Robotics in 2019-2020

STEAMTeamRobotics (FRC7509), and I as mentor, learned much in our rookie year, justifying our motto: Not bad for a rookie team!

We won the off-season STEMley Cup Championship in the fall of 2018 in Hamilton. During spring 2019 official competitions, we made it to the quarter finals at the Humber College competition in Toronto and to the semi-finals at the McMaster University competition in Hamilton. We were invited to compete in the Ontario Championships in Mississauga. Regrettably, though, we could not attend.

Moving forward

For our second year, a new motto is being considered, perhaps: Not rookies anymore — still awesome!

During the past months, I developed a robotics course under the interdisciplinary studies course code IDC3O. This is another first for the Six Nations Polytechnic STEAM Academy and early projections indicate that about 20 students have signed up.

Key thing that students and I both need to remember is that this is an interdisciplinary studies course and that the underlying goal is to build people and that robots that we build are a byproduct. As I wrote in my personal statement of instructional leadership, this is about imparting the “positive attitudes, ethical behaviours and growth mindset to be successful in life” — not just the skills and knowledge of the curriculum.

Members of STEAMTeamRobotics developed a concept to guide our First Robotics team: neurodiversity. The intention is to take into account that:

• we are all different,
• each of us has abilities,
• we all have learning or life challenges that sometimes interfere with our success,
• Hodinohso:ni` values,
• gracious professionalism, and
• safety.

Signs of leadership are beginning to emerge. I like that.