Quote:
Originally Posted by billhcheese
the biggest issue for the team is that some student are not committed and are taking time and resources that students that are more committed could be using, but i would prefer a mix of the two so that students can both contribute to the team and learn from it as well
|
My take on the objective of FIRST is not to develop a focused training program for students who are already STEM oriented, but rather to use the sports-metaphor model to attract and engage students who wouldn't otherwise be involved in STEM activities. I would change your question from "how do we screen out uncommitted students?" to "how do we do a better job of engaging more of our students, and also provide appropriate activities for those who may only want to be peripherally involved?"
We accept all comers into our program, but we've really only hit high numbers the last 2 years. We make our traveling team selective (now 20) for several reasons. However we think that having a broad in-shop experience for all comers is very important.