Robotics Education & Competition Foundation
Inspiring students, one robot at a time.

Independent Inquiry clarification


355U
30-Sep-2024

In the Engineering Notebook Rubric, the "Independent Inquiry" section lists the following as the standard for an "Expert" rating:

Team shows evidence of independent inquiry from the beginning stages of their design process. Notebook documents whether the implemented ideas have their origin with students on the team, or if students found inspiration elsewhere.

With a title that seems to emphasize the word "Independent", are teams that "have their origin with students on the team" to be score higher than teams that "found inspiration elsewhere" or is that left to the discretion of the judges and the specifics of the submissions.

Answered by Competition Judging Committee
2-Oct-2024

Teams using an imitative design process can still show this independent inquiry through their process. The source of a team's ideas should not diminish their ability to score points in this criterion.

The description of "Independent Inquiry" from the "Judging Principles" section of the Guide to Judging may also help clarify the intent of this verbiage.

Independent Inquiry

Independent Inquiry is a part of the student-centered experience. An important educational aspect of REC Foundation programs is the opportunity for students to explore, experiment, and discover by asking their own questions and seeking answers using the engineering design process. It is expected that all aspects of the engineering design process which are documented and/or implemented are student-directed, whether teams take inspiration from existing designs or ideas or come up with an entirely original design or strategy. Independent Inquiry means students are learning how and why things work, rather than accepting another source’s results or solutions without question.