is in addition to the time they spend in class and doing homework. The FIRST students learn that other people count on them to accomplish their task, just like in a real job.
The world is changing; the word “I” is becoming a thing of the past. Companies are now focused on group projects and working as a team. FIRST Robotics teaches the students how to effectively collaborate with one another. Often there are discussions between the programmers, the mechanics, and the designers about how to accomplish a given task. Collaboration goes beyond the robot. The student discusses issues with Web page design, ways to promote FIRST Robotics to the community and budgeting, just to name a few. It draws in students who are creative because that skill is needed to design logos and fl iers. Other students who are really good at video games are needed to operate the robot that the students build. It really is a team effort that takes combined talents and allows students to see that when they work together, they can come up with something pretty amazing (Zoellner-Hogland, 2001). Companies often promote how many days they have
been accident-free. Safety is always promoted with FIRST Robotics. Many of the students have never operated any type of machinery, equipment or tools. Therefore, safety is always a big concern. The students are required to wear safety glasses while working on the robot. Additionally, students are taught what safety is required around the equipment and while using a tool. Students are encouraged to develop new ways to promote a safe work environment. At the 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. (“First safety”). Everyone dreads the phone call at 4:50 p.m. on a Friday.
People in the workplace spend part, if not most, of their day with one crisis after another. The students of FIRST Robotics learn the importance of problems solving. With the robot, there are components that interfere with each other, items that just do not work as expected and there are
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unforeseen problems that arise. Every student has input on how to overcome challenging issues. Ninety-three percent of FIRST students indicate that they have learned how to solve unexpected problems or how to fi nd a new or better way of doing things, and 94 percent have learned to weigh issues and options before making decisions (Melchior, Cohen, Cutter & Leavitt, 2005). 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 what skills will be necessary in their future career. The FIRST students build confi dence by learning how to apply what they know to real world situations. At the end of the season, FIRST students are able to look at a robot that they designed, fabricated, constructed, tested and then used in competition. Eighty-nine percent of FIRST students say that FIRST Robotics has increased their self-confi dence (Melchior, Cohen, Cutter & Leavitt, 2005). The afterschool program
FIRST Robotics was started to help promote science and technology to students by complimenting what the students have already learned in the classroom. What has evolved is much larger. FIRST Robotics has made being smart cool again. Students join FIRST Robotics anxious to learn how to apply what they have learned. However, they get more than they expect. Not only do they learn more about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, but they learn how to apply it, and they also develop self-confi dence which carries over to everyday life. 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. FIRST Robotics is not just about building a robot; it is also about building a kid. For more information regarding the FIRST Robotics
afterschool program contact Sherrie Comer, Camdenton R-III Afterschool Services Director, Camdenton RIII Schools, Camdenton, Missouri,
scomer@camdentonschools.org or Jim Jackson, PE, Lake Professional Engineering Services, Inc., Camdenton, Missouri,
jimjacksonjr@charter.net.
www.electronicscomponentsworld.com /
www.electronicsproductionworld.com February 28th 2013
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