At what point does it become unacceptable for a mentor to design/build the robot

[EricH]

Originally Posted by jwallace15

I support Mentors changing students' ideas, as long as they provide an explanation for why. If they just change an idea someone has without giving reason, the students don't learn from it. If an explanation is provided, it's ok, because the student is learning from a "mistake" they made (I put quotations around mistake because it isn't really a mistake, I don't know another word to call it).
If the student learns from the mentor who changed their idea, they will remember the reasoning for why it wouldn't work, or why it wouldn't be as effective as this other idea. Then the next year, when it comes time to build another robot, the student will remember the concept he was taught the previous year, and incorporate that into their new design.

I would suggest that instead of "changing", mentors should "challenge". That is, they should ask the students "Why did you do it this way?" and "Have you considered the following items...?" This does not change an idea for someone, it opens that person's eyes to things they may not have considered and allows them to change their idea. It also opens the door for them to say, "I didn't see that, how would you deal with it?" and let mentoring take place. Even more effective, as the students now know some hazards to look for.

[jwallace15]

Originally Posted by EricH

I would suggest that instead of "changing", mentors should "challenge". That is, they should ask the students "Why did you do it this way?" and "Have you considered the following items...?" This does not change an idea for someone, it opens that person's eyes to things they may not have considered and allows them to change their idea. It also opens the door for them to say, "I didn't see that, how would you deal with it?" and let mentoring take place. Even more effective, as the students now know some hazards to look for.

That sounds a lot better, I didn't think of it that way. It sounds like something an engineer would say (rather than "That idea is stupid, it will never work"). Our lead build mentor will typically ask, "Why?" when we propose an idea to him, and then coach us on a simpler or more effective way to accomplish what they are trying to do.