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The Global Challenge Award

Giving Students the Tools & Confidence to


Solve Global Problems Together

STEM Mentor's Guide


2008-2009

1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
WELCOME AND OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................. 3

WELCOME .................................................................................................................................................... 3
OVERVIEW OF THE GLOBAL CHALLENGE AWARD ....................................................................................... 4
TECHNICAL INNOVATION PLAN (TIP) .......................................................................................................... 4
GLOBAL BUSINESS PLAN (GBP) .................................................................................................................. 5
MINI CHALLENGES ....................................................................................................................................... 6
HOW POINTS AND PRIZES ARE AWARDED .................................................................................................... 7
CONTACT INFORMATION .............................................................................................................................. 8

GETTING STARTED................................................................................................................................... 9

WHAT YOU NEED ........................................................................................................................................ 9


THE GLOBAL CHALLENGE AWARD WEBSITE............................................................................................. 10
USING GLOBENET (HTTP://GLOBENET.GLOBALCHALLENGEAWARD.ORG) ................................................. 11
eFOLIO (HTTP://MY-EFOLIO.COM) .............................................................................................................. 13
HOW TO USE EFOLIO .................................................................................................................................. 14
To Start a New Work Document: .......................................................................................................... 14
To Make a Comment on a Piece of Work: ............................................................................................ 15

DESCRIPTION OF THE MENTOR'S ROLE ......................................................................................... 16

OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................................................. 16
WHEN AND HOW ARE TEAMS ASSIGNED?.................................................................................................. 16
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES ............................................................................................................................ 17
UNDERSTANDING KEY MILESTONES .......................................................................................................... 17
COMMUNICATION....................................................................................................................................... 19
How to Introduce Yourself to Your Team Members ............................................................................. 19
Mentor Protocols .................................................................................................................................. 20
Communicating with the Team’s Adult Advisors.................................................................................. 24
Communicating with the Mentor Coordinator...................................................................................... 24
Collaborating with other Mentors ........................................................................................................ 25

HANDLING ISSUES................................................................................................................................... 26

NON-COMMUNICATING TEAM MEMBERS ................................................................................................... 26


DROP-OUTS ................................................................................................................................................ 26
BOUNDARY ISSUES ..................................................................................................................................... 27
ANSWERING QUESTIONS REGARDING POINTS ........................................................................................... 27
BALANCING MENTORING WITH SCHOOL AND LIFE .................................................................................... 27

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Welcome and Overview
Welcome
Welcome aboard! You have been chosen as a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics) Mentor in the Global Challenge Award competition. This Mentor's Guide will provide
a broad overview of the Global Challenge, explain your role within the program, describe the tools
and applications you will use, and provide sample E-mails to aid you in communicating with your
teams. You are a valuable member of the Global Challenge Award community and we are excited to
have you mentor our participants!
Your participation will help high school students understand the scientific and technical
content of their proposed business solutions to real world problems, such as global warming and the
energy crisis. Given the diverse makeup of the international teams and the age range with which you
will be working, you will also find yourself helping your teams in other ways. For many of the
participants, the challenge of working collaboratively with an international team of students who live
in disparate time zones and have different school schedules will be frustrating and you may need to
help your students develop effective global communication skills to appropriately handle issues that
may arise. Students at this age may also have trouble articulating their ideas effectively. Some
teams may lack an “initiator” who gets the team organized and moving – your help in teaching
members how to be both a leader and team player may make the difference between finishing the
challenge or dropping out.
This is a wonderful opportunity for you to give back to society and to offer students
information that you wished you had access to when you were in high school. Based on the
experiences of some of our former Mentors, you may be surprised at how much you learn yourself
throughout the course of this year!

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Overview of the Global Challenge Award
The Global Challenge Award is an online international competition for high school aged
students that strengthens skills in the areas of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and
critical thinking while learning about global business practices. The competition challenges students
to develop innovative solutions to a socially relevant global problem, such as global warming and the
future of energy. Teams of US high school students collaborate with international counterparts from
October to May to address global climate change and compete for prizes and scholarship awards.
Some of the projects require teams, and others are activities that can be worked on
individually. The following is a list of projects that students can complete:
• Technical Innovation Plan (TIP) – a team-based innovative idea
• Global Business Plan (GBP) – a team-based innovative idea plus business plan
• Mini Challenges – individual activities, some which involve friends
A short description of each of these projects is described below.

Technical Innovation Plan (TIP)

The Technical Innovation Plan (TIP) competition requires teams to collaborate on a solution to
the global warming problem or address some aspect of the future of global energy sources (e.g. a
solar powered car, an energy efficient refrigerator, etc.). Students prepare a document guided by
a score card (the TIP Rubric) that explains their idea, describes the underlying physics,
environmental science, technology and math that make their product or process work, and show
how their idea reduces the generation of greenhouse gases.

The major elements of the TIP are:

1. Table of Contents
2. Title Page and Executive Summary
3. Basic Description of your product
4. Technology & Integration
5. Create a Model
6. Key Personnel
7. Bibliography
8. Appendix

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Since doing the work of the TIP is a major step toward the longer Global Business Plan., you
may want to suggest to your teams that they submit all the above work with minor editing to fulfill
major sections of the GBP.
Teams may use any resource they choose (e.g. books, experts, teachers, the Internet,
software, Global Resources). In their final document, they must cite every resource used and how
they were used, following a guideline known as APA formatting. More on this later.

Points for the TIP competition are awarded by an external panel review of the final team
product scored with the TI Rubric, plus the total number of individual points earned divided by the
number of student team members.

Global Business Plan (GBP)

The Global Business Plan (GBP) is the largest challenge that we offer and is an extension of
the Technical Innovation Plan. The GBP competition requires teams to develop a complete business
plan guided by a score card - the GBP Rubric - regarding their technical innovation in order for their
idea to be adopted globally. In addition to the description of the solution idea required in the TIP
competition, the business plan also includes a discussion of the proposed solution’s impact on the
relevant manufacturing or service industry, market conditions, manufacturing and operations, and
financial and political feasibility. A business plan format was chosen to ensure that students are
working towards technical solutions that are economically viable, demonstrate scientific and
technical understanding, and provide evidence of knowledge of global teamwork, communications
and business practices. Teams have Web-access to the GBP Rubric at all times and are encouraged to
work iteratively on their business plan using the rubric and feedback from team members and you,
their Mentor.

The major elements of the business plan are:


1. Table of Contents
2. Executive Summary
3. Industry Analysis
4. Product Description & Technical Analysis
5. Market Analysis
6. Manufacturing and Operations
7. Financial & Political Feasibility
8. Key Personnel
9. Bibliography
10. Appendix

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Just like the TIP, teams may use any resource they choose (e.g. books, experts, teachers, the
Internet, software, Global Resources). In the plan, they must cite every resource used and how they
were used.

Points for this competition are earned by external panel review of the final team product
scored with the BP Rubric, plus the total number of individual points earned divided by the number
of student team members.

Mini Challenges
The mini challenges portion of the Global Challenge Award includes the STEM Explorations,
Green Earth Corp projects, and Design TASC. The Design TASC has a requirement that a teacher
help support the project, so the teacher should be the student’s main contact for this activity. Each
activity is described below.

STEM Explorations are small, medium, and large self-guided study units in Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics. Some explorations are designed to be done individually, while
others make use of an ad hoc team of friends. The student does not have to use his or her TIP or GBP
team, but may choose to do so on some explorations. The Global Challenge’s added value to pre-
college STEM education models comes in part from the inclusion of these short, stand-alone, self-
directed units of study that teams are challenged to complete in order to accrue additional points
towards their overall score. These mini-challenges link STEM concepts by connecting them to the
overarching global challenge problem as well as to ideas in global systems science and the study of
complex systems. Game and simulation-based learning ideas are used to engage students in the
study of the various STEM topics, by leveraging existing online resources, such as simulations, mini-
movies, games, interactive tutorials, flash animations and other visually interesting STEM
applications, in the development of these mini-challenges.

Students can complete STEM Explorations at their own pace and in any order they choose.
Each STEM Exploration consists of up to three levels: the BASIC, the GOING BEYOND, and the
GOING CRAZY. Students can earn points that can be redeemed for prizes and help them improve
their chances of winning a Scholarship Award.

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Green Earth Corp’s mission is to reduce global emissions of green house gases while
improving the quality of science, technology, engineering and mathematics education through
project-based service learning and green jobs for youth worldwide. There are 3 projects you can
choose to complete and you earn monetary prizes and individual points.

Design TASC is sponsored by the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences at the
University of Vermont. This competition gives teams of high school students the challenge and
satisfaction of designing, building, and testing a device to perform a specified task. Then they ship it
or bring it to the University of Vermont to compete with hundreds of other solutions in a wild two-
day event. Awards go to individuals as well as their school. The Technology and Society Connections
(TASC) competition is another way to gain individual points.

How Points and Prizes are Awarded


The Technical Innovation Plan and Global Business Plan final projects will be judged based
on final submissions posted in eFolio in accordance with the TIP Rubric or GBP Rubric, depending
on the submission. Final awards will also take into account the number of points accumulated by
each team in the Points & Prizes System.
Judging will take place between May 1 and May 30, with final results announced on June 1. .
Each final submission is reviewed by two tiers of judges: internal Global Challenge award staff and
external academicians, science and engineering professionals and business leaders. All evaluation
results are posted online to ensure the transparency of the judging process. Scholarship Awards will
be given to individual team members for first, second and third place standings in the Best Technical
Innovation Plan as well as the Best Global Business Plan. You can find more information about the
Global Challenge Award at:
http://www.globalchallengeaward.org/thisyearschallenge/contestrules.html.

Individual team members will be awarded points for both team and individual efforts. In
order for students to receive points, work must be posted in the correct folder with the correct title in
eFolio. Team members may redeem points for any of the prizes after June 1. You are not responsible
for awarding points to your team members, but you should be familiar enough with the rubrics to be
sure your teams are including everything they need in order to collect the maximum amount of
points. You are encouraged to give feedback to your teams just like an official judge. Specific values
of points are outlined for each project and you can explain this to your students. If your students

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have specific questions regarding points or the judging process, please have them contact David
Gibson at David.Gibson@globalchallengeaward.org.

Contact Information
We want you to feel confident in the full support of the staff at the Global Challenge Award.
For any questions, concerns, issues, suggestions, etc. please do not hesitate to contact any of the staff
at the Global Challenge. Here’s a brief synopsis of the staff and who you should contact:

David Gibson is the Executive Director of the Global Challenge. He is available to answer
any general questions you have about the Global Challenge and he is responsible for
awarding points and posting them to the website. His E-mail address is
David.Gibson@globalchallengeaward.com and his Skype address is dcgibson.

Kendra Sowers is the coordinator for all the mentors. She is the person who is available to
help you through any team issues that arise or if you have general questions about your
mentoring role. She will be in touch with you regularly to review milestones that are due and
to encourage you to communicate with your team. Her E-mail address is
Kendra.Sowers@globalchallengeaward.com and her Skype address is Kendra.Sowers.

Susan Hull-Grasso is the Director of STEM Development and oversees the entire STEM
curriculum. Her E-mail address is Susan.Grass@GlobalChallengeAward.org and her Skype
address is Susan.Hull.Grasso.

For more detailed information on the staff at the Global Challenge Award, please go to
www.globalchallengeaward.org and select the Contact Us button. Under the Management Team
link, you will find a description of all the Global Challenge Award staff along with their contact
information.

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Getting Started
To be fully prepared to fulfill your role as a Mentor, you will need to get access to some electronic
applications and familiarize yourself with how to use these tools and how the Global Challenge
Award works.

What You Need


You will need the following tools to get started in your role as STEM Mentor:

An Email account. Email is our most important channel of communication. We’d like your
students to know your email address, use it often, and hear regularly from you. Students can
“drop out” at any time by not answering emails, and if they stay out of communication with you
after a few attempts, they are taken off of their team and our registration lists. A few students ask
to be taken off, and we’re happy to oblige them at any time. However, we want you to be sensitive
to students who might sound like they are on the verge of giving up, but who just need more
encouragement and support to take their next step. We want all students who want to be part of
the Global Challenge to be very welcomed, fully supported and not pressured except by their own
desire to achieve something for themselves.

Access to a personal computer on a regular basis. You need your own personal computer
or regular access to one. Some colleges and other settings don’t allow you to download
applications (like Skype) except to your own computer.

Skype (a free Instant Messenger tool). Skype is useful for synchronous communications (chat,
video conferencing and voice over the Internet). It is free and many of our students use it. To
download it, go to http://www.skype.com. You can add Kendra (kendra.sowers), Susan
(susan.hull.grasso) and David (dcgibson) as some of your first contacts.

Know about previous winner’s projects. You should review the projects of previous
winners so that you will see the quality and presentation of the final work product. See
http://www.globalchallengeaward.org/team_tools/patentoffice/2008winners.html.

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Become familiar with the Global Challenge website
(www.globalchallengeaward.org). We want you to be very familiar with the Global
Challenge Award website and the electronic applications we use to connect team members
together and share documents. The website is the launching point for the two electronic
applications that we use at the Global Challenge Award: GlobeNet and eFolio. Each of these
sites launch back to the other two. In what follows, we give you step-by-step instructions for
using these applications. We assume you know how to use Email and can figure out how to use
an instant messenger tool such as Skype, so we will only describe the website, GlobeNet and
eFolio functions.

The Global Challenge Award Website


The website provides the latest information on the Global Challenge Award program and will
help familiarize the mentors with the organization’s goals and structure. The Global Challenge
Website and applications are the starting point for outreach to the world. The website is the
repository of everything everyone needs to know about the project (rules, prizes, points, research
topics, etc.). From the main website, students and adults from around the world register at
GlobeNet, which provides them with a personal web page and a map of the world to locate and
make friends. Students form small teams with a friend and an adult they know, and then join with a
similar team to form an International Team – the basic working unit for the biggest challenges and
rewards. Each team saves its work and applies for points by posting things in the eFolio.
Challenges and Activities: This area of the main web site describes all the projects and
their associated activities in which the students can participate. Depending on what projects the
students chooses to complete, he/she will see tabbed items off their homepage with the appropriate
project choices. The following items are located in the Challenges and Activities link:
• TIP Challenge – build a technical innovation plan

• GBP Challenge – build a global business plan

• Mini Challenges – learn science, technology, engineering & math content, join Green
Earth Corps, make a movie, join TASC

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Team Tools: This link on the main web site is where all the electronic tools are housed that
a student may use to form a team, store documents, communicate with their team members and
advisor, and submit a patent. The following items are located under the Team Tools link:
• GlobeNet – find friends, make teams
• Team eFolio – get points, store documents, submit solutions
• Teleconference Room – talk and work with team members and friends
• Global Resources – search for articles and web sites
• Patent Office – submit your team’s innovative idea for protection and sharing

Using GlobeNet (http://globenet.globalchallengeaward.org)


The GlobeNet application works closely with eFolio and the main web site and has three
primary roles:
1. Build the registration database
2. Help students create country teams and international teams
3. Houses their personal home pages.
When a student registers for the Global Challenge Award, they create their own personal
webpage within GlobeNet. Their personal webpage is their main working area for the competition
and contains links to the main web site as well as their team’s eFolio. On their personal webpage,
students have an area to type messages, make a to do list, view their current team members, create a
calendar for the team’s activities and milestones, and see a summary of projects with the current
accrued points. A sample of the personal webpage is shown on the next page:

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If students join either the TIP or GBP, they are helped to form teams of four (2 students from
the US and 2 from any other country, plus 2 adults nominated by students from both countries).
Once this “International Team” is formed, students can begin working on any of the challenges and
activities. Our first goal is to have students experience a successful global team effort. However, we
also know that maintaining teams is very hard, and is even tougher when it is a global team. So,
we’ve created many ways for students to continue working for great rewards even if their team has
trouble; they can work on STEM Explorations or start other projects on their own.

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In addition to international team efforts, the student has the option of working individually
on some activities. A few of these activities may require the student to create an ad hoc team, which
is facilitated on their personal homepage. These activities are all located in the personal web page
section under the GBP and TIP areas.

eFolio (http://my-efolio.com)

In all cases, every student in The Global Challenge Award eventually gets access to eFolio and
this is where YOU, the STEM Mentor, begin to work with the student – on any and every project they
join or create. In every case, in order for the student to get points and be recognized for their work,
evidence has to be submitted into eFolio, where it is stored, scored and recorded. Points show up on
the student’s personal web page and, if they are on a team, then all students on the team can see the
shared points of each team project.
The eFolio application has three roles in recording and documenting:
1. Survey results
2. Work documents
3. Key conversations with you, their Mentor
There is a section in eFolio for taking surveys and another section for storing documents and adding
discussions.
1. Taking Surveys: Students take surveys so we can follow their progress and show what they
get out of the experience. Some surveys are taken at the beginning of the year, others at the
end. At the end of each Challenge or Activity, there is usually a small survey to take, which
helps us document whether students learned something and how they felt about the activity.
You do not need to see their results or bug them about taking the surveys; we just wanted you
to know why we have them.
2. Creating Work: Unlike the Surveys, we DO want you to take an active role in relationship
to the work documents. We would like you to comment on the documents to help the
students do the best possible job with their answers. There are almost no limits to the help
you can provide, short of actually writing the drafts and all editions for them. The point is for
you to be a model of a good science-minded researcher and seeker of knowledge. We WANT
them to see how you would say something, what you think about things, and what other
resources you can think of to help expand upon their ideas. You are allowed to edit their
writing as much as you like or want to, but don‘t drift over into doing most of their work for

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them. Because we want you to use the eFolio to interact with the students, we will describe in
more detail how to use the buttons and functions in eFolio in the section following.

How to Use eFolio


In this section we will describe how to create a new work document and how to make comments
on an existing work document. In most cases, the students will be creating the new work documents,
but you may also want to give them a new document at some point. The bulk of your use will be in
commenting on the student’s work.

To Start a New Work Document:

1. Under Create Work, select Work from the left hand menu, then click the New work
button which is located at the top of the page.
2. In the Title field, enter a title (this title can be edited later and you can delete anything you
create).
Important! Students MUST have specific titles in order for their work to count. We plaster
this message all over the web site at the end of each activity where we give instructions on
how to “Grab Your Points.” Here is the format:
[Your Name]-[STEM Exploration title]-[Process Level]
(e.g., David Gibson-Social, Physical and Economic Balances-BASIC
LEVEL])
3. In the Status field there are 3 options:
• Draft: This is the default option. Use this status when you are working on a
document and are not ready for others to comment on it.
• Ready for Feedback : Use this status if you want anyone else to see this work and
be able to make comments on it. You’ll be able to select who can see it once this
option is selected.
• Complete: Use this status when the document has been edited and reviewed and it is
completed.
4. Pick a Folder (or more than one) to place the work in.
Important! For students to get credit for their work, it is important that the place the work
in the correct folders. Each activity they complete has specific instructions for which folder
the work needs to be placed. For example, if your team is working on a STEM exploration
activity, the work must be placed in the “STEM Explorations” folder. All folder names are
detailed for the students in the “Grab Your Points” area of the activity.
5. In the Details field, you can post a message about your work that others will read before
looking at your work. This is an optional field.

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6. In the Files field, check the box to upload a file. This is your main Work and it can be any
kind of file. We recommend that you use .doc or .txt for word files and .jpg, .gif or .png for
images. You can also upload other files such as .mp3, etc. Browse to find your file and select it
to upload.
The following fields only appear if you select Ready for Feedback or Complete in the Status
field:
7. Skip the Standards fields as we are no longer using this field.
8. In the Advisors field, choose people who you want to be able to see and comment on the
work.
9. In the Rubric field, select Feedback Only.
10. In the Feedback field, ask your students to tell you something specific about your work. Do
you want them to give it an OK? Do you want them to add things? Do you want them to just
read and then give you a pat on the back? Let them know what you are looking for or need
from them.
11. Click Submit.

To Make a Comment on a Piece of Work:


Both you and your students need to know how to comment on work in order to have
“discussions” about the work. We want you to give a lot of comments on their work, mostly to prod
students to keep up the good work, post more, and refine their ideas. To make a comment:
1. Under Create Work, select Work from the left hand menu and then select the title of any
work in the list (or a comment from someone on any work in the list).
2. Select the Comment button located on the top of the page.
3. In the Subject field, enter a title for your comments or you can even begin your feedback
here (e.g. “I liked this version the best”).
4. In the Comments field you can enter (or finish) your comments here. (e.g. “Because I think
you got all of the team’s suggestions worked in and the language is ready for an outside
reader.”)
5. Sometimes you may wish to edit the document itself or, if your comments are extensive, you
may wish to type them in a separate file and upload it. To upload a file, check the Upload
box, and then click Browse to find your file and upload it here, otherwise skip this step.
6. Click Submit. You will see your comments posted to the site.

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Description of the Mentor's Role
Your role in this process is critical to helping International Teams (ITs) and individuals be
successful in this challenge. This section of the manual outlines your roles and responsibilities,
provides a timeline of milestones, and suggests protocols for communicating with your team.

Overview
As a mentor you should consider yourself as a role model for your students. You have
expertise that your students can tap and we want you to share as much of your knowledge as you can.
You are a full fledged team member of the teams you are assigned with an important role to play. Let
loose, stretch your knowledge, and share with them your insights. Your expertise will serve to
improve the final product, so don’t be afraid to provide constructive feedback on their work and offer
lots of helpful suggestions for possible sources of information.

When and How are Teams Assigned?


Your job as a mentor starts whenever you are first assigned a team. Most likely you will be
given your first team in October, although teams continue to be assigned as they are created.
Students have the ability to join the Global Challenge Award until December, so you may be given
teams as late as January. On average, most mentors are responsible for approximately 10 teams.
However, we want you to feel confident that you have the available time to invest in your team’s
success, so feel free to negotiate the number of teams you are assigned. We recognize that you have a
full course load of studies and we want your work as a mentor to be the right balance with your other
collegiate responsibilities.
International Teams (ITs) in the Global Challenge Award competition, ideally consist of two
US students, one US adult advisor, two International students, and one International adult advisor.
Some of these teams will be very active communicators, while others may not ask much of you. For
the most part, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease", but you want to make sure that you don't let quiet
teams fall through the cracks. Expect that some teams will immediately gel while others may
experience challenges collaborating. Online collaboration with people in a different time zone (often
many hours different) who may not all speak English can be difficult. You may need to help teams
set standard communication methods and help them determine how they are going to best function.

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Your Responsibilities
Your primary role is to provide technical assistance to the teams that are assigned to you and
to support and encourage them. You will communicate regularly with your teams regarding
upcoming schedule milestones, pass along important notices from Global Challenge Award staff, ask
about their successes and their struggles, and offer them assistance on technical issues. This section
provides a detailed look at the milestones that students are responsible for so that you can help them
meet their goals and describes your responsibilities around communicating with your students, the
adult advisor, the mentor coordinator, and other mentors.

Understanding Key Milestones


In order to help your students accomplish their goals, it is important you know what the key
Global Challenge milestones are for the year. Many individual activities are self-paced and can be
done anytime throughout the year. For the two major team projects, the GBP and TIP, there is a due
date that needs to be strictly adhered to if the teams want to be considered for award money. Below
we have listed milestones in the order they should be completed and, if there is a due date, we have
listed it.

Global Challenge Award Milestones


Student Milestone Mentor Responsibility Due Date (if one
exists)
Register for the Global Challenge None. None.
Award and select the projects they
want to work on.
Form a country team (2 kids and None. ASAP.
one adult) if they want to
participate in team projects.
Form an international team (find You are given the names of the ASAP.
another country team from a teams when they are formed into
different country than your own) an IT team. E-mail your teams to
and choose a team name. This is introduce yourself. We have
the point that you, as their mentor, provided a sample introductory
will be assigned to project teams. Email later in this section.
Set up their eFolio account. None, although ensure the team Should be done right
members have an account so they after registration.
can proceed.
Work on the team building Help your teams in moving None, although this
exercises with their team. At this through these exercises if you is a crucial step
point teams are really getting to notice they are not progressing. before team project

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Global Challenge Award Milestones
Student Milestone Mentor Responsibility Due Date (if one
exists)
know one another, coming up with Ask questions like, “How are you work begins.
norms for communicating, and handling decision making?” and
learning each other’s interests and “Who is your leader?” Helping
strengths. teams set up communication
protocols will help to keep them
on track later on.
Research ideas to work on and You may want to ask them about None.
check out past participant’s reports. the ideas they are thinking about
and help them narrow down their
choices.
Finalize the team’s core idea and Help your teams meet this Last date to submit
submit to the Patent Office. deadline by communicating is January 30th.
regularly with them, pointing The earlier they
them to appropriate resources, submit an idea the
and providing your own feedback. sooner they can get
to work.
Decide whether the team wants to Explain both projects and be sure This should be
write a GBP or a TIP or both. the teams know the time decided 1-2 weeks
commitment that each one after they submit
requires. Teams can do both! their idea to the
patent office.
Make a plan for completing the Review plans with your teams. Be None.
GBP and/or the TIP and assign who sure they have set a realistic
is doing what. schedule to complete the different
sections of the reports. Use the
rubrics to get specific milestones
that need to be accomplished for
each project. This is so important
so students have an idea of what is
involved to finish the project.
Final submission of the GBP and Keep checking in with your teams Due date of GBP and
TIP. to be sure they are going to meet TIP is April 30th.
this final deadline. Can you review
documents for them, re-write
sections that need it, provide
valuable feedback, etc.?
Additional STEM Activities and Congratulate teams on finishing Anytime before June
Surveys can be done in May while their team projects. Remind them 1st.
waiting for results. that they can still do more
activities on STEM and Surveys if
they want more points.
Winners of GBP and TIP are posted Go to website, check results, and June 1st!
on the website. congratulate your teams and
yourself for a job well done!

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Communication
Communication is the KEY to successful teams! We cannot stress the role of communication
enough! This is the most important component of mentoring as good communication helps to keep
your team moving forward. You are your team’s first line of communication if they have issues
within their teams, have technical questions, or are trying to locate outside resources. Given their
disparate locations and time zones, students use telecommunications, such as online chats, “voice-
over-Internet” phone and video conference calls in order to undertake their global teamwork.
Past mentors have commented that spending time with your teams at the beginning of the
year is crucial to the team’s overall success. Some teams will take the initiative to get to know one
another, discuss how communication will be handled, choose a leader, set goals, etc. but other teams
will need your assistance in getting them on the right track. The more cohesive a team is at the onset
of the project, the less effort it will be for you in the long run.
Expect to communicate with your teams at least once per week. These communications
should be sent to your entire team which includes the adult advisors. You can ask questions about
their progress, encourage them when you feel they need it, provide “tickler” questions to help them
in their projects, and be supportive of their efforts. Be proactive in checking in with teams if you
don’t hear from them. You are not responsible for “babysitting” them, but making a good effort
towards pushing them forward is what we are looking for.

How to Introduce Yourself to Your Team Members


Mentors will be provided with a list of their International Team members as they are formed.
Teams will be added to the Mentor’s list of teams over the course of the fall, since registration stays
open from October 1 through December. Mentors should immediately establish personal contact
with each of their teams, as opposed to sending out mass emails. A sample introductory email is
here as an example.

Dear (insert team member names),


Welcome to the Global Challenge project! We are very excited that you have decided to
participate in this challenging but very rewarding program! My name is Bill Green and I will be
your team’s Mentor throughout the course of this year’s challenge. I am currently a sophomore
at the University of Vermont where I am majoring in Environmental Engineering.

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My job is to help your team successfully complete the Global Challenge. I can answer your
questions about the program structure, work with you on building an effective team, and answer
any technical questions you may about your business solution idea. I can also review your work
and provide you with constructive feedback to improve your final project, if you would like. You
can expect regular emails from me as I check in to see how you are doing. Please feel free to E-
mail me at any time with your questions or concerns. I look forward to working with you and
getting to know you.

Good Luck!

Bill Green

Undergraduate Mentor
The Global Challenge Award
University of Vermont
Skype name: Bill.Green

Mentor Protocols
It is very important that you build a good relationship with each of your teams. You will need
to communicate regularly with them. We suggest that you send a weekly email reminding them of
upcoming schedule milestones and inquiring about any challenges that they are facing.
Communication with your team members will vary from team to team, but we wanted to provide
some general protocols for you to follow:

Contact your team regularly


Keep team members on track by regularly communicating project milestones. The Mentor
Coordinator will be sending you weekly reminders about deadlines and you can use these E-mails as
a guideline for the E-mails you send out to your teams. Remember that each team will be at a
different place in the project pipeline since they are starting at different times, working at unique
paces, and choosing different projects to learn and complete. You will want to tailor your E-mails to
your teams based on their progress and where they are at. Some examples of questions you may
want to ask include:
• How is it going?
• What goals are you working on?

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• How is your team functioning?
• Have you established regular communication times or methods?
• Have you completed the Team Building exercises, including how to use eFolio?
• Have you started to brainstorm ideas for our project?
• Have you discussed if you are pursuing the Technical Innovation Plan or the Global Business
Plan?
• Are there any challenges you are facing that you need my help with?
• Can I point you to any resources that you need right now?
Generally, the question to keep in your mind is “Are they making progress?” If yes, then just
assist them when they ask for help. If not, then take a more proactive role in trying to get them to set
goals and make a plan of who is going to accomplish what by when. You also may want to delve
deeper into issues if the team is having problems working and delegating tasks.
Be sure to answer emails from your teams promptly. We know that you are also college students
with heavy workloads, so good time management is important here. You may find that it is most
efficient to set aside some time each day to answer all of the Global Challenge Award emails that
have come in over the past 24 hours.
Below is an example of what an E-mail might say to one of your teams:

Hi (insert team member names),

I’m just checking in with your team to see how things are going. Last time we spoke, you were
working on understanding the science of solar cells. How did that go? What are you working on at
present? Do you have any questions? I look forward to hearing from you!

Regards,
Bill Green
Undergraduate Mentor
The Global Challenge Award
University of Vermont

Skype Name: Bill. Green

Monitor your Team’s Efforts on eFolio


On a regular basis you should check eFolio to see how your teams are coming along in the projects
that they decided to accomplish. You can do this by completing these steps:
1. Open eFolio.

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2. Under Participants, click Learners by Key Advisors.
3. Find your name and you will see your team members listed below. Look at the statistics. You
can see how many surveys each team member has completed, what work is in draft and
review, and what work has been completed.
4. Remind team members to complete surveys and ask them about the project to help keep
them on track.

Comment and Provide Feedback on Project Work


Teams value your feedback, so provide constructive comments that teach students how to write
effective, technical documents. There are almost no limits to the help you can provide, short of
actually writing the drafts and all editions for them. The point is for you to be a model of a good
science-minded researcher and seeker of knowledge. We WANT them to see how you would say
something, what you think about things, and what other resources you can think of to help expand
upon their ideas. You are allowed to edit their writing as much as you like or want to, but don‘t drift
over into doing most of their work for them.
You should expect to perform complete reviews of each team’s draft business plans prior to
the April 30 due dates. You can play the role of an official judge using the rubric to help you point
out areas that might need to be improved. Do not give your teams a score, but rather provide
feedback on the areas that might need to be improved. Unless otherwise pre-arranged you can expect
your teams to request rapid turn-around times. Please keep this schedule in mind as the end of the
program draws near, as the scheduled end of the GC program may conflict with University end-of-
year projects, term papers and final exams. We recommend reviewing sections throughout the year,
so you aren’t bombarded with the entire project right before the deadline.

Know and Teach the APA Format


The final product for both the GBP and TIP are to be in the APA format. These format guidelines
have been added to the rubrics, so students will lose points on their final product if they do not
follow the APA guidelines. It is important when they are referencing other sources that they do it
correctly. When sources are cited within the text these sources should be cited like this: TEXT FROM
SOURCE (Author’s name, date). In the Bibliography this author should be able to be located with the
complete source cited.

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Show your Students How to Find Resources
We have great resources as part of the Global Challenge Award that have been specially tagged for
use by our students. Part of your role is to be sure that students are aware of these resources and
know how to access them. These global resources are located under Team Tools, Global
Resources. There are three ways to search:

1. Type a keyword or phrase into Search Global Resources (such as Ask a Scientist) and
click Search.

2. Browse the section titles in the left hand menu that are under Global Resources.

3. Click on words in the Word Cloud. All of these words have been tagged to go to the
appropriate resource.

Students can also use other resources such as Google. We invite you to nominate new resources
that you or your team think should be added to our resource list. . If you have ideas for a new section
or a new link to add to an existing one, please email David Gibson at
David.Gibson@GlobalChallengeAward.org.

Solve problems with your team members


Team members should come to you with their technical questions. This is an opportunity for you to
share your knowledge or to do your own research and stretch your own knowledge-base. You should
always try to point them to resources that exist and to share whatever knowledge you have.

Model good scientific and literary standards


They will learn your style of researching, writing and acting, so be professional. Use the time with
your students as a teaching opportunity as they want to know what you know.

Make Yourself Available on Skype


Consider hosting some occasional open Skype sessions for all of your teams, so that the kids can
bounce questions and ideas off of each other. You may want to make yourself available via Skype at
certain times for students to contact you. Try to find a day and time that is convenient for all of your

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team members, and be mindful of time zone differences. You might need to schedule two different
times to accommodate all of your students. If you already use Skype, you might consider creating an
"alternate identity" that you use only for Global Challenge Award, to avoid being overwhelmed by
student requests.

Keep Your Teams Apprised of Your Schedule


We know that there are some weeks when regular communication will be difficult. Please let you
team know when you will be on vacation, when you have exams, and any other times when
communication will be difficult for you.
You may want to know when team members are on vacation as well. In the past, teams have
found that setting up a calendar of important dates (vacation, exams, etc.) for each team member
helped to keep the team’s communication intact. Your team has a calendar on their personal
homepage that you should encourage they complete with their dates and you should do the same.
Scheduling milestones around vacation schedules is important for your teams and something they
may want to consider when creating project schedules.

Always be supportive, positive, and encouraging!

Communicating with the Team’s Adult Advisors


Adult advisors selected by the students are not expected to have technical knowledge, so the
role of the adult is mainly to keep the students motivated and on track. Because the adults are often
parents or teachers, they have frequent contact with the students and are in a good position to help
them with planning and organization. Some adults will be very active on their teams and others not.
Remember that adults are volunteers and their participation is largely whatever they can bring to the
table. We have found that many successful teams have strong advocates as their advisors, but this is
largely an area where you have little control. If you sense that a team’s adult advisor is largely
unavailable, you may want to step up and provide more support to that team.

Communicating with the Mentor Coordinator


Just as your role is to help your teams achieve success in the Global Challenge Award
competition, the Mentor Coordinator's role is to help you achieve success as a Mentor. Whenever

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24
you have questions, concerns, or frustrations, it is important that you discuss them with the Mentor
Coordinator. The Mentor Coordinator will be in regular Email communication with you, so be
assured that support is available if you need it.

Collaborating with other Mentors


You are not in this alone! There are other Mentors in the program besides you, and some of
them have been doing this for several years. Feel free to contact other Mentors with any questions
you have or for technical assistance with problems outside your areas of expertise. All of the mentors
Emails can be found within eFolio.

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Handling Issues
Based on communications with mentors in previous years, we have seen certain issues
frequently arise. Some of these are addressed below. Always remember to let the Mentor
Coordinator know if you or your teams are experiencing difficulties that you don't think you can fix
on your own.

Non-communicating Team Members


Sometimes you may have members of teams who simply do not communicate. When a
member of team will not respond to your E-mails or those of their fellow teammates, it is
appropriate for you to take corrective action. Send an E-mail and let the student know that if you
don’t hear from him/her within 3 days, then we will assume he/she doesn’t want to part of Global
Challenge anymore. If the teammate responds and wants to continue with the Challenge, then
indicate that they need to communicate regularly with the team and be an active participant. If you
don’t hear from the student, then contact Kendra Sowers, the Mentor Coordinator, who will officially
drop the team member and try to find a replacement. If there is not an available person for the team,
then the team can continue with 3 students.

Drop-Outs
Sometimes one or more members simply drop out. They may have not realized what they
were getting into, they may have had a disagreement with other team members, or something
unexpected may have happened. They may formally resign and communicate this with their team,
or they may simply disappear and stop responding to emails (see above).
Keeping in regular contact with your teams will help you stay on top of these problems. If the
problem is interpersonal in nature, you may be able to help the team members resolve their
differences and continue working together.
If one or more members quit, contact the Mentor Coordinator to see if there are other teams
that have lost member that might be combined into a new team (if it's not too late in the
competition).

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Boundary Issues
Sometimes students may make what you think are unreasonable requests. Remember that
your responsibility is to provide guidance, technical expertise, and direction. Short of actually
writing the sections for the final solution, everything else can be thought of as a learning opportunity
for your students. You should feel like a fully active member of the team. The students can learn a lot
by the sources you turn to for research, your method for researching new things, the way you write
technical documents, and how you organize and present information. Re-writing sections and
editing their work is helpful in that it teaches the students how to be effective technical
communicators. Be constructive with your feedback and mentor them to the best of your ability.

Answering Questions Regarding Points


You do not have the responsibility for assigning points to any piece of work your teams
complete. You should provide feedback when asked on content and grammatical errors, but make no
promises to your teams about what points they will receive. There is a detailed rubric of point values
for both the TIP and GDP that can be found at
http://www.globalchallengeaward.org/the_global_/contestrules.html under the appropriate
project. Students should be using these rubrics to be sure they have completed all the pieces each
project and can see for themselves what each section is worth. You can check all the pieces of work
that they post and provide comments and grammatical feedback. If you have questions that you
cannot answer, please direct your students to contact David.Gibson@GlobalChallengeAward.com.

Balancing Mentoring with School and Life


We understand that you are already busy with your undergraduate education. We do not
expect you to sacrifice your academic success or your entire social life for the sake of participating in
the Global Challenge Award as a Mentor. At the same time, you are being paid for this position and
need to treat it like the part-time job that it is.
If you are having trouble balancing your responsibilities as a Mentor with your academic
workload, contact the Mentor Coordinator to explore solutions.

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