Coaching and mentoring of an FTC (First Tech Challenge) robotics team

 

Abstract: For My Edge Project I want to coach and mentor an FTC (First Tech Challenge) robotics team. A team includes kid both boys and girls between the ages of 12 to 18 years old. The team will have to design, build, and program a robot. The robot is built to complete tasks that are defined by the Game Design Committee (GDC). GDC members are volunteers from various fields, including science, technology, and engineering.

 

Larger Purpose: I want to become a better leader within a group project. I believe that working with the kids within FTC will help me grow and become a better leader. I know that throughout my career I will need to take on a leadership role and I want to be prepared for it when that day comes. I also hope to help team members become more interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math.)

 

Project Goal: For my Edge Project I will coach and mentor an FTC team. I want to make everyone on the team take an active role and know what they should be doing each and every meeting. My goal is to have a team that has a strong chance at winning the state championship.

 

Outcomes: If I can lead this FTC team, then I will be better prepared for leading a group in a work environment. If I can get everyone to take an active role, then I will be able to use the skills that I have learned with the Edge Project to become more valuable to a company, which I will be working. If I can make a team that has a strong chance of winning the state championship, then I know that I have reached my goal and I know that I can complete a challenging goal again.

 

Deliverables: I will provide a journal of my time working with My FTC team along with sharing a copy of the team’s engineering notebook, and any newspaper clippings about my FTC team.

 

Differentiation: I will have leadership skills that only comes with working with a group. I will learn to communicate with kids that have a higher level of understanding of engineering, math, and science, which will make me stand out to employers in an engineering field.