Two categories · six criteria · 12 points. Prepare to discuss actual experiences with specifics. Judges choose questions and follow-ups; there is no required question sequence.
Spartan practice: Recall your own work, decisions, failures, learning, and collaboration. These questions and examples are prompts, not a speech to memorize or a required question order. Use real evidence, acknowledge uncertainty, and let the students involved explain their contributions. See the current interview rubric guide and student-centered policy guidance.
Each student can pick a part of the robot, code, or strategy and explain how it works, why they built it that way, and what they chose it over.
Attempts described in order; something that did NOT work and what they did next; a moment (a test, a mistake, a conversation) that changed their thinking.
The tests they ran and real results (counts, times, measurements), and how those results changed the plan or confirmed it.
One student taught another a usable skill; students add to and extend each other's answers; a shared moment of understanding.
How the team reached a decision; a disagreement and how it was settled; decisions made BY students, not for them.
For a borrowed idea: where it came from (credit), what they changed to fit their robot (adapt), how they tested it, and why it works.