Presenter: Ryan Cox

rcox@gvr5.net

Certified Teacher ◦ Grain Valley, MO School District

Several years experience as a FLL Judge in Core Values and Project ◦ Regional FLL tournaments and the Championship

tournament Two years as the Assistant FLL Site Head Judge ◦ Bingham Middle School FLL Tournament (Independence, MO)

Six years as FLL® Assistant Coach ◦ Bear Attack! (East Elementary, KCMSD)

◦ Warrior Attack! (Imagine Renaissance Charter, KCMO )

◦ ACE Robotic Scholars (ACECC, KCMSD)

Three years as FTC® Assistant Coach ◦ CIA Robotics (Van Horn High School, Independence, MO)

Note: I am not an expert – veteran coaches feel free to help answer questions!

http://firstlegoleague.org/challenge/foodfactorrobotgame

For the video that you will see in the next slide, please refer to the Core Values below:

Video: http://www.firstlegoleague.org/mission/corevalues

Core Value #1: We are a team.

What matters most is how successful a team is at getting things done.

Effectiveness: ◦ Process for decision making and problem solving

◦ Goal setting

Efficiency: ◦ Use time, energy and other resources wisely

◦ Manage roles so goals can be met

◦ Ability to self‐correct if a team veers off course

Core Value #2: We do the work to find

solutions with guidance from our coaches

and mentors.

Kids Do the Work (Excerpt from Core Values Judging Criteria)

◦ “It is allowable (actually encouraged!) for coaches and mentors to be involved. We just don’t want them programming robots, performing research, dictating ideas and making decisions that the team should be making about what they are doing.”

Core Value #3: We know our coaches and

mentors don't have all the answers; we

learn together.

Coaches and mentors are not expected to know

everything!

◦ Most rookie coaches have never programmed or built a

robot

◦ Learning is a season-long process for both the team

members and the coaches/mentors

Core Value #4: We honor the spirit of friendly

competition.

Coaches should encourage teams to support

each other as well as other teams at competition:

◦ Cheer for other teams

◦ Visit other teams’ pits and learn about their project and

robot

◦ Invite teams to come visit your pit

◦ Show support for other teams by “High 5”ing and other

forms of encouragement

Core Value #5: What we discover is more

important than what we win.

Teams do not have to win to have a successful

season

Encourage teams that winning is not as

important as learning

Core Value #6: We share our experiences

with others.

Many teams share their experiences and

discoveries in a variety of ways:

◦ Team website and blogs

◦ Field trips

◦ Contacting experts

◦ Competitions

◦ Newspaper articles and much more!

Core Value #7: We display Gracious

Professionalism® and Coopertition® in

everything we do.

Gracious Professionalism: ◦ Team members show each other and other teams respect at all times

◦ Teams recognize that both friendly competition and mutual gain are possible, on and off the playing field

Core Value #7: We display Gracious

Professionalism® and Coopertition

® in

everything we do.

Coopertition: ◦ Display kindness and respect in the face of fierce competition ◦ Teams can and should help and cooperate with each other even as they compete ◦ Learning from and teaching teammates; Learning from Mentors ◦ Assisting and enabling others when you can.

Core Value #8: We have FUN!

(Maybe the most important core value!)

No matter the frenzy of competition, kids need

to have fun while learning how to program

their robots and researching their projects

Core Values is judged throughout the tournament: ◦ Teams need to show gracious professionalism®

and coopertition® throughout the tournament – you never know who is watching!

Teamwork Judging: ◦ Teams will be judged individually at a separate

location by judges. ◦ Judges watch how the team interacts with a given

Teamwork Activity.

Core Values Poster ◦ Teams will then present their Core Values Poster

to the judges after the Teamwork Activity. ◦ (Specific judging criteria will be discussed later in the presentation.)

More on the Teamwork Activity: ◦ Teams will meet with the Core Values

judges in a separate location. Remember that coaches and/or mentors are not allowed in any of the judging rooms.

The judges will instruct a team on how to proceed with a Teamwork Activity.

◦ Teamwork Activities can be anything – examples from previous years include:

Building a LEGO structure

Building a structure out of pennies, craft sticks, or pipe cleaners

And much, much more!

Core Values Poster

• There are four areas

on the poster where

specific information

should be provided.

• 1) Discovery,

• 2) Integration,

• 3) Inclusion,

• 4) Coopertition

• These are the MOST

IMPORTANT areas

of the poster

• The fifth area, Other

Core Values

(located in the

middle), is an area

to showcase your

team identity, etc.

Core Values Poster

1. In the “Discovery” area: ◦ Provide examples from the season about things your

team discovered

◦ Tell the judges how you balanced all three parts of FLL (Core Values, Project and Robot Game) especially if you really wanted to focus on only one sometimes!

2. In the “Integration” area: ◦ Provide specific examples of how your team applied

Core Values – as well as other things you learned through FLL – to situations outside of FLL.

◦ Let the judges know how you integrated new ideas, skills and abilities into your everyday life.

Core Values Poster

3. In the “Inclusion” area: ◦ Describe how your team listened to and considered ideas from

everyone and made each team member feel like a valued part of the team.

◦ Share with the judges how you worked together and accomplished more than you could have by working alone.

4. In the “Coopertition” area: ◦ Describe how your team honors the spirit of friendly competition.

◦ Include information about how your team provided assistance to and/or received assistance from other teams.

◦ Share with the judges how your team members help each other, and help other teams to prepare for a potentially stressful FLL competition experience.

Core Values Poster

5. The Middle: ◦ The area in the middle of the poster is for your team

to highlight anything else you would like to share with the judges about the remaining Core Values criteria.

◦ Maybe consider sharing examples of Team Spirit, Respect and Teamwork.

◦ You may also include examples of how your team has fun or shares with others how amazing science, technology, engineering and math can be.

There are three (3) Core Value trophies awarded at the Championship Tournament: ◦ Inspiration Award

◦ Teamwork

◦Gracious Professionalism

Note: Please refer to the Core Values judging sheet for specific information.

Inspiration

◦This award celebrates a team that is empowered by their FLL experience and displays extraordinary enthusiasm and spirit

Inspiration

Judging Criteria:

Discovery

Team Spirit

Integration

Inspiration Award: Possible Judge Questions

Effectiveness What were your team goals this season? Tell me about a problem you had on your team and how

it was resolved. Efficiency How does your team manage its time? Tell us about the roles each of you had on the team and

how this worked. Kids Do The Work What’s the most important thing you learned from your

coach? Describe a situation when your coach helped you. What

did he/she do?

Teamwork

◦This award recognizes a team that is able to accomplish more together than they could as individuals through shared goals, strong communication, effective problem solving and excellent time management

Teamwork

Judging Criteria:

Effectiveness

Efficiency

Kids Do the Work

Teamwork Possible Judge Questions:

Discovery

What’s the most important thing you learned this season?

Would you still do FLL even if there were no awards? Why?

Team Spirit

How did your team decide its name?

What’s the most important thing we should know about your team?

Integration

Name one of the FLL Core Values and explain how your team uses it (or could use it) outside of FLL.

Who can give me an example of a way they used an FLL Core Value this year on their own away from the team?

Gracious Professionalism™

◦This award recognizes a team whose members show each other and other teams respect at all times

◦They recognize that both friendly competition and mutual gain are possible, on and off the playing field

Gracious Professionalism™

Judging Criteria:

Inclusion

Respect

Coopertition

Gracious Professionalism:

Possible Judge Questions

Inclusion

How does your team decide which ideas they will pursue?

Tell me about one thing each of you contributed to the team.

Respect

What does Gracious Professionalism mean to you?

How do you show Gracious Professionalism when you relate to your team?

Coopertition®

What example of Gracious Professionalism have you seen another team do today?

If you saw something happening to another team and thought it wasn't fair, what would you do and why?

“Swap” Items:

Some teams choose to give out “swap” items at tournaments ◦ Completely optional

“Swap” items may include ◦ Jewelry, stickers or buttons with the team name or in the

team colors

◦ Fliers or paper creations with information about the team or the team’s project, etc…

It is a great way for your team to introduce themselves to other teams at tournaments and show the Core Values

Example “Swap” Items

Pit Area:

Teams typically prepare items to decorate their pit areas at tournaments ◦ Posters ◦ Display boards ◦ Balloons (Latex-free) ◦ Even tents and large displays!

This is one way a team can show off their fantastic season to spectators and other teams

Example Pit Areas

Tournament Apparel:

Teams typically wear t-shirts with the team name/colors

Many teams choose to wear hats/wigs or other items of clothing to represent their teams

Example Tournament Apparel

Handshakes/Cheers/High 5’s:

Some teams choose to come up with different handshakes, cheers, and high 5’s all in the spirit of teamwork and Coopertition®

Encourage your team to not only cheer for their robot, but to cheer and encourage all of the other teams’ robots at the tournament

FLL Team Information Sheet (also known as

the Team Profile Sheet) – see next slide for example ◦ A Team Information Sheet needs to be completed before

you go to a tournament ◦ Bring several copies to the tournament(s).

FLL Consent & Release Forms (English &

Spanish available) ◦ FLL Release Forms signed by both the student and legal

guardian

Copies of the forms can be found at the

following website:

◦ http://www.firstlegoleague.org/event/judging

Robot’s Name

Team Picture

Robot Design Info

Project Info

Core Values Info

Fun Facts About our Team

Parents/Guardians need to sign for participants under 18

Coaches, mentors, etc, need to have a release form as well