in your classroom.
Student Centered Assessment in the CTE Workcell Courses
These courses emphasize student-centered assessment throughout. This means that students and teachers are engaged in the process of learning together, from setting learning targets and goals at the start of a Unit, to assessing progress towards those goals throughout the Unit. There are three core components in each Unit that give a framework for student-centered assessment:
- Co-Creating Learning Targets – In the Introduction of each Unit, students and teachers will think together about what students will need to be able to learn and do to accomplish the goals of the Unit, and set learning targets together.
- Mid-Unit Reflection and Goal Adjustment – In longer Units, there is a mid-point reflection and student self-assessment, in which students and teachers reflect on their progress towards the learning targets they co-created. This helps ensure students are on track to meet their goals, gives teachers and students an opportunity for adjustments if needed.
- Wrap Up Reflection and Debrief Conversation – Units conclude with a student self-assessment of their progress, and a Debrief Conversation in which students and teachers discuss that assessment, evidence in the student's engineering notebook, and come to consensus on whether students have reached their learning targets effectively.
Teacher Supports in CTE Workcell Courses
All Units are supplemented by materials in the Teacher Portal. This is the hub for teacher resources including guidance on using engineering notebooks, standards alignment, materials lists, a letter home, an answer key for Check Your Understanding (CYU) questions, and a facilitation guide.
The facilitation guide will be your main resource for assistance as you plan and implement each Unit. They include details on classroom setup, student centered-assessment, troubleshooting, and more.
Before beginning a Unit in your classroom, be sure to read the facilitation guide for that Unit.
CTE Workcell Units
Each Unit is made up of a combination of four different types of pages: Introduction, Lessons, Mid-Unit Reflection and Goal Adjustment, and Putting It All Together.
Introductions
These pages are there to help you create shared goals between you and your students for what they will learn in the Unit. This includes an introduction video that contextualizes what they will be doing in the Unit and how it connects to industrial robotics as well as what activity students will be completing at the end of the Unit.
The introduction video can be watched as a whole class.
Students are instructed to co-create learning targets on this page. Guidance is provided in this article for how to co-create learning targets with your students based on the contents of the video and student’s prior knowledge.
The vocabulary section on the page can be used to help students identify other concepts possibly needed to complete the Putting It All Together Activity.
Have students record these definitions in their engineering notebooks. They can add additional context to the definitions or additional vocabulary words as they go through the Unit.
Lessons
These pages provide all of the direct instruction for the courses. Direct instruction is provided in two formats:
- Readings provided to the students to help contextualize the activities.
- Step-by-step instructions to walk students through hands-on practice related to the content.
Note that not every Lesson contains all elements listed below. Be prepared to adjust your teaching practices based on the information provided within the Lesson.
Students should read through the content in their groups. While reading, they should be taking notes in their engineering notebooks to help them make sense of the information being presented to them.
For step-by-step instruction, students should work in their groups to complete the steps as instructed.
Examples for student roles within groups are provided in this article.
While students are completing the direct instruction in the Lessons, the teacher should use this opportunity to check in with groups continuously.
These check ins should not be formal events. Ask various group members questions about what they are actioning and why they are completing those steps. While discussing, use student’s engineering notebooks as a communication tool to drive more questions and determine the levels of understanding. For more information about formative assessment and reteaching in CTE Workcell Courses, see this article.
After completing the direct instruction, groups will move on to apply their learning in the activity.
This section provides students with step-by-step instructions of how to complete the activity. Continue to monitor the progress of groups to help determine if you need to reteach any concepts or if that group would be in a place to help another group complete the materials.
At the end of each Lesson, students are presented with Check Your Understanding (CYU) questions as a formative assessment on the concepts covered in the Lesson.
Students should answer these questions individually, but should not immediately move onto the next Lesson after completing the questions.
Once all members of a group have completed answering the CYU questions, have the group discuss their answers. Monitor these conversations to ensure that students are discussing why they chose each answer and how they determine as a group which one they believe is correct. This gives group members the opportunity to learn from one another and for you to hear how they are understanding each concept.
Mid-Unit Reflection and Goal Adjustment
The Mid-Unit Reflection and Goal Adjustment pages are meant to help students reflect on their learning so far.
Students are prompted to review their learning targets for the Unit and have conversations about these targets and learning experiences with their group and you, the teacher.
During this process, check in with each group to discuss the learning targets and the current ratings of each student. The teacher facilitation guide for each Unit provides more information on how to facilitate these reflections.
Putting It All Together
This section challenges students to apply concepts learned throughout the Unit in one larger challenge.
The Putting It All Together page begins with an animation showing one possible way to complete the challenge and setup information. Watch this as a whole class and go over the setup. Answer any questions the groups have about the challenge.
Step by step instructions are provided to help guide students through the completion of the activity.
Circulate through the classroom talking with groups about how they are completing each step. Encourage students to use their engineering notebooks throughout your discussions to justify their answers and communicate their progress on completing the activity.
After completing the Putting It All Together activity, students will complete a Wrap Up Reflection and Debrief Conversation.
For the Wrap Up Reflection, students rate themselves as novice, apprentice, or expert in concepts covered through the Unit.
Students should be able to justify their ratings based on their documentation in their engineering notebooks.
This reflection leads directly into the Debrief Conversation to be held with each student and yourself to talk through that student’s ratings, evidence, and their learning targets for the Unit.
This article provides guidance on how to prepare and complete the Debrief Conversation with your students.
CTE Workcell courses equip students with hands-on experience in industrial robotics and coding, fostering critical skills for future careers. Through structured Units and comprehensive teacher support, educators can effectively guide students' learning journeys. Have additional questions about implementing CTE Workcell courses in your classroom? Ask a question in the PD+ Community or schedule a 1-on-1 Session.