FIRST LEGO LEAGUE

2011 Coach/Mentor WorkshopKevin Reedkevin.reed@firstwa.org

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Summary FIRST FLL Coaching Tournament Day Resources

Not much on the challenge or project topic

Two hours (usually less)

What is FIRST?“… to create a world where science and

technology are celebrated…where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes.”

Dean Kamen, Founder, FIRST F.I.R.S.T. (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science

and Technology) is an international organization with a mission of promoting interest in science and technology.

Our goal is to encourage students to consider careers in engineering and science.

FIRST Programs

FRC FIRST Robotics Competition 1992 High school

14-18 yrs

FTC FIRST Tech Challenge 2005 Middle and high school13-18 yrs

FLL FIRST LEGO® League 1998 Elementary and middle school9-14 yrs

Jr.FLL FIRST Junior LEGO® League 2006 Elementary school

6-9 yrs

501 (c) (3) Non-profit organization Founded 1989, by inventor Dean Kamen International HQ in Manchester, NH 85,000 volunteers 3,000+ sponsoring companies

FIRST LEGO League FIRST Tech Challenge

FIRST Robotics Competition

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Jr. FIRST LEGO League

FIRST Family

What is FIRSTWA.ORG? We are a small group of enthusiastic volunteers

who organize and promote all FIRST programs:

FIRST Junior LEGO League FIRST LEGO League FIRST Tech Challenge FIRST Robotics Competition

A division of the Seattle Robotics Association The SRA is a 501c(3) non-profit corporation

100% volunteer effort www.firstwa.org

Engineering process Define problem Brainstorm solutions and select one Keep it simple Plan and create a flowchart and take

measurements

Tips Divide program into small steps- use

comment boxes Program one step at a time Action should be consistently

repeatable (3x in a row) Use my blocks (saves memory) Pick a simple mission first that is close

to base.

FLL Overview FLL Core Values Coach Promise The Timeline

FLL Core ValuesCoach Manual, Page 1 We are a team. We do the work to find solutions with guidance

from our coaches and mentors. We know our coaches and mentors don’t have all

the answers; we learn together. We honor the spirit of friendly competition. What we discover is more important than what we

win We share our experiences with others. We display Gracious Professionalism™ and

Coopertition™ in everything we do. We have fun.

Gracious Professionalism Respect your team members at all times Respect others as demonstrated by your

actions Recognize that friendly competition and

mutual gain are possible on and off the field Make a valued contribution with special

knowledge that society entrusts us to use responsibly

Woodie Flowers, FIRST co-founder and MIT professor

Coopertition Friendly competition Help other teams Handle stress with grace

Team Identity Team name Team logo

FLL Season Timeline Mid-May thru Mid-Sept

Team formation and registration Early September

The challenge is released Mid-end of September

Registration closes Sept-Oct-Nov

Teams work on the robot and project December (first weekend)

10+ Local Qualifying Events January

State Tournament Mid April

FLL World Festival FLL Regional Open

Team Mission

Your FLL team is expected to:

Explore the challenge theme in depth Share the fun of team based technical problem

solving Get exposure to technical and professional career

pathssenior solutions

Team TasksYour FLL team will spend 8-12 weeks

working on:

RobotGame

Core Value

s

Project

Project research, presentation preparation, practicing

Robot design, programming, construction, and testing

Learning FLL Core Values, team building, and organizing

Team Mechanics Teamwork

Working together to do a complex task Risk taking

There is personal risk in being creative Experimentation

Learning by trying Dealing with failure effectively

Learning by failing and recovering

Evaluation of your Team During the regional qualifiers, your team is

evaluated on the three primary elements: Project Presentation Robot Design and Construction Core Values (formerly Teamwork)

Evaluations are subjective and are done by a panel of volunteer judges

Awards are assigned by the judging panels Judges use rubrics: READ THEM!

http://firstlegoleague.org/event/judging

Evaluation of your Team: Awards

Regional ChampionsRobot: Performance Project: ResearchProject: Innovative SolutionProject: PresentationRobot: Mechanical DesignRobot: ProgrammingRobot: Strategy & InnovationCore Values: InspirationCore Values: TeamworkCore Values: Gracious ProfessionalismJudge AwardPerformance Alternate (optional)

Project Presentation Your team must:

Select a problem related to the topic Create a solution Share it with the community Present a summary of the project to the judges that tells

the story and demonstrates your team research results Presentation format is up to your team. Use humor,

skits, and other engaging elements to tell your story. Examples include newscasts, plays and songs

Watch presentation examples on the coach DVD and online.

Project Presentation Judging Live performance for the judges Practice, Practice, Practice

Video tape practice sessions Honest critical feedback

Beware audio/visual equipment and setup time

Your team is evaluated against a rubrichttp://firstlegoleague.org/event/judging

Project Presentation Judging

Robot Design Your team must:

Create a strategy to maximize points in 2.5 minutes Build a robot that interacts with mission pieces Program the robot to accomplish missions

The robot is judged for its design quality The robot ALSO gains the team points during

the mission competition There are hundreds of NXT tutorials online.

Check FLL Team Resources and FIRSTWA FAQ

Robot Design Judging Your team is interviewed by a judging

panel to discuss the design and construction of their robot.

This is an interactive interview, we don’t expect a formal presentation

Your team is evaluated against a rubrichttp://firstlegoleague.org/event/judging

Robot Design Judging

Core Values Judging New this year are formal judging sessions

for Core Values (formerly called Teamwork). The judges are evaluating your team with

an activity during the Project session. The judges are also observing your team at

random times during the day. Input from referees, volunteers and other

teams IS accepted!

The Champions Award The most prestigious award goes to the

team who demonstrates core values and highest achievement in all categories: Project Presentation Robot Design Teamwork Robot Performance

Tournament Day Regional Qualifiers 8am to 5pm Three main activities for teams

Pit area and practice tables Technical, Presentation and Core Values Judging Robot Contest

Award Ceremony mid afternoon State Championship January 14th, 2012

(Sat)

What to Bring to the Tournament Team Information Sheet

Three copies, one for each judge panel Consent and Release form

One for each student and adult Extra robot batteries and charger (if rechargeable) Laptop computer for program changes Food, drinks and snacks (unless otherwise noted) Extension cord and power strip Field setup kit pieces and mat (to share with

organizers if needed)

Pit Area and Practice Tables The Pit is where we come to find your

team for all activities. Each team has a

single table Practice rounds

and final tune-up of robots is common

Judging: Morning Technical, Presentation, and Core Values

judging starts in the morning before the contest. A schedule for each team is posted on contest day.

Teams are retrieved from their pit table and returned by volunteer runners.

Robot Contest: Afternoon The contest is held in a main gym or large

area There are 3 rounds of robot contest Best single score determines winner Teams are retrieved by

runners, and queued up to 3 matches early

Teams are returned to the pits after the match

Award Ceremony Awards are presented at the end of the

tournament Only one judged award per team Robot Performance is a separate award and

is based only on score

Robot performance is the only award a team can win in addition to a judged award

Advancing to Championships Two Championship tournaments in Washington

East and West Five teams from each regional go to Championships Championship teams chosen by judges

Top teams in each of the three categories Weighted to teams with great Core Values

Performance Alternate is given when a team wins Robot Performance award AND another judged award that sends them to the championships

Resources for Coaches Much help is available online for you

wafll@yahoogroups.com is our email list www.firstwa.org has information related

specifically to our WA State program www.usfirst.org is the international FIRST

website and links to everything related to FLL www.legoeducation.us is the U.S. LEGO

Education site that has NXT parts and other stuff for LEGO robots

High Tech Kids Minnesota has a very well developed FLL

community. They have spent tons of time producing fantastic online help for you.www.hightechkids.org

FLL Training Downloadshttp://www.hightechkids.org/for-teams/coaches-library