Quote:
Originally Posted by Moriarty
The real interest for me lies in how to keep more of those students that initially show interest but lose interest for whatever reason. Many of these students probably couldn't make the time commitment -- thinking it was "Robotics Club" or something. But there are also some students that have the potential to become dedicated, but lose interest due to timidness or some other factor. I would love to hear key points to avoid losing such members.
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This has been a problem for us as well. The biggest pointer I can give you is talk to them. Catch them when they do come in, or even call them or have any friends on the team reach out. You might learn more about them, and you'll definitely learn a lot more about your team.
Do they feel like they're not doing anything? Like they don't know enough to contribute? That they're always behind because they can't make it every day? That they're under-appreciated? Did something happen that you don't know about? It's a lot easier to fix a problem once you know what it is.
It's also good to do this preemptively. We try to do one-on-one feedback sessions with all our students, either with an approachable mentor (can vary by student) or an approachable and responsible student veteran. See what they want out of the program, what they feel they're getting out of it, what they want to change, basically anything they want to say. It's invaluable feedback and you might be able to catch a loss of motivation before it happens.
As for how to actually solve the problems once you find them, I've done a variety of things based on student responses. You might do some/most of these things already, but just in case:
- We try to assign rookies their own veteran guide (sometimes we make exceptions for VEX alumni or children of mentors, or if they find one themselves which is rather common). It's great experience for the veterans, and it can really help rookies get acclimated and gain confidence. One challenge is if the rookie often shows up and the vet doesn't come, though. This can send a bad message as well as losing the experience.
- Talk to them often--even non-rookies. Make sure everyone knows the importance of what they're doing for the robot/team. It helps a lot!
- Recognize excellence/dedication/etc and give credit where it's due. We've started an "MVP of the week/competition" program for this.
- Start new training opportunities or help students switch/add fields of expertise within the team. Also try for some non-build bonding activities. Like say, if there's interest in doing something: a last build weekend party, a volunteering trip, whatever, at least make the effort to find out and engage people to make it happen (if possible, of course, but often it's the show of effort and interest in their input that counts).
We went through a 5-member team phase several years ago, and I think the biggest thing I learned from it is to remember to step back and refocus. Focus on the students that come for the robot, rather than the robot the students want to build.