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Drones Guide to Judging Section 8: Team Interviews

Resources

ADC 

ADC Pro

  • Competition Notebook & Interview Rubric (coming soon)
  • Team Interview Tips and Sample Questions (coming soon)
  • Team Interview Notes (coming soon)
  • Judging Single Page Reference (common soon) 

Overview

Team Interviews — Simple Guide for Judges

  • Use the Team Interview Rubric for all team interviews. Judges may also use the Team Interview Tips and Sample Questions and Team Interview Notes as guides.
  • Judges should interview only the teams assigned to them by the Judge Advisor.
  • Judges should consider teamwork, professionalism, interview quality, and team conduct when nominating and ranking teams for awards.

Where Interviews Can Happen

  • Initial interviews can take place in the team pit area, hallway, library, cafeteria, or another open area.
  • Interviews should feel like a conversation with the students, not a prepared presentation.
  • Pit interviews are helpful because judges can see the team working.
  • A more private location may be quieter but can feel intimidating to some teams.

Scheduling Interviews

  • Interviews may be:
    • Unannounced
    • Scheduled by the Judge Advisor
    • Scheduled by the teams through a sign-up sheet or queue
  • All teams must be treated the same way.
  • Teams cannot choose which judges interview them.
  • Judges should be assigned in a way that avoids conflicts of interest.

Interview Questions

The Judge Advisor may prepare a standardized list of questions for Judges to use during team interviews. Common questions can help ensure that important aspects of the team and competition experience are addressed and can assist Judges who are less experienced with the interview process.
 

Common questions should not be treated as a rigid script. Judges should be free to ask follow-up questions based on student responses and should allow the conversation to develop naturally. Events may also choose not to use common questions and instead allow judging teams to develop their own approach to gathering information from teams.

During the Interview

  • Judges should speak with student team members, not adults. If an adult tries to answer, politely remind them that the interview is for the students.
  • Every team must have the opportunity to be interviewed at least once.
  • A team may decline an interview, but then it is not eligible for judged awards.
  • Judges may use common questions prepared by the Judge Advisor, but the interview should not become a script. Judges should ask follow-up questions based on the students’ answers.
  • If a team is not in its pit, judges may look for them near the field after an alliance/teamwork match.
  • Teams may choose to show programming, designs, documentation, or other work if it helps explain their experience, but these should support—not replace—the student interview.
  • The focus should remain on talking with the students, not on presentations or displays.

Follow-Up Interviews for Award Nominees

  • Teams being considered for awards may be interviewed again by different judges.
  • The Judge Advisor will assign these additional interviews.
  • Follow-up interviews should preferably be unannounced and conducted in the pit or competition area.
  • This allows judges to see the team in its normal workspace and keeps the process fair for all teams.
     

Considerations for Cultural Differences and Communication Styles

Interviewing Students

  • Students may have different ways of communicating because of personal or cultural differences.
  • Eye contact, speaking volume, and other communication styles may vary.
  • Judges should give every student a fair chance to participate and should not let communication style unfairly affect their evaluation.

Be Respectful

  • Avoid jokes or comments that could be misunderstood or sound negative.
  • Keep questions and comments positive, clear, and encouraging.
  • For example, instead of saying, “I can’t believe you came up with this on your own!” say something like, “Tell me how your team developed this idea.”

 

Step 1 – Conduct the Team Interview

  • Interview each team for about the same amount of time, usually 
    • 10 minutes for ADC
    • 15 for ADC Pro
  • Stay on schedule so all teams have time to interview and judges have time to deliberate.
  • Ask students open-ended questions about:
    • Their drone
    • Drone safety
    • Mission strategies
    • Teamwork and team journey
  • Ask follow-up questions when needed.
  • Focus on talking with the students, not presentations or displays. Teams may show their programming code if they choose.
  • Take notes during the interview and observations. The Team Interview Notes form can be used.
  • Consider taking a photo of the team with their team number visible to help remember the interview.
  • If a team cannot be found, visit the pit several times and leave a Missed Team note. Contact the Judge Advisor if the pit cannot be found.
  • Use age-appropriate language, especially when interviewing younger students.
  • The Judging Single Page Reference can be used for award information and other helpful details.

Step 2 – Complete the Team Interview Rubric

ADC and ADC Pro Judging Note: For ADC teams, the Team Interview  is evaluated using the Team Interview Rubric. For ADC Pro teams, the Notebook and Team Interview are evaluated together using the combined Notebook and Team Interview Rubric, with separate scoring columns for the Notebook and Interview.
 

Important: The Team Interview Rubric is a tool for initial team interview evaluations through quantitative comparison. The final determination of all award candidates and winners are done through further qualitative deliberation among judges based on award descriptions and criteria. As such, a team earning a particular or overall score on a rubric is not an automatic disqualification or threshold for any Judged Award.

  • After each interview, judges should complete the Team Interview Rubric for the team.
  • Judges should discuss and complete their notes in a private area. All judging discussions and materials are confidential.
  • Look for teams that demonstrate student-centered, positive, respectful, and ethical behavior during interviews and throughout the event.
  • Also note concerns about teams that do not demonstrate these behaviors.
  • The rubric helps judges compare teams, but a score does not automatically determine whether a team wins or loses an award. Final decisions are made through judge discussion and consideration of the award criteria.

Step 3 – Identify Initial Award Candidates

ADC Initial Award Candidate Ranking Sheet

ADC Pro Initial Award Candidate Ranking Sheet (coming soon) 

  • If additional judged awards are offered, the Judge Advisor may provide an Initial Award Candidate Ranking Sheet.
  • Judges list their assigned teams and the awards being considered.
  • As judges interview teams, they can use checks or stars to keep track of which teams are stronger candidates for each award.
  • Judges can update their notes and rankings as they interview more teams.
  • After all interviews are complete, judges will make their final recommendations based on their interviews, observations, notes, and award criteria.

Continue to Next Section

Section  9: Award Deliberations