One of the really wonderful things about robotics teams, is that they tend to have a mixture of students within them - with different experience levels, interests, curiosities, and insights. Sometimes there are mixed age groups as well, which is a great learning opportunity. However, leveraging the power of this diversity to maximize the learning for all students on a team can sometimes be a challenge.
Returning team members may not know how to ‘welcome’ new members effectively, and new members may be shy, or on the other end of the emotional spectrum - so excited that it can be overwhelming to those around them.
By the end of the season, many teams have a sort of team ‘identity’ - it shows in their team names, their accessories at matches, the matching t shirts, and sometimes even into their robot design! But getting that started can sometimes feel daunting for a mentor or coach.
What are some ways that you help your team to get to know each other and begin to build that identity as a team?
- Do you have any special ‘traditions’ that get passed on from veteran team members to new members?
- Does your team give each other nicknames? How are those developed?
- What sorts of games or questions or ‘ice breaker’ kinds of activities do you do with your students to help them come together?
My hope for this thread is that veteran coaches can get the ball rolling with some ‘tips and tricks’, and newer coaches can share what they are trying, ask questions, and everyone can get inspiration together.
Making a team that works well together necessitates building trust and cohesiveness among the group members - so let’s talk about how we actually get down to the business of building that capacity with our kids. 
I’ll tag some veteran coaches that I’m sure have great advice to get the ball rolling… @Omar_Cortez or @Mark_Johnston or @Lauren_Harter and @Alaina_Haws
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The team @Lauren_Harter and I mentored only lasted a couple years and then was really interrupted by the pandemic, but we had a great group of students who at least somewhat knew each other from school.
Because they did have familiarity with one another, that helped us in our get to know you process. But really we tried to be as loose as possible with the structure to help them develop their own identity. As each team worked on their robot, they made jokes about what to call it and that turned into the overall team name for each of them. Letting them have the space to develop the ownership of the team identity was integral to their overall communication skills and bonding as a team.
However I know this might not work for all students! If I were to have another team with students who may not know each other, I think I would start with some of the VEX IQ 2nd gen STEM Labs. This would get them familiar with the basics of building, engineering, and coding the robot, but also would give them a place to start bonding over the competition aspect of each STEM Lab. Get them into the spirit of competition at a smaller scale.
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Great points Alaina, and I agree. I think starting with the VEX IQ 2nd gen STEM Labs is a great place to start, especially for students that are brand new to a team and don’t have much experience. Being able to try new things together, work through frustrations together, be mindful of others, is all part of the process.
There is a great video in the 2nd gen STEM Labs about collaborative decision making that I think all students, especially on a team, should watch.
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Those are great points @Lauren_Harter and @Alaina_Haws! I’ve been thinking a little bit more about the finesse needed to blend established team members with new team members, and I feel like starting with something that is new for EVERYONE can be a good strategy to ‘level the playing field’ so to speak. It can give the established members an opportunity to share their knowledge, and the new members a place to share their prior knowledge and bring their new perspective and skills to the table in a safe space.
I also thing it could be a really good exercise, as the team is starting to come together, to have them recreate THEIR version of the Collaborative Decision Making video! Like how do they, on their team, this year, make decisions and ensure that all voices are heard. What do they think the keys to success are? Having the students themselves voice these agreements can help give them ownership over them, and hopefully make them more accountable to follow their own guidelines throughout the year.
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Great ideas Audra! I completely agree, and having the students make their own version of the video is a great way for them to really think deeply about it and work together 
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