Participation: Building your team

The team(s) representing your school at the Iowa Regional Future City Competition consists of three students, an Engineer/Mentor and a Teacher. Up to 4 teams from each registered school can compete at the Regional Competition in January.  This raises a difficult decision you as the teacher will have to make: Which teams will you select? In the past, some schools have created an in-school competition to select their teams. Others have elected their entire class to participate as one team, with more than three students allowed to work on different phases of the competition.  Please note that if you choose to involve more than three students, only three will be recognized at the Regional and National Competitions (though all team members may attend) and only three will be eligible to receive prizes. The advantage to the class approach is that some of your students could do the research, for example, while others help in the design phase. Some could operate the SimCity^TM 3000 software while others help write the essay or gather the materials for your model.

Students

When it comes time to select your student trio for the Regional Competition, keep the following three items in mind. Consider making your team co-ed as it's important to show your class, and the nation that girls are just as capable at presenting engineering concepts and skills as boys. Second, select team members who demonstrate multiple talents; look for students with good speaking and writing skills, for instance. After all, the presentation and the essay and abstract are each worth close to 25% of the overall score. Look for hidden talents, too, such as drawing or sketching, which demonstrate an understanding of spatial relationships. Third, search for students that are good facilitators and leaders who know how to compromise.

The role of the Engineer/Mentor is to provide you and your students with technical assistance. How can you find this person? Here are some suggestions. Start with your own class. Are the parents of any of your students engineers? If your students aren't sure, ask what companies their parents work for, since sometimes a child won't even realize that their mother or father is an engineer. Contact the president of your PTA and ask to speak at the next meeting about Future City and your need to find an Engineer/Mentor. But don't stop there. Chances are, there are a number of engineering firms in your community. When you call one of these companies, ask for the director of their communications or marketing department. This person will likely be attracted to the publicity and community relations value of loaning you one of their staff members to serve as your team mentor. There are national engineering societies you contact as well.

If these options fail to yield results, turn to your Regional Coordinator for assistance. And when you do find an interested candidate, make sure he or she understands the time commitment involved. Most engineers will spend a minimum of one to two hours per week with their class, typically devoting 20 to 40 hours of their time over the length of the project.

In addition, be sure to read the Team Building chapter in the handbook. You'll find it filled with expert advice such as how to work with your team, build continuous learning, create team celebrations and resolve conflicts. Also, you'll need to tell your team not only what is expected of them, but when. Be sure to review the time line with your fellow teachers, Engineer/Mentor and class.

Make no mistake, building your team will take time. But, at the end of the day, when your students are making their presentation to the judges, you will be able to say, "My team may have built this city, but I was the one who built this team."