FIRST – For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology – provides engaging, hands on competitive robotics programs for children in elementary through high school. The four different levels of programs are all are anchored by a set of values that emphasize the concept of Gracious Professionalism and something called “Coopertition.”
Gracious Professionalism
A concept developed by Dr. Woodie Flowers, FIRST National Advisor and Pappalardo Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Gracious Professionalism, or GP, is at the heart of FIRST programs. It emphasizes a professional, respectful way of doing thing that results in top notch quality.
Students exhibiting Gracious Professionalism are expected to be fierce competitors on the field and kind and respectful professionals off the field. GP strives for a seamless blend of knowledge, competition and empathy that Flowers feels is at the heart of a successful meaningful life.
Coopertition™
"Coopertition" – cooperative competition – is the method by which Gracious Professionalism can be achieved. It promotes an empathetic competitiveness that encourages teams to be helpful and cooperative, even as they compete against one another. Exercising coopertition means never losing site of the human and social element of competition
FIRST Core Values
In the service of Coopertition and Gracious Professionalism, there are seven Core Values in FIRST that all team members are encouraged to keep central to their robotics team experience:
- We are a team.
- We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors.
- We honor the spirit of friendly competition.
- What we discover is more important than what we win.
- We share our experiences with others.
- We display Gracious Professionalism in everything we do.
- We have fun.
They’re all pretty self explanatory but worth a closer look
We are a Team
Teamwork is central to the FIRST experience. As with sports, the crux of a robotics team is bringing together a variety of skill sets for a unified purpose. Learning to work together towards a common goal is a valuable skill at any age, but learning that skill in youth sets the stage for a lifetime of successful cooperation with others.
Good teamwork requires good communications – being able to express ideas clearly, to have an opportunity to hear and be heard, and to agree and disagree civilly with an eye to the greater good. It requires an ability to compromise and to put team goals ahead of individual aspirations. It requires everyone to pitch in at some level, and acknowledgment that contributions both small and large are critical to overall success.
With Guidance from Coaches and Mentors
“With Guidance” is the key phrase in this core value. Teams should always be supported in doing their own work. Sometimes there can be a fine line between coaching and guiding, and doing the work for students. For the FIRST experience to be an enduring and useful one for students, adults have to exercise restraint in the quest for success and give students as much autonomy as possible in completing their team tasks. There’s a lot to be learned from making mistakes, and failure has to be an option, if students are to learn anything from their experiences.
The role of coaches and mentors is to facilitate student knowledge through learning opportunities with other professionals, training programs and open ended exploration as much as possible. The idea isn't to build the perfect robot that wins every match, but to provide hands on STEM learning opportunities and to build strength of mind and character in students
With guidance from coaches and mentors, students can more fully experience the fourth value of discovery. In this case, winning definitely isn’t everything – learning is.
The Spirit of Friendly Competition and Gracious Professionalism
The spirit of friendly competition is basically good sportsmanship. It means playing in a competitive but cooperative spirit that encourages students to compete rigorously during matches, but to stay professional and compassionate at all times. It means being Gracious Professionals who offer to help other teams make repairs or fix problems, loan parts when able, and cheer on other teams. Winning at the cost of the cost of Gracious Professionalism is a losing proposition.
FIRST Students Have Fun!
If students aren’t having fun, none of the other values can be experienced or enjoyed. Students who aren’t having fun will find it hard to be a team, to take ownership of their experience with guidance from their coaches and mentors, and to be friendly competitors or GP in all they do.
Coaches and mentors can model fun and enjoyment in the team experience by taking the time to enjoy the company of the students they’re coaching, and keeping the focus on learning instead of winning. Giving teams time to enjoy fun activities together outside their robotics team experiences helps maintain a spirit of fun by building relationships and helping students connect with one another in other common interests. Team picnics, game nights, and field trips all help keep the fun in FIRST.
The core FIRST values are great tools not only for building strong teams and strong character in student team members, but for making the FIRST experience fun from start to finish, for everyone involved.
Theresa Willingham - My goal, as a writer and photographer, is to create thought provoking and informative content that inspires community engagement, and ...
