Proposed Alternative Coach System
torccfll
Parents and team members,
In response to team members and parents reactions to my eventual break from FIRST LEGO League at the Town of Ramapo Challenger Center, to continue the team this year under a system of volunteer parent-coaches, the following is a proposal for how a system could work. It is loosely based on the competition’s three categories, which will be evaluated separately – the Robot game, the Research project and the Core Values.
Three parents should divide the work, but not to be independent of each other. One parent is responsible for Core Values: discussing it with the team, being vigilant in recognizing team members displaying, asking team members to identify examples in the team and eventually leading the design of the Core Values poster. Ideally, this parent will have more oversite than the other three because emphasizing Core Values becomes more prevalent everywhere else across the season.
Another parent is responsible for Robot Design: discussing design as a team; discussing the plan of attack on the field table; being vigilant in recording designs and design changes through sketches, pictures, notes and reflection; programming and its notes on progress; and eventually leading the presentation on Robot Engineering Design.
Finally, another parent is responsible for Project Research: breaking down the challenge document research project into individual questions and tasks; exemplifying interview skills through modelling and explaining what meeting a new friend (professional) and interviewing him or her is like; having team members document their research on the discussion list; keeping the research discussion list organized.
What follows are my thoughts to help prospective coaches develop a mindset based on what I have learned in my years as a coach and a teacher.
Core Values
Core Values displayed by the team will feel like the least objectively measurable feature of the team and the meetings. However, coaches must learn to identify the need for Core Values. Otherwise, frustration with goal attainment will settle in – if you don’t cover core values your meetings will seem like play time or screaming.
While the firstlegoleague.org website will provide a list of Core Values – which the team should cover in meetings by devoting time to reading the points, discussing Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition, and providing examples – there are prevalent skills that should be discussed and emphasized every meeting, or at least whenever behavior deteriorates. Above all, the most prevalent skill that must be worked on is listening: mainly knowing what it looks like when you’re listening (eyes, face and body facing speaker), and knowing how to acknowledge and recognize a speaker to show him or her that you’re listening (by agreeing, respectfully disagreeing, and even furthering an idea by sharing thoughts that came to mind when listening).
Personally, each coach will find they have a different amount of tolerance for the amount of time spent off target. FIRST LEGO League is supposed to be fun, so it should be said that the team members should be encouraged to spend time catching up with each other – to further cement the relationships developed as a result of finding a common interest (LEGO, FLL). However, it is up to the coaches to remain vigilant on finding an opportune time in the “excitement cycle” of team members, and to even show disappointment and concern – in time lost – when an aspect of a meeting needs attention. There will be times when a team member or a few will seem to ignore this, and a coach must display steadfast focus on an urgent or important task, while modelling the respect they expect from team members (smile). There will be team members who will recognize a coach’s efforts – it is this behavior and these team members that coaches must remember to recognize and reward – and in front of others too.
Robot Game
The robot game will begin with construction of the field game mission models, which serve as anchors (because of dual-lock) on the field table (made of composite board, with wooden walls). Team members will have an easy time building the mission models because it’s just about following the model instructions from the firstlegoleague.org website.
The real challenge here will be having the team agree on an individual robot. An emphasis on Core Values during robot building will be lost on team members if a coach reminds team members to remember their Core Values and at the same time, does not show them how to display Core Values. Personally, creating an ideal team robot would be achieved by having team members agree on EVERY ASPECT of the robots design, from idea to the last piece. In reflection, this idea is perhaps why past robots have not been as successful as one would have hoped in previous competition seasons.
Also based on reflection, and as a result of the past few years as a coach, it has been my goal to excel in the performance of the Robot Design and Programming portion of the competition. Last year, by volunteering at the Suffern High School after-school team meetings, I witnessed the methodical and detailed collection of engineering designs and records of a competition robot by high school students in their engineering notebooks. I’m convinced that if our team is to advance beyond the initial qualifying tournament, then we will have to document most if not all examples of progress and change to the team robot and its programming, in the form of sketches, pictures, descriptions and reflections – which is exemplified in the pictures of the high school engineering notebook, which are posted on the Shared Files post of the Team Bricktron Discussion List.
Research Project
The research project could seem like the most daunting part of the competition. However, collaboration through an entire season over one goal, such as with a project, is what will bring a team together. It might start off with team members being reluctant to share their individual research and work. This is why highlighting simple, actionable tasks (such as what I’ve had the team highlight in the first three pages of the challenge document) will be vital in meetings.
Team members need belief and confidence from the coaches that the tasks that were highlighted could possibly be achieved by a team member alone or – in an ideal manner – with his or her parents’ presence and support. Practicing at meetings by explaining what an interview will be like, or role playing in team meetings, will absolutely help and is encouraged across several meetings (by explaining what an interview should include, making it fun and even role playing in a few).
At the heart of this portion of the competition is a question that must be asked – that, eventually, will be asked (as a particular project idea is chosen to drive the research) – which is: why? The coach should continue to ask this question to obtain an answer that is crystal clear in his or her head.
