Re: Interview room & judging panel (rookie questions)
 

From my experience it's best to send in three students (no mentors). All of them should talk and have input; for instance, each could take a turn at answering questions (this way, all three seem to be experts).

Re: Interview room & judging panel (rookie questions)
 

I actually disagree a little bit with Erin. I think that 1 mentor and 2 students is the way to go, especially on a team that has been around for more than 4 years. Judges get a chance to ask questions (or at least they have in years past) and if the students don't know the answer to something that happened before their time, the mentor can jump in at that point, but be a silent observer otherwise. Just my opinion, but I think that having a mentor there in case there is a need is a good idea.

Re: Interview room & judging panel (rookie questions)
 

Beth is right. A big part of the Chairman's Award evaluation is focused on sustained efforts to promote the ideals and values of FIRST. The more a team can demonstrate a long-term continuity of efforts, the better off they will be. Most students obviously max out at four years on a team (except for the occasional student that joins in 8th grade or comes back as a mentor). Having a mentor as one of the three presenters, ready to discuss the deep history of the team, is a very good idea.

-dave

Re: Interview room & judging panel (rookie questions)
 

You are limited to three team members. Your choice on students or mentors.
I have suggested that FIRST allow a non-participating Mentor in the room to listen and then be able to give feedback to the students after the interview was over, to make it a solid learning experience. Maybe that will happen sometime.


We (Team 234) have always had three students present. We select three who are from various sub-teams so that they can answer a range of questions between them.


I would recommend all three students contribute to the interview.


Our team experience has been that all judges are different and take slightly different approaches. Some have wanted to have general discussions, some have been ready for a presentation from the students, some a mix.

You only have 10 minutes total, so be prepared for several options. Have enough material prepared so that you could talk the entire time, but make a flexible plan so that you can do a short presentation and then be ready for Q & A.

I also think Dave L makes a good point on having one Mentor as part of the team. You need to look at the options and make the best mix choice for your team.

Good Luck - :)

Re: Interview room & judging panel (rookie questions)
 

I would have liked to have a video recording of the interview last year to show our team and to use for coaching purposes this year. I also asked if we could record our interview (no) and have a non-participating mentor in the room (no).

I think one of the difficult parts about getting a team to support the efforts of those members working on the CA submission is that it is intangible. There are no strict rules to follow; they see our team's animation submission, they see our robot in action, but they can only see our online submission portion of the CA. If they could see the presentation and interview it would make it far more interesting for all members. It's frustrating as a mentor on that committee that I cannot see how we performed (can you picture it if our engineers and mentors helped with the robot but never got to see the students driving it in competition???) It makes it difficult to know how to improve for next year, or for when giving the presentation for potential sponsors, our school boards, or the media.

Re: Interview room & judging panel (rookie questions)
 

There is a LOT of good, honest, and very helpful information in this thread. Following along with that, I'd like to balance out a few things with some overall thoughts...

The interview is obviously a very important part of the process, but it is only a part of the process. CA judges will also spend time observing your whole team and they are likely to ask other teams about you if they believe you are in serious contention for the award. Some of this you can't control, nor should you attempt to.

The fourth person to just observe and/or the ability to videotape is never likely to happen. Maybe this hasn't happened everywhere, but at all of the regionals I went to, our team received written feedback from the judges at the end of the process. Having the feedback of the judges is infinitely more helpful than the feedback from a fellow team member. Besides, with the fourth person in the room there really isn't a way to prevent them from speaking and even the most innocent of circumstances could lead to an infraction of the rules and unfortunate disqualification that no one would like.

Also, please remember what the CA is about. No disrespect meant here to anyone, but from my perspective if a team as a whole isn't fully "into" the true meaning of FIRST and what the Chairman's Award stands for, then they most likely aren't worthy of receiving the award. No external motivation should be necessary at all, in fact it's quite the opposite. FIRST fosters growth that leads to individuals who make choices based on strong personal convictions related to global ideals. Members of a Chairman's Award winning team are aware that they are part of a culture-changing activity, that their individual lives are changed for the better, and that it is their responsibility to make a postivie difference in the lives of others (both inside and outside of their community).

No videotape or observer should be necessary to convey that to a team. Now, I could see your Chairman's committee making frequent presentations to your whole team and even possibly sharing what the interview was like with the whole group. I have never been in that room and I was always inspired by what the students told me about the interview afterward. By the way, I'm also in the camp that believes in sending three students into the interview. I agree with Dave about knowing the entire, sustained team history, but I believe students can learn (and should know) the history of the team.

During my time with 103, there were a lot of informal discussions among the team members about the meaning of the CA, how it guides our activities and actions through gracious professionalism, and what it means to our community as a whole. At dinner during build season we would frequently share our CA submission with the whole team to get feedback, to inspire those who needed it, and to inform everyone. Altohugh only a handful of students were involved in the CA "process", every team member was aware (on some level) that what they were doing individually played a part in carrying out FIRST's mission.

I'm so glad teams are more willing than ever to share such intimate details on the interview process. This is GP at its finest. At each one of the 30 regionals this year there will be more than one CA deserving team in attendance. The award will be granted to one of those teams. Make sure that your team allows time to foster and cultivate those internal motivators so that , "win" or "lose", you can celebrate with an equal sense of pride and accomplishment.

Good luck and remember what a special thing it is that we all have.

Re: Interview room & judging panel (rookie questions)
 

I was wondering if people could post sample questions that the judges might ask. This would be greatly beneficial to our team. Thanks.

Re: Interview room & judging panel (rookie questions)
 

Last year, they asked us a lot of questions based on our presentation. Ex. If we told them that we did the "Adopt-A-Road" program, they would ask us how we felt that we were conveying them message of FIRST through that effort. If they feel that some of the criteria is missing from your presentation and essay that was requested in the "Chairmans' Questions" (see your manual), there is a distinct possibility that those questions will be addressed.

Re: Interview room & judging panel (rookie questions)
 

They ask a few personal questions; basically, how has FIRST affected you and what are your future plans.

Also, sometimes they ask about the reactions of the people that you have been working with in FIRST (a Lego League team, your school, the community if you did volunteered in some capacity, etc.).

Side note to a previous question: Most of the time they provide chairs for the presenters. I'm not so sure about tables, but there are usually some in the room anyway.

Re: Interview room & judging panel (rookie questions)
 

If a mentor is present in the room, can they be involved in the presentation as well, or can they only talk during the interview?

Re: Interview room & judging panel (rookie questions)
 

Just for clarification, the mentor would have to be one of youre 3 selected people. Any of your 3 selected people are allowed to talk and participate, however, the way I see it, the mentor is only there as a back up. That was one of the things that we were graded down on last year was that they felt that they wanted to hear more from the students than the mentors. And if you think about it, it really makes more sense that way. FIRST is here mainly for the students. It's for them to learn and for them to grow. It would make sense for them to be the ones to tell about how fantastic it has been for them.

Re: Interview room & judging panel (rookie questions)
 

A question I mistakingly forgot from before that I have been looking for an answer. The actual presentation of the award: does it occur on a specific day at all Regionals? (i.e. Thursday? or Friday?) does it change depending on Regional? Or, do the judges start viewing presentations, continuing through teams over the two days until all teams have been viewed?

Thanks!

Re: Interview room & judging panel (rookie questions)
 

The award presentation is on Saturday.

With the Chairman's Award being the highest team award for FIRST, they save it for last. At every regional I have attended, the winning team ends up staying on the field to celebrate after the announcement is made. It is an exciting time for the winning team and those who know the team and what they have accomplished.

Re: Interview room & judging panel (rookie questions)
 

Sorry, maybe I worded it wrong. When is the actual interview for teams? Does it occur at a specific time at all Regionals, or does it depend on the Regional and when the judges at the Regional begin interviewing?

Re: Interview room & judging panel (rookie questions)
 

If I remember correctly, we were assigned a specific time by the FIRST staff for that specific regional.