[c-parent]

I find the discussion about how teams operate and build their robots interesting. I know that doing well is very important. Why? It is much easier to convince your school system/sponsors to continue the support when you do well and bring home hardware. Student enthusiasm is also difficult.

However, the real issue here is teaching the mentors to mentor. We have one mentor, very hard working and spends lots of time at the shop. He is beyond dedicated. He knows EXACTLY how his part of the bot needs to be built and tells the kids what to do, and lets them do the building under his direction. His subteam size tends to dwindle towards the end of the build season. He likes to tell other mentors how their team needs to build their part of the bot.

We have another mentor, also dedicated, also spends much time at the shop- but only with his subteam. He also knows EXACTLY how his part of the bot needs to be built. But instead of saying "this is what we need to do", he helps the students come to that place on their own. Sometimes it is a longer process to get there, and sometimes he has to use breadcrumbs to get them there. Sometimes they come up with brilliant ideas that he feels exceed his and they implement. Sometimes the team comes up with a plan that is the "same thing only different" than an otherwise standard design. He would usually go with the student based design rather than standard design (all else equal).

The difference is that subteam 1 works fast, efficient, and although built by the students, they feel like employees rather than team members. They are given chores, and a timeline. Their input does not feel valued. Subteam 2 has team members that are consistent, give up date night, and wake early for their meetings on Saturday. They do homework together so they can work more on the bot. They see their mistakes, and seek out assistance from their team members, mentor, and other resources. They learn, and they get excited about the process. They are proud of their creation.

Both mentors are wonderful people. Both want to teach the students. One is successful in teaching more than manual skills. One teaches teamwork and design.

Mentor classes to teach team building and how to encourage leadership and creativity, and how to be inclusive on your team would be a fabulous thing!