[FRC Blog] Chairman’s Award Feedback

[Amanda Morrison]

Originally Posted by Karthik

If the workload is the issue, perhaps we can remove the expectation that feedback forms be handed back at the end of the event. Perhaps they can be emailed to the teams a few days after the event. Maybe we could have one person just do feedback on the essay (which could be done long before the event and only done once a season), and one person do feedback on the presentation. Thereby splitting and lessening the load on the feedback writers. I'm sure as a community we could come up with numerous ideas to streamline this process.

Actually, helping to brainstorm for ideas to assist FIRST in this burdensome task is a great idea. I like the idea of separate essay & presentation feedback, for instance.

One thing that crossed my mind - a "court reporter" type position that can take the judges' quick notes on a team's essay and presentation and type it up on behalf of the judges. This could be available after the event for teams that want to retrieve it.

I see it working this way: The reporter is not a judge but merely taking notes. After a team's presentation, the judges can discuss quickly among each other and communicate a few small things about the team's presentation, and pass that along to the reporter (or the reporter can be present while they are talking). The reporter types this up in a standard feedback form, and when finished, these forms are provided to Pit Admin in an envelope for teams to pick up.

There are probably a few issues with this idea. Privacy is one that immediately comes to mind. But perhaps this volunteer doesn't necessarily even need to be in the room during the presentations. If the judges keep track of the order in which teams present, the reporter can assign a letter or number on the feedback pages, and the Judge Advisor can stuff the appropriate team's feedback into their already-numbered envelope. The reporter never sees more than an A-B-C letter.

Another issue is that this is a somewhat trusted and difficult position to fill. You need someone that is professionally literate and able to communicate the judges' feedback - but maybe this would be a great entry position for a corporate volunteer with little FIRST experience. Someone that types quickly and would be able to meet that strict deadline is also helpful.

This feedback might not be more than a couple sentences, but it is something.

Anyway. A quick idea, perhaps not the best, but the first thing that came to mind. Feel free to expand or poke holes through it. What else can we come up with, CD?