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Re: Percentage of Work Done by Students.
Being a mentor on 233, 1592, and 1897, I have seen both extremes first hand. They both have their pros and cons. With 233, students get to see what is possible with today’s top of the line machinery, and engineering expertise. They get to be involved in operating an amazing machine, and get inspired. With team 1592, and 1897, students learn how to use regular hand tools, how to troubleshoot problems, and how to stick with the process even when their designs don’t work as plans, and overall, get inspired. With both of the rookie team that I helped start (1592 –2005 Florida Champs, and 1897 - 2006 Arizona Champs) we try to have the students do as much as possible, teach them as much as possible, but make sure in the end that they have something that they can compete with. This approach has proven to be a recipe for success for us, and it is always fun to beat the “233’s” of the world with our homemade bots. With that said, I think USFIRST is great because of the diversity in how each team runs their program, and as long as students learn in the end and become inspired, I believe that all these methods create learning opportunities for students.
~Shea~
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