John--an alternative might be a feedback guide, helping judges understand what types of 
feedback you and others find useful.

In my experience as a judge (in another state), I made it a point always to write some comments 
down.  Very often they were of the form "Great job on XXX!  Think about working on YYY in the 
future."  It was hard to give more detailed feedback because of the time constraints.  The things I 
emphasized varied based on the type of judging I was doing, of course.

Would Listserv readers consider this type of feedback helpful, or do coaches think that a variety of 
more generic but wider-sweeping areas are better?  Examples:  enthusiasm, eye contact, right 
volume, team member involvement, etc.?

Steve Scherr
Judge

On Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:42:36 -0400, Cynthia <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>John, I would say go for it. Send it to the listserv as well as in
>particular, your tournament(s) and it's likely to be used. It's not that the
>judges/judge advisors don't want to help the teams; it's more that they
>don't necessarily know how or that other ways of helping the teams come
>first (like keeping the judging sessions on schedule, which limits time for
>writing feedback). Feel free to help them help you guys.
>
>Cynthia Pantaleo
>Judge
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "John Barrett" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 11:09 AM
>Subject: Re: [VADCFLL-L] food for thought about scores
>
>
>>I share these opinions. Last year we decided that the coaches would not
>>enter the room with the kids during the design, research, and teamwork
>>presentations. Nor did we have a parent video tape these events. We wanted
>>to reinforce the notion that the kids were the team and their performance
>>was theirs alone. I'll tell you it was tough to sit outside and wonder how
>>it was going. It was also tough since we weren't able to provide feedback
>>to the team members for things that coaches should be doing, such as "Make
>>sure you speak up when you talk." and "Even if you don't agree with what he
>>was saying, a gracious professional doesn't roll their eyes." Overall, I
>>would say it worked for our team. However, we received very little in the
>>way of feedback from any of the judges that the kids could identify with.
>>
>> I appreciate that it is a long day for the judges and it's often hard to
>> find volunteers to do the judging in the first place. I like the idea of
>> presenting them with a form that can be easily completed for each team
>> that gives the team feedback. It would not have to be fancy and could be
>> primarily a set of check boxes that highlights the elements that worked
>> well and what needed to be improved. The project rubric provides an
>> excellent starting point for such a form.
>>
>> I'm willing to take a stab at creating a feedback form if the collective
>> wisdom felt it would be useful (and would be used).
>>
>> Sincerely,
>> John
>>
>>
>>
>> Ginny Echelberger wrote:
>>>
>>> Mike wrote:
>>>
>>> <From the kids' perspective, though, the two things that matter in terms
>>> of performance are their robot scores and whether they were given awards.
>>>  >
>>>
>>> To add to that, and I might even put it ahead of both of those items…the
>>> kids care about having the judges “actively listen” to them in their
>>> presentation and interviews. They love sharing their hard work and what
>>> they have learned (even if they are nervous) because that accomplishment
>>> is what they will long after remember. If no one seems to listen, they
>>> will remember that, too. So please, I’m asking every coach and judge to
>>> listen to the team members’ stories, look them in the eye with kindness
>>> and ask them questions so they know you are listening. That’s how to
>>> really get them excited and inspired to delve further into science and
>>> technology and to help them develop their confidence. Team members can do
>>> the same for their fellow competitors and they might be pleasantly
>>> surprised at what they learn. Everyone can take on the responsibility and
>>> play a role in making the day of competition a wonderful experience for
>>> all.
>>>
>>> Ginny Echelberger
>>>
>>> ______________________________________________________________
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>>> ______________________________________________________________ To
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>>
>> --
>>
>> John J. Barrett
>> Industrial Medium, Inc.
>> 1616 Anderson Road
>> McLean, VA 22102
>>
>> (c) 703-231-5094
>> (p) 703-286-0818
>> (f) 703-286-0888
>>
>> http://www.industrialmedium.com
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
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>>
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>>
>
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>
>If you want to join the VADCFLL-ADMIN-L mailing list - to which FLL administrative 
announcements will be distributed - visit https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-admin-l.html 
and select "Join or leave the list".
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