techdirections March 2013 : Page 13

An Engineering Mentor’s Take on FIRST Robotics By Jim Jackson jimjacksonjr@charter.net B ACK in 1961, President John F. Kennedy said, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safe-ly to the earth.” With this statement, our nation mobilized in one of the greatest efforts put forth in the area Quality after-school programs are essential to help close the STEM gap between our country and a number of others. Wanting to contribute to giving students a place to grow skills and knowledge related to STEM top-ics and apply what they have learned in the classroom, I decided to get involved in the after-school FIRST Robotics program as a team mentor. Background on FIRST Robotics In my opinion, FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics has made a sig-niﬁcant contribution toward progress in advancing STEM courses and STEM careers with young people. FIRST Robotics offers a complete, hands-on educational experi-ence. The program is not just about having the students build a robot—it is also about building conﬁdence and self-esteem in the students in the course of fostering their interest in STEM activities. The students who take part in FIRST Robotics are not only responsible for design-ing, fabricating, building, and testing the robot but also web page design, building a Preparing the robot for final rounds at the business plan, creating a bill Kansas City, MO, Regional Competition of materials, formulating and maintaining a budget, safety, market-of science, technology, engineering, ing, fund raising, and community and mathematics (STEM). Since the service. accomplishment of putting a man on According to the FIRST organiza-the moon, we have been slowly los-tion, the mission of FIRST Robotics ing our technological advantage. is to motivate young people to be science and technology leaders by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills, inspire innovation, and foster well-rounded life capabilities, including self conﬁdence, communication, and leadership. FIRST Robotics was founded by Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Seg-way, 20 years ago when he saw that the United States was ranked in the lower half of the developed nations in science and technology. FIRST Ro-botics aims to promote science and math to secondary-level students and inspire more students to pursue STEM-related careers while building self-conﬁdence, knowledge, and life skills. According to its vision state-ment, FIRST Robotics strives to cre-ate a world in which students desire to become science, engineering, and technology leaders. Applying Coursework Learning to a Real-World Problem “When you’re learning in the classroom, you’re learning these Jim Jackson is a licensed profes-sional engineer in the states of Mis-souri and Kansas. He has been an engineering mentor for the Camdenton (MO) R-III Schools FIRST Robotics team 3284 for three years, volunteer-ing over 600 hours. This experience has inspired him to change careers from engineering to teaching, so he can better assist students with real-world application of STEM. www.techdirections.com ROBOTICS 13

An Engineering Mentor’s Take on FIRST Robotics

Jim Jackson

BACK in 1961, President John F. Kennedy said, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.” With this statement, our nation mobilized in one of the greatest efforts put forth in the area of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Since the accomplishment of putting a man on the moon, we have been slowly losing our technological advantage. Quality after-school programs are essential to help close the STEM gap between our country and a number of others. Wanting to contribute to giving students a place to grow skills and knowledge related to STEM topics and apply what they have learned in the classroom, I decided to get involved in the after-school FIRST Robotics program as a team mentor. Background on FIRST Robotics In my opinion, FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics has made a significant contribution toward progress in advancing STEM courses and STEM careers with young people. FIRST Robotics offers a complete, hands-on educational experience. The program is not just about having the students build a robot—it is also about building confidence and self-esteem in the students in the course of fostering their interest in STEM activities. The students who take part in FIRST Robotics are not only responsible for designing, fabricating, building, and testing the robot but also web page design, building a business plan, creating a bill of materials, formulating and maintaining a budget, safety, marketing, fund raising, and community service. According to the FIRST organization, the mission of FIRST Robotics is to motivate young people to be science and technology leaders by engaging them in exciting mentorbased programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills, inspire innovation, and foster well-rounded life capabilities, including self confidence, communication, and leadership. FIRST Robotics was founded by Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway, 20 years ago when he saw that the United States was ranked in the lower half of the developed nations in science and technology. FIRST Robotics aims to promote science and math to secondary-level students and inspire more students to pursue STEM-related careers while building self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills. According to its vision statement, FIRST Robotics strives to create a world in which students desire to become science, engineering, and technology leaders. Applying Coursework Learning to a Real-World Problem “When you’re learning in the classroom, you’re learning these mathematical formulas over here and scientific theorems over there, and it never really comes together,” Kyle Gulshen, a junior at Camdenton R-III High School, Camdenton, MO, and lead programmer of the FIRST Robotics team, explains. “So, with FIRST you get to work on all these different aspects all at once and a single, real-world problem.” Although the robot that the students build will compete against other robots, FIRST Robotics is much more than just about building a robot. The FIRST team is broken up into segments in a business- like environment. The students decide which part of the business they want to participate in based on their personal interests. In addition to designing and constructing a robot, FIRST Robotics challenges students to raise funds, design a team brand, and hone teamwork skills. FIRST Robotics teaches students how to apply what they have learned in the classroom to real-world-type problems. In the after-school setting, the students are teamed up with mentors from the community who volunteer their time to show the students how to apply what the students have learned in school. In the classroom, many students ask the age-old question, “When will I ever use this?” FIRST Robotics addresses that question by teaching students how to apply mechanics, force and motion, and computer programming to solve problems. Eighty-nine percent of FIRST students indicate that they have a better understanding of the role of science and technology in everyday life after their experience with FIRST. In our competitive world, cooperation with others is often lacking. FIRST Robotics teaches a different lesson. Main values of FIRST include “gracious professionalism” and “coopertition.” Gracious professionalism encourages high-quality work but emphasizes the value of others and respects individuals and the community. The second theme, coopertition, is a philosophy that FIRST teams can and should help and cooperate with each other even as they compete against each other. During FIRST Robotics competitions, teams will loan tools, technical expertise, and parts to one another, even though they are in competition against each other. FIRST teams openly share design ideas and ways to overcome technical challenges with other teams. Winning is a goal at FIRST Robotics, but it is not everything. It is important to help other teams win as well. During competitions, opposing robots will turn over an upside-down opponent, all in the name of gracious professionalism. With companies competing on a global scale, teamwork is more important now than ever, and students participating in FIRST Robotics learn the importance of teamwork. Every person has a job that is crucial to the success of the team. Whether the student works on design, fabrication, programming the robot, web page design, game field construction, or brochure construction to get the word out about FIRST Robotics, the success of the entire team depends on them. Ninety-five percent of FIRST students say that FIRST Robotics has given them a better understanding of the importance of teamwork. FIRST Robotics also teaches students responsibility. Eightynine percent of FIRST students say they had real responsibilities and 74% say that students themselves make the important decisions. With the success of the entire team riding on the shoulders of each team member, many of the students of FIRST Robotics willingly give up their Saturdays to ensure the success of the team. The students learn very early the importance of time management, since during the build season, students regularly log 20 to 40 hours per week working on the robot—in addition to time spent in class and on homework. FIRST students learn that other people count on them to accomplish their task, just as in the real world of work. The world is changing; the word “I” is becoming a thing of the past. Companies are now focused on group projects and working in teams. FIRST Robotics teaches students how to effectively collaborate with one another. Often there are discussions between programmers, mechanics, and designers about how to accomplish a given task. Collaboration goes beyond the robot as students discuss issues concerning web page design, ways to promote FIRST Robotics to the community, and budgeting. It draws in students with the creative skills needed to design logos and fliers. It really is a team effort that takes advantage of the students’ combined talents and allows them to see how, when they work together, they can come up with something pretty amazing. Real-world companies often promote the number of days they have been accident free, and safety is always a key concern with FIRST Robotics. Many students who get involved have very limited experience with machinery, equipment, or tools, so safety is always emphasized. Students are required to wear safety glasses and are taught safe practices with equipment and tools. At its regional and world competitions, FIRST Robotics has teamed with Underwriter’s Laboratories (UL) to recognize and award teams that promote safety as part of their daily team function. In the workplace, many people frequently deal with challenges and crises. Students participating in FIRST Robotics definitely learn the importance of problem solving. In designing and building the robot, they discover that there are components that interfere with each other, things that just do not work as expected—and every team member has input on how to overcome the challenges that arise. Ninety-three percent of FIRST students indicate that they have learned how to solve unexpected problems or how to find a new or better way of doing things through their experiences with FIRST Robotics. Ninety-four percent say it has helped them learn to carefully weigh options before making decisions. Final Thoughts Students may be book smart, but often they do not know how to apply what they have learned. Most students come into FIRST Robotics unaware of their abilities and the skills and knowledge they will need in a future career. I’ve seen firsthand that FIRST students build confidence by learning how to apply what they know to real-world situations. At the end of the season, the students can look at a robot that they designed, fabricated, constructed, tested, and used in competition—and feel a great sense of accomplishment. FIRST Robotics was started to help promote science and technology to students by complementing what they learn in class. In my opinion, what has evolved from that is much larger: FIRST Robotics has made being smart cool. Students join FIRST eager to learn how to apply what they have learned in class, but they get more than they expect. They learn about STEM and its applications and they develop a self-confidence which carries over into their everyday lives. They learn teamwork and how to handle responsibility. They learn problem-solving and how a business works. They learn the meaning of gracious professionalism and coopertition. Somewhere in all of that, they also build a robot. I see FIRST Robotics as being not just about building a robot—it is also about building successful future citizens and STEM professionals.

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