2013 ICer Registration

 instant challenge, workshops  Comments Off
Nov 162012
 

Cre8iowa is happy to announce that registration for our Instant Challenger is now open! The number of teams that can participate is limited and registration is on a first come, first served basis.

To register fill out the following online form: 2013 ICer Registration. Registration will close on January 5th, 2013 or before if all available slots are filled.

 

What is the Instant Challenger (ICer)?

It is workshop where teams practice three (3) performance based Instant Challenges (IC) and three (3) tasked based ICs. Each team is given individualized attention for a period of 2 hours, beginning at 9:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., or 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 12, 2013 at Ames Middle School in Ames. The team is given feedback by experienced DI volunteers who serve as the Appraisers for this event. The fee for this workshop is non-refundable $20 to cover the supplies used by the teams. For more information please read over the instructions found on the form.

What is Instant Challenge?

The Rules of the Road states that Instant Challenge “is a Challenge that teams are asked to solve in a very short period of time at their tournament, without knowing ahead of time what the Challenge will be” (5). IC encourages teams to use their problem solving abilities and creativity in a collaborative manner to solve a never before seen problem under a tight time constraint which promotes time management skills. At tournament, IC makes up 25% of the total score or is worth 100 points. For more information about IC, types of ICs, and the rules, please refer to the Rules of the Road pages 27-29.

Top 3 Reasons to Participate

  1. Feedback: At tournament, teams do not receive any feedback from the IC appraisers nor do they see their raw scores until after Closing Ceremony when score sheets are posted. At the ICer, teams are debriefed, given feedback, and provided with raw score sheets after each challenge. The team can then use what they learned from one IC and apply it to another. The team is also encouraged to ask questions and take their time. Each room has a goal to go through the three ICs provided, but the speed is determined by the team’s needs. Sometimes it is more beneficial to go through one or two ICs multiple times and all our volunteers are happy to accommodate. Don’t worry if your team does not get through all the ICs. As the Team Manager, you will receive all six ICs electronically after the workshop has been completed.
  2. Unique: The ICs given to the teams at the workshop cannot be found anywhere else. Cre8iowa has an IC Writers Committee that works hard to create unique and constructive training materials to help our teams. The committee also puts effort into writing ICs that are easily reproducible for Team Managers by using common materials. As mentioned previously, each and only the participating team will receive the 2013 workshop ICs electronically after the 12th. The ICs will not be made publically available in our IC Library until next season.
  3. Placements: The ICer is a great way to help your team get ready for their Instant Challenge performance at the tournaments! Practice makes perfect and practice with new challenges and with quality feedback helps the team down that perfection road. Perfection (or close to it) can make all the difference with those 100 points. It is common that the top places at tournaments are determined by how the team did in their IC.

So what are you waiting for? Register now before all the slots are filled.

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Understanding the role of an Appraiser

 appraisers, instant challenge, team support, tournament  Comments Off
Oct 272012
 

If you’re a Destination Imagination veteran, you have heard us say many times that we can’t hold a tournament without the help of our volunteer Appraisers. This is really true! Every team doing Challenges A-E and projectOUTREACH® is required to provide an adult Appraiser (age 18 or older) who spends one Saturday in January or February getting trained, one full day at the Sub-state tournament, and one full day at the State tournament. Every Rising Stars!® team is required to provide one adult volunteer who serves up to a half day in a non-scoring role at the Sub-state tournament, and does not need to have advance training.

Although Team Managers often ask a team member’s parent to step in as an Appraiser, there are many other ways to find one. Read How to Find Appraisers for suggestions. You may wish to share Top Reasons to Be an Appraiser with anyone you ask to serve in this capacity. We also welcome adults who are NOT representing a team to become an Appraiser. If you would like to become a Friend of cre8iowa by serving as a non-team affiliated Appraiser, please contact Keith Kutz at only_kman@yahoo.com.

The main role of an Appraiser is to keep an open mind in order to discover areas in which to “praise” teams by awarding them points. That’s why ApPRAISErs are called Appraisers. Appraisers set the tone of the tournament to a great extent. If they are happy to be there, then that is evident to the teams and their spirit is infectious. The scores you award teams at tournament provide them with critical feedback they need to evaluate themselves, to improve their solution at the next level of competition, and to set goals for their next Destination Imagination season.

It is definitely fun to watch teams’ creative performances and to award them well-deserved points. Many of our Board members, in fact, began their volunteer experience with Destination Imagination as Appraisers; most of them serve as tournament officials today (in addition to wearing other hats). At Destination Imagination Global Finals, it is considered to be a privilege to be selected as an Appraiser. You can see how some Appraisers celebrate the fun by participating in a Team Manager & Officials Challenge at Global Finals.

When you check in at Appraiser training, you will sign up to appraise a Challenge that is different from the one the team you represent is doing. Challenges focus on technical, scientific, fine arts, improvisational, structural or service learning areas, or—in the case of Instant Challenge—on on-the-spot problem solving. You can find a preview of the Challenges HERE, and can see what practice Instant Challenges look like by visiting our Instant Challenge Library. You’ll get an overview of the Destination Imagination program, become acquainted with the difference between objective, subjective and zero scores, learn all about the Challenge you will be appraising, and experience how to work together as a member of an Appraisal team.

Speaking of Instant Challenge, this week’s newly-released Instant Challenges include:

By becoming familiar with the same rules that teams follow, you’ll help us to create a fair and consistent playing field for every team at tournament. You’ll take what you learn at Appraiser training to the Sub-state tournament, refine your skills and learn some new lessons, and apply them at the State tournament, where the first place team in every Challenge and Level earns the right to advance to Global Finals. In a sense, you are doing the same thing that teams are doing, i.e., both of you are improving your performance from one tournament to the next. You’ll have a chance to evaluate teams for creativity, teamwork and problem-solving, and will nominate some teams and some individuals for exceptional creativity, expertise, DI spirit, community service and other areas.

Several points to keep in mind about being a DI Appraiser are that you are making a commitment to the team you represent by serving as an official.  The team is not allowed to advance to the next level of competition without your completion of training and your service at both tournaments. You will spend the entire tournament day at the site of the Challenge you are appraising, and will not be able to leave the site until the last team has performed and your Head Appraiser or Challenge Master excuse you. Your free lunch on both tournament days is provided by Students for a Creative Iowa. Teams who have a single Team Manager must be accompanied by that Team Manager at tournament, who may not also serve as an Appraiser. Appraisers can choose on what day to attend training, as follows. Check-in begins at 9:00 a.m., and training runs from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

  • Jan. 26, 2013 – Kirkwood Community College (Iowa City)
    • 1816 Lower Muscatine Rd.,  Iowa City, IA 52240
    • Check-In: Room ICCR 255
  • Feb. 2, 2013 – Kuemper Catholic High School (Carroll)
    • 116 S. East St Carroll, IA 51401
    • Check-In: Cafeteria/Hallway
  • Feb. 9, 2013 – Ames Middle  School (Ames)
    • 3915 Mortensen Road, Ames, IA 50014
    • Check-In: Commons

If you have never served as an Appraiser (or even if you have), and would like to have a better sense of what to expect as an Appraiser, you will benefit from visiting DI University. This is a free online training that gives you an overview of the program and explains some of the roles that Appraisers fill. It is not a substitute for learning about the Team Challenge you will appraise at tournament, since that information is provided at your official Appraiser Training, but it definitely helps to paint a picture for you. The two modules that will benefit you most include “Being a DI Appraiser” and “Rules of the Road.”

As we get closer to tournament, you will find updated Appraiser information, on the Appraiser Information page on our Web site. For now, you’ll want to add these 2 tournament dates to your calendar:

  • March 9, 2013 (Saturday). Sub-State Tournament. Ames Middle School, Ames.
  • April 6, 2013 (Saturday). State Tournament. Ames Middle School, Ames.
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 Posted by at 6:58 pm

Walking the line between facilitation and Interference

 instant challenge, team support  Comments Off
Oct 192012
 

It is the natural tendency of adult facilitators to want to be helpful to students solving a Destination Imagination® (DI) Team Challenge. In DI, however, the rules of Interference provide clear instructions about where the lines of Interference are drawn.

A Destination Imagination team is charged with interpreting its own Challenge, generating its own ideas, selecting its own resources, doing its own research, and constructing its own solution. When non-team members get involved in these activities, Interference rules have been breached, directly affecting a team’s success.

The success of a team is determined not only by its standing at tournament, but also by the knowledge and experience our students gain from the process. Competition is only one aspect of the Destination Imagination program. Most of the season, in fact, is spent learning about the process of creativity from imagination to innovation, and gaining life-long learning lessons in analysis and problem-solving, teamwork, performance, technical skills, time management, budgeting, organization, priority-setting, and more. When non-team members contribute to the solution of Team Challenges or Instant Challenge, this takes away from the team’s ability to learn these lessons and skills.

The importance and seriousness of Interference are highlighted by the fact that DI requires every team member and Team Manager to sign a Declaration of Independence at tournament. By signing this Declaration, the team members and Team Managers promise that the presented solution and all its ideas and research were produced by ONLY the team members, that they understand the rules of Interference, and that they do not know anything in advance about the Instant Challenge performed at competition.

Interference is one of the most serious obstacles for teams. If a tournament official observes Interference, then the tournament official gives a warning (if it is a minor matter of Interference), or a deduction to the team. In Instant Challenge, a team may be disqualified from competition because of Interference. Tournament officials are required to act in order to maintain a level playing field for all teams. We strive to promote a fun and fair competition; part of that involves giving warranted deductions, if Interference gives an unfair advantage to a team.

What can Team Managers, Coordinators, parents, teachers and audience members do to avoid Interference?

1. Early in the season, review the rules of Interference with team members and parents. Have everyone read and sign the Interference Contract found on page 28 of Roadmap.

2. Discuss the Interference Triangle, found on page 14 of Rules of the Road. The Solution makes up the top of the Interference Triangle, and represents the area where the Team Manager(s) CANNOT help the team. The bottom of the triangle, Skills and Challenge & Rules, represents the areas where a Team Manager CAN assist the team. For detailed information about Interference, refer to pages 14-16 of Rules of the Road. (Note: Veterans of the program would benefit from reading the rules about Interference.)

  • Skills are both those the team already has, and the new ones it acquires during the course of the DI season. It is the responsibility of a Team Manager to help a team acquire new skills. How? A Team Manager can arrange for a speaker or demonstrator to teach a broad range of general skills to the team. However, please note that these skills may not suggest a specific solution to the Challenge; it is up to the team to apply the skills they learn to their Challenge. In general, if a team does not know the skills to accomplish a task, then students either must learn those skills, or find a different way to solve the Challenge.
  • Challenge & Rules include the printed Challenge, Rules of the Road, and Published Clarifications. Published Clarifications supersede all other rules, and can be found HERE. Follow Destination Imagination on Facebook and Twitter and you will be alerted when a new Published Clarification is posted. It is the job of team members, the Team Manager(s) and tournament officials to know and understand these rules. If a team does not understand the rules, it can write for a Team Clarification. Each team is allowed to ask up to 10 Clarification questions by visiting http://www.diatlas.org/clarifications/login.php. The deadline for submitting Team Clarification questions is February 15, 2013. A Clarification will not be shared with any other team. Keep in mind that it is not the answers in Team Clarifications that are a secret. The answers come directly from the Challenge or the Rules of the Road. It is the team’s questions that are completely confidential and will not be shared with any other team. This is because the question often reflects the thinking and direction of the team’s solution.

Before your team submits a Clarification question, remind students to re-read the Challenge carefully, paying special attention to grayed text that provides special definitions or explains special rules. Encourage your team to use a standard dictionary if they don’t understand terms, and to discuss their understanding. Remember that it is NOT the Team Manager’s job to interpret the rules! A Team Manager may point out where the team is violating a rule by asking the team to re-read that section of the Team Challenge, but it is up to the team to come up with a solution.

3. Encourage your team to develop independence. One excellent way to do this is through Instant Challenge practice, where team members learn to rely on each other. Each week through November, you’ll find new Instant Challenges in cre8iowa’s Instant Challenge Library. This week’s Instant Challenges are:

If you have questions about Interference, feel free to contact Judy Nolan, Co-Affiliate Training Director, by email at: judynolan@aol.com.

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New Instant Challenges released

 instant challenge, team support  Comments Off
Sep 212012
 

Three new Instant Challenges have been added to our Library. Feel free to download them and add them to your meeting agenda:

In addition, please note that the 2012-13 Instant Challenge Practice Set was just released and may be found in the Resource Area. We were previously informed that this document had been folded into the Roadmap, but that is not the case.

Keep in mind that you can modify any Instant Challenge to suit your needs. If you don’t have the materials listed, substitute others, making sure to adopt the same scale. To make things easier, add time and materials, and eliminate steps. To make things harder, subtract time and materials, and add steps. It’s not that difficult to convert a Rising Stars!® Instant Challenge into a scored practice exercise, or to modify a scored Instant Challenge into a non-scored Rising Stars!® one. Create your own Instant Challenge, and send it to us at cre8iowa@gmail.com. If we use it in our Instant Challenge Library, we’ll give you credit!

  • Click HERE to download an Instant Challenge template that you can use to create your own Instant Challenges.
  • Click HERE to write your own Instant Challenge from a matrix designed by New Hampshire Destination Imagination. Use this matrix as a model for developing your own.
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12 Tips for Instant Challenge Preparation

 instant challenge, team support  Comments Off
Mar 172011
 

Don’t forget about Instant Challenge between Tournaments. Especially at the State Tournament, the best teams can rank closely in their Central Challenge scores. What generally makes the difference, when it comes to team placement, is Instant Challenge, since this represents one-quarter of the final score. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

1. Make sure your team practices Instant Challenge at every single meeting. Although one meeting does not make up for a lack of consistent practice, arrange for a meeting, if necessary, where you can focus on Instant Challenge.

2. It is not just the quantity of Instant Challenges practiced that matters, but also the quality of the Challenges and the quality of the debriefing that takes place afterward. Select Instant Challenges with a view toward providing students with exposure to new skills or experiences they need to acquire. Then make sure you discuss the outcome with students.

3. Although it is critical for a Team Manager or Coordinator to provide students with constructive feedback after a practice Instant Challenge, students also need to be involved in evaluating themselves. Ask them how they might score themselves, what they think they did well, where they could improve, and what they might do differently. In fact, give students a chance to repeat all or part of an Instant Challenge to help them experience learning success.

4. Go back to old Instant Challenges, and ask students to develop a different solution. Then encourage them to solve the Challenge again with a third solution. This teaches students not only that there is more than one solution for every single Instant Challenge, but also the importance of generating a unique solution.

5. Just as there is more than one solution to every Instant Challenge, there is more than one way to prepare for it. Encourage your students to play board games together that stress risk-taking (and consequences), critical problem-solving and creative thinking. Games to consider include Risk, Apples to Apples, Cranium, The Game of SCATTERGORIES, and similar games. To emphasize pattern analysis, ask your team to solve a jigsaw or Sudoku puzzle. To focus on balance, movement, and spatial awareness, have your team play Jenga or build a marble maze. To sharpen acting skills, play charades.

6.  Emphasize to teams that they need to avoid the trap of seizing the first idea that occurs to them, since this is usually the most common solution. All Instant Challenges are designed to have more than one solution. Just because adults or students are unable to generate more than one solution does not mean they do not exist.

7. Avoid the trap of assuming there is a loophole that will solve the challenge. This is related to the assumption that there is only one solution to the challenge. When in doubt about the intent of a challenge, students need to refer to the Challenge statement that appears at the start of every Instant Challenge. Note that the Challenge is read once in entirety, and then the Appraiser re-reads the Challenge statement before the Timekeeper starts the clock.

8. Make sure your team practices a balance of all types of Instant Challenges: Performance, Task and Combination. Don’t be afraid to modify existing Instant Challenges so that your team is exposed to as many different types of challenges as possible. Shorten the time, add or subtract a step, change the materials, or switch a verbal challenge to a non-verbal one. Your goal is to help your students build a library of experiences from which they can draw when they compete, or at the very least achieve a level of comfort with the unexpected.

9. Be aware that within each type of Instant Challenge are sub-categories. Performance-Based Instant Challenges can be verbal or non-verbal, involve props or have no props at all. Task-Based Instant Challenges can be verbal or non-verbal, and involve moving, modifying, controlling, protecting, extending, building, communicating or solving a critical thinking problem that has more than one solution. Combination Instant Challenges can involve both a task and a performance which may or may not be related to each other. Sometimes a team is required to divide its members in order to accomplish multiple tasks or parts of a performance or task. Instant Challenges can have 2 or 3 parts whose tasks are well-defined; other times, there is only one part and the team must monitor the time closely to complete all of the requirements.

10. Make sure your team members are cross-trained in various roles, such as facilitating idea generation, tracking time, analyzing the rules, knowing how to score points, and manipulating materials. Even though all teams are comprised of external (talky) and internal (reflective) students, make sure everyone has a role during Instant Challenge, since this affects your teamwork score and, ultimately, the outcome of the challenge.

11. Where can you find Instant Challenges? Besides the set of Practice Instant Challenges that arrive with your program materials, you can download the Beta Roadmap to a Tournament from IDODI, which contains many Instant Challenges and warm-up activities. Visit cre8iowa’s Instant Challenge Library to download challenges written by Iowa adult and student volunteers. Go to the cre8iowa Document Library, and discover links to Instant Challenge collections found elsewhere on the Internet.

12. Next year, when your team participates in the Destination ImagiNation program, make sure you sign up for the cre8iowa Instant Challenger workshop that is held in early January. Teams who take advantage of this workshop, as well as teams whose adult facilitators attend Team Manager & Coordinator Training every year, generally experience fewer problems during the program season.

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Instant Challenger workshop registration opens TODAY

 instant challenge, team support, workshops  Comments Off
Dec 052010
 

Instant Challenger registration opens TODAY. This popular team workshop is open to only a limited number of teams (subject to the number of volunteers). In the past, we have been able to serve 24 teams. We hope to be able to serve at least that many teams this year. The Instant Challenger will be held on Sat., Jan. 15, 2011.

How does it work? Teams register for a 2-hour morning or afternoon slot, and rotate through Task-Based Instant Challenges and Performance-Based Instant Challenges. The Instant Challenge sessions are designed to expose your team to different types of Challenges in a risk-free environment where they will receive constructive feedback from experienced Appraisers.

To register for the Instant Challenger, you must follow 2 steps:

1. Send an e-mail request to reserve an 8:30, 10:30 or 1:30 slot. Your e-mail should state the following:

  • Name of adult(s) who will accompany the team at the workshop
  • Name of school or group
  • Level of the team (Rising Stars, elementary, middle, secondary)
  • Time slot preferences: 1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice
  • Daytime & evening phone numbers where you can be reached on short notice, if you are placed on the waiting list.

E-mail your scheduling request to cre8iowa@gmail.com. Do not send your request to a different email address, since this could cause your reservation request to become delayed.

2. Mail a non-refundable check within 10 days in the amount of $20 to: Students for a Creative Iowa, c/o Alisha Heisterkamp, 15 Golfview Court, North Liberty, IA 52317.

Please note that your reservation is not confirmed until your check arrives. Teams that do not send payment within 10 days will drop to the bottom of the reservation list. You will receive a confirming e-mail to let you know that your check has arrived.

Questions? Please contact me at: judynolan@aol.com

By my participation in an event conducted by an Affiliate, Region or other gathering related to the Destination ImagiNation program, the participant or participant’s parents or participant’s guardian understands and hereby voluntarily agrees to release, waive, forever discharge, hold harmless, defend and indemnify Destination Imagination Inc., and their agents, officers, boards, volunteers, and employees from any and all liability and all claims, actions, or losses for bodily injury, property damage, wrongful death, loss of services , or otherwise which may arise out of the participant’s participation in activities related to the Destination ImagiNation event, including travel to and from the event.

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Season kickoff…take note!

 appraisers, get involved, instant challenge, season kickoff, start a team, team support, tournament  No Responses »
Sep 192010
 

Welcome to all new and returning Destination ImagiNation participants!

You’ll notice our Web site has a new look this fall, as all support information has been consolidated in one place, instead of in multiple places on the Web. You may wish to take a moment to familiarize yourself with the site. If you can’t find something you desperately need to know NOW, don’t hesitate to email Judy Nolan at the email address listed at the bottom of this post. For right now, however, following are a few points you’ll want to note right away.

1.  The Support Blog is now the front page of the state Web site.

2. The Instant Challenge Library, Document Library and Recruiting Kit may all be accessed from tabs and/or dropdown menus on the same Web site.

3. We are no longer using Yahoo Groups as a mailing list. Instead, you will wish to go to the right side bar of the state Web site, enter your email address, and click on Subscribe. Whenever a new post is added to the Support Blog, you will receive an email. If you have more than one email address (such as between work and home), just enter your address and click on Subscribe for each address.

4. This year there will be ONE Regional (sub-state) Tournament on March 5, 2011. The location will be announced soon on the Web site. Visit the 2010-2011 Program Season tab, and you’ll find the Calendar there.

5. The Tournament registration deadline is in December, not January, so registration forms will be available in October. Just look for them beneath the 2010-2011 Program Season tab.

6. Don’t wait for Tournament registration forms to be released before you start looking for your team’s Appraiser. All competitive teams are required to supply a trained Appraiser at the first Tournament, and also at the state Tournament if the team advances. (We provide free training.) Not sure where to find an Appraiser? Check out this Team Manager Tip: How to Find Appraisers: http://www.cre8iowa.org/team-support/cre8iowa-document-library/

7.  Special scheduling requests should be sent to cre8iowa@gmail.com, NOT the askcre8iowa email address. The askcre8iowa email address no longer exists.

Questions? You can always email me at judynolan@aol.com.

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Understanding the concept of Interference

 instant challenge  No Responses »
Feb 022010
 

As Tournament time approaches, parents of team members, as well as Team Managers, often become anxious about whether their team will “get it all done in time,” and whether they will ever solve the Challenge. This is a great time for adults to remind each other, “This is not my Challenge.” It is natural to hope that our students will succeed in this program, but it’s important to think about the fact that DI success is measured not only by competition scores, but also by the learning that takes place along the way. It is not an accident that Destination ImagiNation is described as a process instead of a competition. The program teaches a variety of skills, but when we adults start interfering by finding shortcuts or pointing our students toward solutions, we remove from them the opportunity to learn about:

  • creativity
  • problem-solving
  • teamwork
  • performance skills
  • technical skills
  • organization skills
  • time management
  • budgeting
  • self-reliance
  • research skills

and much more. Destination ImagiNation places such great emphasis on the concept that students, not non-team members, must solve the Team Challenge and Instant Challenge, that every team member and Team Manager must sign a Declaration of Independence at the Tournament that promises:

  • We understand the rules of Interference.
  • The research, ideas, and solutions for our Team Challenge Presentation are those of ONLY the team members.
  • We do not know anything about the Instant Challenge we will be given at the Tournament.

What, then, can a Team Manager do to facilitate the learning process without committing Interference? On page 18 of Rules of the Road (general program rules), an image of the Interference Triangle appears that provides an answer. In the bottom half of the triangle, Skills and Challenge & Rules are identified; these represent the areas where a Team Manager may assist the team. The Solution, in the top of the triangle, represents the area where the Team Manager may NOT venture.

A Team Manager may teach or provide resources for a range of general skills to the team, as long as those skills are not specifically directed to the solution. In concrete terms, this means that if a team wants to sew costumes, but doesn’t know how to use a sewing machine, the Team Manager may teach general sewing skills, but any products made while teaching these skills may not become part of the team’s solution. The same concept applies to the teaching of power tool use. Likewise, if a Team Manager invites an architect to speak to his or her team about general structural concepts, it is the team’s job to apply those concepts to the Challenge. The team may not ask the architect how to solve any part of the Challenge, nor may the architect lead the team to a specific answer. The emphasis is on general skills.

Note that the general skill areas that are applicable to each Challenge are listed on the title page of each Challenge. For example, the general skill areas that apply to Challenge A, DIrect DIposit, include:

  • Engineering
  • Cost/Benefit Analysis
  • Innovation & Design Process
  • Technical Design & Construction
  • Experimentation
  • Mathematics
  • Communication
  • Theater Arts
  • Teamwork

Any general knowledge that relates to the above skill areas is what a Team Manager of a team solving Challenge A could facilitate.

Team Managers may certainly help teams locate resources, such as a list of Web sites, as long as team members are making decisions about what sites to use, and how to use them. It is not acceptable for a Team Manager to select what he or she thinks is the best Web site, book, handout or any other resource for the Challenge. Instead, a range of resources should be provided, with team members making choices about what and how to use them.

The list of resources below provides a starting point for Team Managers to help teams locate resources:

So, what about Instant Challenge? Can a Team Manager provide tips? During the practice season, it is the Team Manager’s job to not only provide teams with a wide variety of Instant Challenges to practice, but especially to provide constructive feedback. It is only during the Tournament itself, when the team is solving an Instant Challenge, that the Team Manager may not provide feedback, either verbal or non-verbal.

With regard to the Challenge & Rules that are identified in the Interference Triangle, this means that a Team Manager may help the team to understand the Challenge and its rules. The Team Manager does so not by explaining the Challenge and interpreting it for the students, but instead by asking open-ended questions that the students will have to answer for themselves.

It is important to remember that every team has the opportunity to ask up to 10 Clarification questions relating to the Team Challenge. These questions are answered by the International Challenge Masters, the folks who write the Challenges. Team members must formulate the questions themselves (although Team Managers can type the exact words of younger team members) and can submit them online by visiting the IDODI site, clicking on Team Support, and selecting Clarifications. The deadline for Clarification requests is February 15, 2010, Pacific Standard Time.

A great way for Team Managers to avoid Interference is to ask their teams to focus on the positive side of options or situations and encourage multiple responses, not just one answer. Questions that Team Managers can (and should) ask their teams include:

Where are we?
Are we on track?
Do we want to keep moving in this direction?
Do we want to change our goal?
Are we having fun?
Wouldn’t it be nice if . . . ?
In what ways might we . . . ?
How might we . . . ?
List ways to . . .
Think of ways to . . .
What if we . . . ?
Do you suppose we could . . . ?
I wonder if . . . ?

Both the hardest and easiest task for a Team Manager is letting go of his or her pre-conceived notions about how a team should solve its Team Challenge. Once that is done, the pressure is off the Team Manager, and placed squarely on the shoulders of team members, where it belongs. Whatever the team then learns becomes the result of what they do (or don’t do). That is a lesson in itself.

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Regional tournament results, special awards & resources

 instant challenge, tournament  No Responses »
Mar 042009
 

Eastern regional tournament results

Congratulations to all of the teams who participated in the Eastern regional tournament.

Scores have just been posted to the state Web site, so you can view them here.

Congratulations also to teams that earned special awards at this tournament, as follows.

The Spirit of Discovery & Imagination Award is offered for exceptional Spirit, Teamwork, Volunteerism and Sportsmanship.

  • Grinnell State Bank team 112-70638, “The Cow Ran Dry and Took Grandpa.” The Appraisers wrote: “In the spirit of DI, this team performed well without a member of its team. They were able to creatively disguise a missing member. The students that performed acted as though the three members were all that were on the team. As middle schoolers they went on to compete the challenge at hand, without making excuses. They were not even planning to mention that they were not at full capacity. These students realized that a job needed to be done and they didn’t complain about doing it. Each member of the team took a part of the person’s role and responsibilities. All students shared equally and not one complaint. Way to go, girls!”
  • Grinnell Middle School team 112-44223, “New Improv.” The Appraisers wrote: “A different Middle Level team was missing a cardboard box at check-in. The ‘New Improv’ team emptied their box and loaned it to the team in need.”

The Renaissance Award is offered for exceptional skill in the areas of engineering, design, or performance.

  • West Des Moines team 112-09237, “Rising Stars Western Hills Elementary.” The Appraisers wrote: “This Rising Stars team rose above their expected level of performance and design. The students created original music (lyrics that the Appraisers continued to sing after the performance). It was fun, innovative, and educational. The team designed exceptional costumes to depict sea creatures including crab, pufferfish, snail and a host of others—all of them well conceived, fun and which fit the challenge perfectly. This was a joy to watch.”
  • Maharishi School Silver team 112-51578, “Was Replaced,” Individual Award to Avery Travis. The Appraisers wrote, “The individual designed a large cardboard set piece, in two pieces. The pieces were joined by flexible wrapping; the wrapping itself colored differently on each side. To change scenery, the set folded in on its center and seemed to magically re-appear as a second set. The effect was outstanding. It was reminiscent of a ‘Transformer™’ toy or like a color-changing “Flip toy” from the 50s. It was highly unique as a set and deserving of the Renaissance Award for design.

Western regional tournament results

Congratulations to all of the teams who participated in the Western regional tournament.

Scores have been posted to the state Web site, so you can view them here.

Congratulations also to teams that earned special awards at this tournament, as follows.

The Spirit of Discovery & Imagination Award is offered for exceptional Spirit, Teamwork, Volunteerism and Sportsmanship.

  • Ankeny team 112-45996, “BADA BLING.” The Appraisers wrote, “We feel this team exhibited all the elements of the Spirit of DI Award primarily through integrating together all of the following:

“Being a role model. The team demonstrated and presented the importance of being yourself, even with pressure from peers.

“Community/volunteerism. The team showed an awareness of caring for the environment by using recycled items for their props.

“Teamwork. Team members used individual strengths and brought them together . . . showcasing each other’s strengths.

“Sportsmanship. The team was courteous and showed good character before, during and after the performance.

“Spirit. It was evident they enjoyed working together and performing together. And, it appeared to be a meaningful topic for them.”

  • Van Meter team 112-20994, “Six Imagineers.” The Appraisers pointed out the exceptionally inclusive nature of the team, despite a special challenge. They wrote, “The team still put together a good performance and everyone had fun. The spirit of inclusiveness is certainly part of Destination ImagiNation.”

The Renaissance Award is offered for exceptional skill in the areas of engineering, design, or performance.

  • Indianola team 112-49478, “A-JEARCH.” The Appraisers wrote, “A-JEARCH created an incredibly creative backdrop display to portray The Old Man and the Sea story. They used a container of water and a projector to create a realistic water scene that projected onto plastic sheeting. Additionally, they used “Shrinky-dinks” and cardboard shark jaw cutouts to project an image of fish and sharks swimming in the water. The projection screen also doubled as a curtain-like apparatus to allow different parts of the story to be portrayed. It was a unique arrangement.” The Challenge Master noted, “Those ever attending a Grateful Dead concert would feel nostalgic.”

State tournament schedule

Please note that the State tournament schedule will NOT be posted until after the deadline for special schedule requests has been passed (March 17). If you have a special request, please email it to: askcre8iowa@cre8iowa.org.

Preparing for the next level of competition

Any regional tournament provides your team with a great opportunity not only to showcase its Team Challenge solution, but also to learn where there are possibilities to improve. Yes! Most teams make changes between the regional and State tournament (highly recommended). Has your team examined its Tournament Data Form closely? Has the team identified exactly what they want to have evaluated as a Side Trip? Appraisers can only award points for what is stated on the form. Be very specific, and use complete sentences. If the Head Appraiser noted some areas that will be looked at more closely at the Tournament, you will wish to examine these within your Team Challenge and make appropriate modifications. Remember also that your solution must be able to fit within a standard doorway.

DISC WIKI Resources

As your team prepares for the next level of competition, it will find many resources that are available online, in particular the Destination ImagiNation Resource WIKI, which has been assembled by the Destination ImagiNation Support Committee (DISC). DISC’s goal for this Web site is to provide Destination ImagiNation teams and team managers with a comprehensive and up-to-date list of resources, which is maintained and updated by DI volunteers. Although this is not an official DI site, its comprehensive collection of resources is immensely useful. In particular, you will wish to visit these pages:

Instant Challenge. Now is also the time to really practice Instant Challenge. Most of the top teams at the state Tournament have scores that are just within a few points of each other; Instant Challenge often separates the teams. If you are not sure where to find more Instant Challenges, check out this resource list, on which the cre8iowa Instant Challenge Library is included:

http://diresources.wikispaces.com/main_instantchallenge

Team Videos. You may also find it helpful for your team to view videos of past teams’ performances so that your students understand what a typical performance is like. Visit this resource page:

http://diresources.wikispaces.com/videosteamchallenges


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