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Originally Posted by Jack Jones
And finally, leadership should lead, not borrow.
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As a PLTW teacher and robotics coach, and leader, I would have to say that a good 95% of what I do is borrowed (or just plain stolen). The curriculum I teach is straight off a CD (with some minor changes); the things we do in
robotics largely are tweaks of existing activities. When my predecessors did so much to share what they have done, why should we as leaders reinvent the wheel? That's what white papers are for - people are proud of their work, are sharing it from the kindness of their hearts, and want others to benefit from their efforts.
As far as the knowledge - leadership thing goes, if I administer a test, I had darn well better know everything about everything that goes on that test. If there's any dissent as to the correct answers or phrasing of questions, I need to be an expert on the material to answer their concerns. Also, I won't administer a borrowed test sight unseen - I'm going to read it, understand it, probably take it myself, change the wording of some questions, delete some, and add some.
One more thing the sharing of tests does is it allows teams to look at the strategies and thought processes of others, to see what other teams view as important or critical. This could be a key tool when it comes to strategizing the game and gameplay.
Perhaps the greatest part of leadership is recognizing your own weaknesses, knowing where to go for help, and surrounding yourself with proficient experts. That's why we coaches have engineering mentors, and I believe that's why CD exists.