2011 Coach/Mentor Workshop Kevin Reed kevin.reed@firstwa.org FIRST LEGO LEAGUE 2011 Coach/Mentor Workshop Kevin Reed kevin.reed@firstwa.org

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Summary FIRST FLL Coaching Tournament Day Resources Not much on the challenge or project topic Two hours (usually less)

What is FIRST? “… to create a world where science and technology are celebrated…where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes.” Dean Kamen, Founder, FIRST F.I.R.S.T. (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an international organization with a mission of promoting interest in science and technology. Our goal is to encourage students to consider careers in engineering and science.

FIRST Robotics Competition FIRST Junior LEGO® League FIRST Programs 501 (c) (3) Non-profit organization Founded 1989, by inventor Dean Kamen International HQ in Manchester, NH 85,000 volunteers 3,000+ sponsoring companies FRC FIRST Robotics Competition 1992 High school 14-18 yrs FTC FIRST Tech Challenge 2005 Middle and high school 13-18 yrs FLL FIRST LEGO® League 1998 Elementary and middle school 9-14 yrs Jr.FLL FIRST Junior LEGO® League 2006 Elementary school 6-9 yrs

FIRST Robotics Competition FIRST Family FIRST Robotics Competition Jr. FIRST LEGO League FIRST LEGO League FIRST Tech Challenge K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

What is FIRSTWA.ORG? We are a small group of enthusiastic volunteers who organize and promote all FIRST programs: FIRST Junior LEGO League FIRST LEGO League FIRST Tech Challenge FIRST Robotics Competition A division of the Seattle Robotics Association The SRA is a 501c(3) non-profit corporation 100% volunteer effort www.firstwa.org

Engineering process Define problem Brainstorm solutions and select one Keep it simple Plan and create a flowchart and take measurements

Tips Divide program into small steps- use comment boxes Program one step at a time Action should be consistently repeatable (3x in a row) Use my blocks (saves memory) Pick a simple mission first that is close to base.

FLL Overview FLL Core Values Coach Promise The Timeline

FLL Core Values Coach Manual, Page 1 We are a team. We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors. We know our coaches and mentors don’t have all the answers; we learn together. We honor the spirit of friendly competition. What we discover is more important than what we win We share our experiences with others. We display Gracious Professionalism™ and Coopertition™ in everything we do. We have fun.

Gracious Professionalism Respect your team members at all times Respect others as demonstrated by your actions Recognize that friendly competition and mutual gain are possible on and off the field Make a valued contribution with special knowledge that society entrusts us to use responsibly Woodie Flowers, FIRST co-founder and MIT professor

Coopertition Friendly competition Help other teams Handle stress with grace

Team Identity Team name Team logo

FLL Season Timeline Mid-May thru Mid-Sept Early September Team formation and registration Early September The challenge is released Mid-end of September Registration closes Sept-Oct-Nov Teams work on the robot and project December (first weekend) 10+ Local Qualifying Events January State Tournament Mid April FLL World Festival FLL Regional Open

Team Mission Your FLL team is expected to: Explore the challenge theme in depth Share the fun of team based technical problem solving Get exposure to technical and professional career paths senior solutions

Team Tasks Your FLL team will spend 8-12 weeks working on: Project Project research, presentation preparation, practicing Robot Game Robot design, programming, construction, and testing Core Values Learning FLL Core Values, team building, and organizing

Team Mechanics Teamwork Risk taking Experimentation Working together to do a complex task Risk taking There is personal risk in being creative Experimentation Learning by trying Dealing with failure effectively Learning by failing and recovering

Evaluation of your Team During the regional qualifiers, your team is evaluated on the three primary elements: Project Presentation Robot Design and Construction Core Values (formerly Teamwork) Evaluations are subjective and are done by a panel of volunteer judges Awards are assigned by the judging panels Judges use rubrics: READ THEM! http://firstlegoleague.org/event/judging

Evaluation of your Team: Awards Regional Champions Robot: Performance Project: Research Project: Innovative Solution Project: Presentation Robot: Mechanical Design Robot: Programming Robot: Strategy & Innovation Core Values: Inspiration Core Values: Teamwork Core Values: Gracious Professionalism Judge Award Performance Alternate (optional)

Project Presentation Your team must: Select a problem related to the topic Create a solution Share it with the community Present a summary of the project to the judges that tells the story and demonstrates your team research results Presentation format is up to your team. Use humor, skits, and other engaging elements to tell your story. Examples include newscasts, plays and songs Watch presentation examples on the coach DVD and online.

Project Presentation Judging Live performance for the judges Practice, Practice, Practice Video tape practice sessions Honest critical feedback Beware audio/visual equipment and setup time Your team is evaluated against a rubric http://firstlegoleague.org/event/judging

Project Presentation Judging

Robot Design Your team must: Create a strategy to maximize points in 2.5 minutes Build a robot that interacts with mission pieces Program the robot to accomplish missions The robot is judged for its design quality The robot ALSO gains the team points during the mission competition There are hundreds of NXT tutorials online. Check FLL Team Resources and FIRSTWA FAQ

Robot Design Judging Your team is interviewed by a judging panel to discuss the design and construction of their robot. This is an interactive interview, we don’t expect a formal presentation Your team is evaluated against a rubric http://firstlegoleague.org/event/judging

Robot Design Judging

Core Values Judging New this year are formal judging sessions for Core Values (formerly called Teamwork). The judges are evaluating your team with an activity during the Project session. The judges are also observing your team at random times during the day. Input from referees, volunteers and other teams IS accepted!

The Champions Award The most prestigious award goes to the team who demonstrates core values and highest achievement in all categories: Project Presentation Robot Design Teamwork Robot Performance

Tournament Day Regional Qualifiers 8am to 5pm Three main activities for teams Pit area and practice tables Technical, Presentation and Core Values Judging Robot Contest Award Ceremony mid afternoon State Championship January 14th, 2012 (Sat)

What to Bring to the Tournament Team Information Sheet Three copies, one for each judge panel Consent and Release form One for each student and adult Extra robot batteries and charger (if rechargeable) Laptop computer for program changes Food, drinks and snacks (unless otherwise noted) Extension cord and power strip Field setup kit pieces and mat (to share with organizers if needed)

Pit Area and Practice Tables The Pit is where we come to find your team for all activities. Each team has a single table Practice rounds and final tune-up of robots is common

Judging: Morning Technical, Presentation, and Core Values judging starts in the morning before the contest. A schedule for each team is posted on contest day. Teams are retrieved from their pit table and returned by volunteer runners.

Robot Contest: Afternoon The contest is held in a main gym or large area There are 3 rounds of robot contest Best single score determines winner Teams are retrieved by runners, and queued up to 3 matches early Teams are returned to the pits after the match

Award Ceremony Awards are presented at the end of the tournament Only one judged award per team Robot Performance is a separate award and is based only on score Robot performance is the only award a team can win in addition to a judged award

Advancing to Championships Two Championship tournaments in Washington East and West Five teams from each regional go to Championships Championship teams chosen by judges Top teams in each of the three categories Weighted to teams with great Core Values Performance Alternate is given when a team wins Robot Performance award AND another judged award that sends them to the championships

Resources for Coaches Much help is available online for you wafll@yahoogroups.com is our email list www.firstwa.org has information related specifically to our WA State program www.usfirst.org is the international FIRST website and links to everything related to FLL www.legoeducation.us is the U.S. LEGO Education site that has NXT parts and other stuff for LEGO robots

High Tech Kids Minnesota has a very well developed FLL community. They have spent tons of time producing fantastic online help for you. www.hightechkids.org FLL Training Downloads http://www.hightechkids.org/for-teams/coaches-library