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FIRST LEGO League: The MindStorm Troopers WIN with the Responsibility Process!
We received a letter from Michelle, 11 yrs. old, and Michael, 14 yrs. old, children of Ed and Gail Vawter, thanking us for the support they received from Christopher Avery's book, Teamwork is An Individual Skill: Getting Your Work Done When Sharing Responsibility. Michelle & Michael formed a team, the MindStorm Troopers, to compete in the Regional FIRST LEGO League Robotics Competition at the Columbus State Community College in Columbus, Ohio. Evidence of teamwork accounted for 50% of the project score.
"I wanted to thank you for your help with our project." Michelle said. "We put the Teamwork bookmark on our poster as well as some of your diagrams. The judges loved it when one our team members talked about how the coach has us take responsibility by 'living above the line' and not blaming or justifying." Project Coach Ed Vawter, an engineering manager with plenty of project team experience, selected Christopher's book for the team to study and apply.
The MindStorm Troopers, received the Director’s Award (the top award overall), the Robot Performance Award (the top score for the robot game), and The Quality Research Award. They also received an invitation to the State Competition this month.
"This is our best team ever because everyone on the team is actually working. It is so cool. Usually we have some kids that will not work on the project but this year they all want to make sure they are 'living above the line'," Michael added. "It's really important to have great teamwork." The children also wrote a skit about teamwork, dressed up in Star Wars costumes and presented it to the judges.
Congratulations Michelle, Michael, and the MindStorm Troopers!