Ways to teach new team members.

[Ideal_Nerd]

Our team is starting to grow. last year we got a sheet metal sponsor and were the alliance caption at queen city. the biggest problem we had this year was that most of the team didn't have the skills needed. We only had 2 people that could CAD and 2 people that knew the entire electrical system.
My Question is as a team caption how to you teach all of your new team members all of the skills they need for build season?


Thanks
Evan

[ttldomination]

Teaching is a tricky topic, not necessarily because it's hard, but because of how many different ways people can teach multiplied by how many ways people can learn.

In FRC, you'll find many methods of teaching, each of which will show a remarkable measure of success because they've been adopted to fit the team culture. Teaching methods can include classes, training, presentations, hands-on, demos, challenges, mentorship, "off the deep-end", etc.

I've listed some teaching methods below. You can use a combination of methods (for example, some teams may spend a majority of the fall term on training, and then wrap it up with some frc training), or focus on your energy on one. Find the method that will best fit your team culture.

Building Smaller Robots (VEX/FTC/VRC) - Countless teams use the smaller robotics platforms to teach rookie members. It gives rookie members to play in the sandbox before they're let loose on the beach. They can learn about the basics of building a robot without being overwhelmed by complexity (unless they choose it). You can either participate in FTC/VRC competitions or just create your own little fun challenge.

Building Activity - Teams like to challenge their team members to build "something" for lack of a better word. This can be anything from things like trebuchet launchers to carts and are often made out of easy-to-use raw materials (wood, bicycle tires, etc.). The idea here to give new folks the basics of construction and getting folks accustomed to being around tools and machines without being overwhelmed by complexity (once again, unless they choose to).

Classroom - A classroom setting is exactly how it sounds. You show up and someone teaches a "class." However, classes don't have to be a lecture or boring. They can be interactive and fun, but that relies heavily on the teacher. The entire point of FIRST and FRC in general is hands on, so I haven't seen this method used very much.

Presentations - Presentations are usually used to present a high level overview of materials. Most people confuse a class with just flashing a presentation on the screen, but they are two really different things. In my experience, presentations have been used to acquaint new members with some of the materials and topics they will see in the FRC season.

Mentoring - Some teams may opt not to train rookies at all. Instead, a team may continue its usual fall activities (off-season events, prototyping, etc.) and just rely on older members taking rookies under their wings. I will warn that I've never heard of a team doing this exclusively; mentorship is often used in a combination of other methods.

Personally, I've been a part of programs that start rookies off in small (3-4) VEX teams with a junior leader (sophomore). These students spend the better part of the fall semester going through the robotics process. In the end, these VEX teams compete at a local event. In the remaining month of the fall term, we use presentations to acquaint rookies with aspects of the FRC season (buzzword, previous games, etc.).

- Sunny G.

[mathking]

If you would like, we'd (team 1014, in Dublin) be happy to help you in developing training. You would also be welcome to bring new members over to one or more of our training sessions. We have been through the "how do you train new members as you grow?" question a few times over the years.

[evanperryg]

My team has grown rapidly over the last few years. As a result, we've had to learn how to handle a lot of people, teach them about FRC, and maintain efficiency in a tiny shop with 45 people (we get about ~20 new members per year).
Basically, read everything ttldomination said. But, remember that none of those methods work if they are used in groups of one or two. Keep your teaching methods diverse by combining enaging sit-down presentations with hands-on work. This way, you will cover most of the ways a typical student learns. My team teaches new members through powerpoint presentations (you might be able to find my 2013 electrical training powerpoints somewhere), small-scale competitions, and construction of full-scale FRC robots.

Presentations: Powerpoint presentations and the like are good for providing an overview to new members. However, they can get boring. You MUST get engaged with the new members, and make the presentations interesting.
Mini Competiton: FTC and VEX are good options for small-scale competitions, but you should also look around for competitions held by local teams. New 2338 members participate in a vex-scale competition held by team 1625 each year.
Full-Scale Robots: The best way for programmers and electrical(ers?) to get pre-competition experience is to work with real FRC robots. Take a robot from a previous season, and have new mechanical members strip it down to the frame. Have them put a couple of the basic attachments back on the robot. Then, help electrical team students wire that robot, even if it's just the drivetrain and a piston or two. Once it's built, hand it over to programming and they can program it. Real experience for each of the 3 biggest subteams.

Remember, nobody can learn everything there is to know in a single pre-season. After their first FRC season, there is still a lot young members can learn. During the summer, continue showing new members more advanced concepts.

[Jacob Bendicksen]

1540 hosts a yearly competition, BunnyBots, that most teams in the Portland area use to train new members. Our mentors and alumni create a new, FRC-style game each summer and release it September 1st. Teams then have until December to build their BunnyBots, training new members along the way. We do this because we believe that 'the best way to learn how to build a robot is to build a robot,' and in its 6 years of existence it's become an integral part of the PNW preseason.

Past games and more information than you'd ever want to know available here.