[Doug Adams]

Also pay attention to how you're involving your team members. If the non-participating members are being asked to help without a specific assignment, you may not have much luck.

In the years we've had smaller teams, we've had success with assignments for new students or less technical students. Start small, perhaps with tool assignments. For example, say you've decided to use rivets. Give one of those students the task of doing rivets. They are your rivet person. No matter how much faster it is for you to reach over and grab the riveter and do it yourself, you call that student over and they take care of riveting.

As one of the strong team members you might feel impatient; like they're holding you back. But it will build teamwork and gain participation from team members who don't know quite what to do. You would really appreciate it if you brought a damaged robot back to the pit that has a broken drive train and damaged rivets. Your 3 strong team members can focus on the drive train, while your rivet specialist takes care of the chassis.

Be creative in your assignments. Turning your other team members into specialists can complement the strengths of your stronger team members.