Coaching a FIRST LEGO League Challenge Team on the Innovation Project

Outline of Workshop

Famous FIRST LEGO League Innovative Solutions

• 3D printed hands for children
• Washable barcodes for produce to make sure food is fresh
• Baby temperature monitor for car seats
• Smart cane for visually impaired, using an ultrasonic sensor
• Easy grip spoon for seniors and individuals with diseases like Parkinson’s
• Cigarette butt legislation in Washington state

Importance of Innovation Project

• Scientific process vs Engineering process
• Science asks questions, and looks for answers
• Engineering identifies problems and develops solutions
• Engineering process is often more practical in everyday life
• Project provides opportunity to engage in the engineering process
• Choose a problem
• Research what has already be done
• Develop a new or improved solution
• Present the solution
• It counts 25% towards overall tournament awards

Scientific Method versus Engineering Method

Scientific method can be	Engineering method can be
State a hypothesis	Identify a real-world problem
Research what is already known	Research and analyze existing solutions
Design an experiment	Identify possible improvements or new solutions
Collect data	Develop prototype(s)
Analyze data	Pick a solution
Make a conclusion	Get feedback
Identify future research	Refine the solution
Publish	Communicate and deploy

Engineering Design Process

This Workshop

• Presents a process that your team can use.
• Shares more ideas than they’ll actually be able use.
• Allows you to customize to age and experience of team.
• Provides starting points for their creativity.

It’s the kids’ project!

• Don’t get so attached to working the project that it becomes more your project than the team’s project.
• Judges will ask how the team came up with their idea.
• Kids need to do the work; not the adults!
• Parents can play a supporting role.

Additional Things To Keep in Mind

• Important to have an accurate and correct understanding of the challenge.
• Make sure team understands what kinds of problems are allowed by the challenge.
• Kids may initially think of problems they have been studying in school and solve something outside the scope of the challenge.
• Kids (like many adults) have a tendency to jump to solution space, without a clear and understood problem statement.

The Innovative Project Rubric

• Identify: Clearly define a problem and research it well.
• Design: Generate innovative ideas independently before selecting and planning which to to develop.
• Create: Develop an original idea or build on an existing one with a prototype model or drawing to represent a solution.
• Iterate: Share ideas, collecting feedback and including improvements in the solution.
• Communicate: Share a creative and effective presentation of current solution and its impact on users.

Identify a Problem

• Consider annual theme regarding types of problems and the constraints it imposes.
• Watch the annual videos
  • Teaser
  • Kickoff
• Answer the sample questions from the challenge materials.
• Encourage personal interactions with the theme.
• If you already know an expert or a professional in the field, what are they working on that relates?
• What are local universities doing in the area of the theme?
• Consider anything your team already knows, or is already interested in with regards to the theme.

Brainstorming to Choose a Problem

• Round 1: Each team member suggests a “crazy” idea
• Round 2: Build on the initial suggestions
• Assign a team member to be the recorder
• high-tech or low-tech options, make sure the record is shared afterwards
• Team members vote to select the top 2 - 4 ideas
• Make sure the final ideas are clearly stated
• Begin research on the final ideas
• Reconvene
• Review the research
• Choose one problem to pursue

Example from a previous season

Trash Trek: reduce, reuse, recycle Dive Deep: Research the possible problem statements

• What is already being done to address the problem – why aren’t they working or working well?
• Has someone solved a similar problem, will that work for your team’s problem?
• Are there other possible solutions, but they aren’t being used? Why or why not? How could your team change that?

Dive Deep

• What is already being done to address the problem – why aren’t they working or working well?
• Has someone solved a similar problem, will that work for your team’s problem?
• Are there other possible solutions, but they aren’t being used? Why or why not?
• How could your team change that?
• What is being developed, but isn’t finished yet? Can you help or suggest changes based on your research?
• Is there a group that is excluded by existing solutions, can your team help them to be included?
• Keep track of sources and give credit.
• Teams can interview experts during this step and later.

Contacting professionals

• Opportunity for kids to interact with adults
• Kids realize the impact and importance and relevance of local engineering.
• Opportunity to introduce FLL to the professional community
• On site visits are best
• seeing where engineers work
• probably not feasible during pandemic
• Remember to thank everyone the team works with.

Brainstorm Possible Solutions

• Brainstorm possible solutions
• Solutions can be
• physical
• social
• legislative
• virtual
• What technologies are needed?
• Are they currently available?
• Star Trek style solutions are still welcome, but they are a tough sell with Oregon judges.
• Know your stuff!
• Select finalists for further research

What is Innovative?

• Can be something completely new; or
• Using an existing solution in a new way.
• Be careful: The judges need to see how this is a new way too!
• Improving something that already exists.
• Improving access to or awareness of an existing solution.
• Making an existing solution easier to use.

Research Candidate Solutions

• What about team’s solution is new or different?
• Why is it not already in place?
• If your solution already exists in some form,
• Is there a problem with the current version?
• Can you design a solution to that problem?
• How much would your solution cost? Who pays for it?

Example: How can the problem of plastic bags be solved?

• Solution: Turn plastic bags into rope
  • Some technologies to do this already exist.
  • Next steps: Cost analysis, efficiency improvements. Is the process environmentally sound?
• Solution: Pass legislation to ban the use of single-use plastic bags.
  • Already in place in many municipalities
  • Next steps: Understand what other have done, consider improving and how to make it more widely adopted.

• Solution: Plastic bag collection bins in parks.
  • Already present in many parks
  • Next steps: Are they being used? What happens to the bags once they are collected?

Research and Consult Experts About Solution

• Who else is working on this problem?
• Universities
• Professionals
• Businesses
• Public groups
• Who is in a position to use your solution?
• Your experts will have opinions and knowledge.
• Listen to their criticism.
• Be prepared to think critically about your solution given their feedback.
• Does your team need to make changes?
• How would your team address a similar criticism in the future?
• Share this information with the judges.

Advisors and Potential Users

• Advisors can help team consider
  • how their idea could be implemented
  • what the challenges may be
  • how much it would cost
• Potential users can help refine the idea
  • Who might use the idea?
  • How could the team reach them?
• Consider surveying advisors or potential users
  • Can be done using a form or by interviewing
  • Use both multiple-choice and open-ended questions

Solution Research Considerations

• Remember the basics of a journal article:
• Who, What, Where, Why, and How?
• You should know all of this for your solution.
• Nothing in life is free, everything has a cost
• What would your solution cost.
• A good solution with a high cost needs to be rationalized as to why it is better than a lower cost solution.

Fact or Fiction?

• Basics of research
  • There are a lot of ideas out there
  • Especially about problems that impact people directly
• It is important to be able to tell
  • what is a fact
  • what is opinion
  • what is fiction

Create a Prototype or Drawing

• When possible create a prototype and test it!
• Use cardboard, wood or something else.
• If team can’t build a prototype they can create a drawing.
• Prototype or drawing should
• Show solution
• Show how it will work
• Identify challenges

Using Prototype or Model

• Drawing or building focuses the kids attention
• One type of prototype is a cell phone app
• For Android phones consider App Inventor
• appinventor.mit.edu
• A prototype doesn’t need to be complete or polished
• A concept prototype or model
• Illustrates team’s idea without actually implementing it
• Could be
• diagrams
• illustrations
• storyboard
• Another alternative: Taking an existing product and modifying it
• Test the prototype in some way: Function, usefulness, ..

Styrofoam to Glue for School

• Existing Solution: Orange Oil dissolves Styrofoam and turns it into glue.
• The team learned this in their online research and tested it in their homes.
• They even tested the strength of the glue.
• Possible Innovative Solution: Two-Parts
• Create a mixing device for making the glue AND
• An app so that people
• can find schools that own the mixing devices AND
• can collect Styrofoam to make their own glue for schools.
• Additional considerations:
• Adjusting the proportions or formula to make the glue perform better in certain circumstances.
• There will often be trade offs.

Developing the Presentation

• Can be any format that covers all the criteria, including:
  • Formal presentation
  • Skit
  • Anything creative
• Remember that the medium should not distract from the message
• If there is a prototype:
  • Show and tell
  • Use a skit to show how it would be used
  • Make it personal and fun
  • Whole team participation
  • Practice with a live audience if possible

Sharing your work

• Beyond presentations at school
• Present to experts in the field
• Share with populations that could be impacted
  • Who uses it?
  • Who benefits?
• Gather feedback to make improvements this season or later for a future version

Judging

Cover all the criteria on the rubric!

• Identify: Clearly define a problem and research it well.
• Design: Generate innovative ideas independently before selecting and planning which to to develop.
• Create: Develop an original idea or build on an existing one with a prototype model or drawing to represent a solution.
• Iterate: Share ideas, collecting feedback and including improvements in the solution.
• Communicate: Share a creative and effective presentation of current solution and its impact on users.

You will have 5 minutes to creatively share all of this in a memorable way!

Videos of Project Presentations

• Robation Project Performance at Oregon Championship

• Impressive presentation from a past season