Class Credit for FIRST Participation?

[Tuba4]

I must apologize. I tried searching for old threads on this issue and did not locate any. But here goes.....

Are there any teams out there that receive class credit for FIRST participation? Or, perhaps I should ask, do you have robotics classes at your school which are, for the most part, filled by members of your team?

Also, does anybody earn a letter for participating in FIRST, much as you would for playing sports?

[sanddrag]

We used to have robotics as a class, and we got some funding that way. But as a requirement, grades had to be assigned. It nearly tore the team apart. I wouldn't recommend it.

If you must have it as a class, try to get it set up where if you do it, you get credit. No grades.

[NoodleKnight]

On Team 100, you have the option of getting credits and a grade, but it required you to do a certain amount of work/attend at least x-number of meetings and so forth. On my transcript it's listed as Independant Study Robotics -- counting as elective credits.

[Kevin Kolodziej]

I'm not sure if they still do it or not, but Team Hammond started giving credit for FIRST in 2000. It counted as a double honors credit, and while there were no grades, there was a strict list of criteria that had to be met to receive the credit. There was an essay before and after the season, as well as a scrapbook of sorts to document the year (it included calendars, journals, technical descriptions, and information from all events). That was neat because it "forced" you to make a really neat scrapbook to remember the season by. I beleive you were also required to be at 75% of the meetings and be involved in at least one sub-team. Meeting attendance was documented via punch cards. At least for one year we also received letters, but that may have been specific to that year.

If done right, its a very good idea. It can't just be handed out though. Good luck!

Kevin

[Freddy Schurr]

Suggestion: At EHS, you get one to two credits if you are on the Marching Band, so try maybe get credit instead of a grade.

Can you do it as a club?

[Dorienne]

The letter threads have been posted before, but not about classes...that I've seen.

Our team used to get participation in Mr. Hearn's class, who used to run our team from 2002 and back. He could still be giving participation points for kids on our team, but I wouldn't know.

As for letters, our team is getting letters for the first time this year. I'm so excited!!!
=]]

[newton418]

I am currently enrolled in a class our school calls Advanced Tech II, taught by our (team 418) coach. The first year, Advanced Tech I, provides general background with robotics, including the use of LEGO Mindstorm kits, building small robots to do specific tasks (which are considerably easier than the FIRST competition). These devices are built in either individual or small (2-3 person) group, depending on the project. Advanced Tech I also teaches basic skills like how weld, grind, and cut and drill accurately. The Advanced Tech II class usually has a semester project which every student works on (there are usually around 5-7 students in an Advanced Tech II class, and usually two classes).
This year the Advanced Tech II classes were told to design and build a show robot. We were given the motors, battery, transmitter/receiver kit, and various electronics at the beginning of the year. We also have size limitations, a budget, and are allowed to use almost any part in our shop which is not already a part of something else.
In the Advanced Tech I class the FIRST participants are greatly outnumbered, however many of the members who do participate in FIRST take at least Advanced Tech I. Advanced Tech II is usually composed of the diehard robotics fans, so many have either participated in FIRST or have been converted and will participate in FIRST. Though the class is not designed to correlate with FIRST many of the essential skills are taught.
We have not had an issue with grades as far as I am aware of, our coach is usually very fair. We do not have any tests or any individual assignments in the Advanced Tech II class, but he has a pretty good feel for how much any given student works, and bases the grades off of that. In the Advanced Tech I class the grade is incorporated into the project assignment; for example they just had to remove blocks and balls from a ramp and place them in different containers, a block in the block container added 10 points to the groups project grade, and the same with the balls. Some of the devices were not particularly effective, but I did not hear anyone complain about their grade, so I am led to believe that attempting the project, the design concept, and participation are also incorporated into each student’s grade.

[Rickertsen2]

We tried to get our county to create a new coded course for us so that we can have a robotics class. This didn't work out, but we did get approval to use one of the existing classes for robotics. This years we have a robotics class that is coded as "engineering applications" which counts for elective credit. We switch up the class so that that people who took robotics can take it the next year. Last year it was something else.

[Ryan M.]

I talked to an IT teacher I knew well at my school and got a plan from him to revceive independent study credit. It'll very with your teacher and your school, but all I had to do was keep a journal of what I do and invite him to a few things.

[Brandon Martus]

Be sure to check the 'Similar Threads' below .. there are a few similar discussions from the past.

Originally Posted by Tuba4

I must apologize. I tried searching for old threads on this issue and did not locate any. But here goes.....

Are there any teams out there that receive class credit for FIRST participation? Or, perhaps I should ask, do you have robotics classes at your school which are, for the most part, filled by members of your team?

Also, does anybody earn a letter for participating in FIRST, much as you would for playing sports?

[the_short1]

i think it is overall a good principle, but i think it does put too much undone stress if you have to add assignments and grades to it, i think if you attend x number of meetings or more and overall the mentors think you acually 'did' something .. then you get the credit . just as a bonus .. but not for every student. or school time. kinda like musical theatre at our school....

[Drake]

I know that at my high school Robotics was not a course. We were a club, with members coming in when they could. Although, those who have one of the mentors as a teacher sometimes work on the robot, or robot related items. But now always, and especially not the computer science students who have much work to do(Robotics ruined my grades ).

Most of the kids at the school do not know about the team, and robotics pull in kids of all walks of life, so they might not always have time on their busy schedule for robotics. I know some kids had art as their chosen elective, so, not everyone is completely interested in technology.

[KenWittlief]

from a mentor-engineer persepective Ive always felt one of the great things about the FIRST program is that its not 'school' - its something else - something unlike all the other things students do in HS.

I would prefer to not have to evaluate the students performance, attitude, effort, or any other aspect that would go into assigning the student a grade.

Two reasons:

1. FIRST has been highly effective in motivating students who had a poor attitude towards school - students who need to be motivated by something different, something they have not gotten in the last 8 to 11 years. If we make FIRST look like another tech class, then instead of seeing mentors as mentors, friends, business contacts and future peers, they will see us as stand-in teachers.

2. The mentors are not here to evaluate the students on any level. Just the opposite: we are presenting our careers and our professions for the students to evaluate.

FIRST is not an educational program, its a career exposure program.

[Doug G]

I teach a robotics class at our high school centered around the FIRST competition. It is offered at the end of the day and just counts as an elective course that fulfills the voc ed requirement for graduation. This year only 4 students signed up for the class, but I have 10-15 students show up each day. Many of them didn't know about the class and will add it at the new semester. It's hard to even call it class... I give just a few quizzes (a mandatory safety quiz being one of them) during the semester, and most of the grade is based on participation and a few assignments. Most of the students don't think of it as a class, they usually do more work than I ask of them, and they rarely leave when the bell rings.

[jkoci]

my school has a nighttime class for first. credit is given for this class, and grades are issued. the good thing about this is that all the work is not done during school hours, but on nights and weekends, hence freeing up my class schedule. the grading system is based on participation. in order to get an A, you have to put in a certain amount of hours throughout the build season.