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Re: At what point does it become unacceptable for a mentor to design/build the robot
I wanted to come back with a great example from my team last night, and to reiterate that the tipping point really is when the mentors stop listening to the students. If the students say "you design it", then go for it - that's what they want. But if they want to design it, step back and let them!
Two nights ago, we realized there was a problem with our climbing mechanism. Without going into too many design details, we realized that reaching for the next bar was geometrically impossible given the current setup and all of the parts we had constructed so far.
Yesterday, the build mentors spent time thinking and e-mailing, trying to come up with a good solution. We ended up going to the meeting with 3 possible solutions in our back pocket, all of which we didn't really like.
So, we started the meeting by gathering everyone around the robot, and having the student leading that portion of the construction explain the problem. She went on to list two possible solutions she had thought of (both of which we had discussed over e-mail and had ready for the team if needed), and why she really didn't like one of them. One of the students in charge of another part of the robot then explained why she really didn't like the other one, as it would have significantly impacted what she was trying to accomplish.
Like I said, we had solutions, but we really didn't like any of them.
So, then another student chimed in. Basically, she reversed the way the arm worked (only requiring software updates, the construction would stay exactly the same), and suddenly the problem was solved.
We never even pulled out the third solution we had in reserve. There was no need. In fact, as mentors we didn't propose any solutions to this critical issue (although at other points in the build we have proposed solutions when needed).
So, the moral of the story is... Listen to your students! They'll have ideas, and some of them will be great ideas. They'll tell you if you're doing too much, or if they need more help. There's nothing wrong with doing some prep work and coming to the meeting prepared to spoon-feed them. But listen to them first, and determine if its really needed!
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2007 - Present: Mentor, 2177 The Robettes
LRI: North Star 2012-2016; Lake Superior 2013-2014; MN State Tournament 2013-2014, 2016; Galileo 2016; Iowa 2017
2015: North Star Regional Volunteer of the Year
2016: Lake Superior WFFA
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