Our mission is to welcome, engage, educate, and inspire Oregon’s youth and their diverse communities through robotics programs. Please support our mission and help make research-proven FIRST programs available to students throughout Oregon.
The Oregon Robotics Tournament & Outreach Program (ORTOP) dba FIRST Oregon) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation. Donations are tax-deductible in accordance with federal IRS and Oregon state regulations. Our Employer Identification Number (EIN) is 46-4276182.
You could double your impact, if your employer matches your donation! Donate today to make a difference.
If you have questions or would like to speak to someone about making a donation, please email Bruce Schafer, Volunteer Executive Director at executive-director@ortop.org.
FIRST programs have lasting, positive impact backed up by research.
FIRST students are two times more likely to show an increase in STEM-related attitudes and interests than comparison group students. Positive impacts are evident for all FIRST students regardless of race, gender, income, or community type.
81% of FIRST alumni declared a major in STEM compared to 58% in the comparison group.
Female FIRST participants are 2.2 times more likely to have significantly stronger STEM interest than comparison group peers.
FIRST seeks to blend training and education through project-based learning that creates authentic learning opportunities through experiences provided by our programs, both competitive team and classroom-based opportunities.
ORTOP interview project
In the Fall of 2019, ORTOP worked with Dialogues in Action to train a team of community interviewers and collect data from FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition Students.
Survey data reveal a positive impact of FIRST on areas related to project planning, planning, persistence, and follow-through. Sixty-four percent of respondents reported making substantial progress on the area of the statement, “As a result of FIRST, I understand better how to manage a project from start to finish.”
The full report, completed in March 2020, can be found here.
FIRST longitudinal study
FIRST is partnering with Brandeis University Center for Youth and Communities to conduct a multi-year longitudinal study measuring STEM-related impacts for 5+ years. The study uses a quasi-experimental design, including students participating in FIRST LEGO League, FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition and a comparison group of students recruited from math and science classes at the same schools. Even with just one year of FIRST participation, study participants are 2-3xs more likely to have gains in STEM outcomes than a comparison group of peers not participating in FIRST.
Impact on girls
While evidence of the the impacts of FIRST are apparent across all demographic groups, recent data suggests this impact may be especially significant for girls and young women.
Girls in FIRST see amazing impacts. All FIRST participants are significantly more likely to have stronger STEM outcomes compared to their classmates, as evidenced by the FIRST Longitudinal Study. However, girls in FIRST report the largest differences in STEM outcomes over time when compared to their female peers, and higher than boys.
“As someone who came into robotics not even knowing what a rivet was, having those resources available from other teams and just having a community that is willing to teach you, even if you’re across the country or on a competing team within your own district, it’s really useful. I think without gracious professionalism, FIRST would not be so successful in expanding its reach”
