HOW TO BE THE BEST OFFICIAL IN… an INTRODUCTIONand REMINDER

THANK YOU for VOLUNTEERING Your Time to be an Odyssey of the Mind Official for VOLUNTEERING Your Time to be an Odyssey of the Mind Official! You make Odyssey possible for our students!

What is Odyssey of the Mind? A program where teams of students work together to solve original, fun problems. How? By using their creativity. What should I expect? How do they present their solutions? In an 8-minute performance.

The Unexpected!

Teams compete in Divisions Primary: Kindergarten – 2 nd Grade Primary: Kindergarten – 2 nd Grade Division I: Kindergarten – 5 th Grade Division I: Kindergarten – 5 th Grade Division II: 6 th – 8 th Grade Division II: 6 th – 8 th Grade Division III: 9 th – 12 th Grade Division III: 9 th – 12 th Grade Division IV: Collegiate/Military Division IV: Collegiate/Military Division is determined by the oldest team member.

Long-Term: The solution is worth up to 200 points ● Verbal – Respond to something, tell a story, etc. Long-Term + Style + Spontaneous = Total Score The Three Scoring Components of Odyssey of the Mind Style within the presentation of the Long-Term Solution is worth up to 50 points. Spontaneous: The solution is worth up to 100 points ● Hands-on – Build something, manipulate materials, etc. ● Assigned on the day of the tournament and are Top Secret! ● Combination Verbal & Hands-on – action and responses.

What’s a Long Term Problem? Long Term Problems have many components and focus on: ~ Problems 1 and 2 typically emphasize technology ~ Problems 3 & 5 emphasize the arts. ~ Problem 4 is always involves a unique balsa wood structure that holds weight. Teams take weeks or months preparing their Long Term Problems!

Examples from previous years

What is Style? Style is the elaboration of the Long-Term Problem solution. Style provides teams with the opportunity to showcase their skills and to incorporate their interests into their solutions. Style can be art, music, dance, humor, engineering, costuming, creative writing, creative use of materials, and on and on.

Mandatory Style categories are described in the problem. “Free Choice of Team” categories are created by the team. All Style Categories are scored subjectively. Style #5: “Overall effect of the four Style elements” in the performance. (Base this score on how the four Style components enhance the overall presentation.)

Judging Positions (Interaction with teams) Staging Area Judge Staging Area Judge – Greet & relax teams. Check paperwork. Give teams the chance to fix anything that is wrong or missing. Timekeeper/Announcer Timekeeper/Announcer – Introduce yourself to the teams. Take paperwork to the judging team. Problem & Style Judges Problem & Style Judges – Know what to score. Congratulate the team after its performance. Ask questions in a warm manner that prompt the team members to talk and even brag about their solution. Such as, “Where did you get the idea to make it a…” Scorechecker Scorechecker – Make sure the scores are in range and are compiled correctly. In cases where scores are significantly different alert the Head Judge. Head Judge Head Judge – Manage the judging team. Meet with the coach and give the scores before they are entered into the scoring program. Any single penalty of 25 or more points must be reported by the Head Judge to the Problem Captain and Tournament Director before being processed in Scoring.

Subjective Scoring Subjective scoring is assessed based on the opinion of the judge. ● Scores are generally different from judge to judge. ● Scored on a scale (such as 1 to 10 points). ● Scored for what the team did. ● No penalty if it was not presented. Example: Creative use of a material in a costume… 1 to 10 points. (The team chooses the costume and the material to be scored.) (Not what you thought it should have done.) (Just a score of zero points for that category.) ● Use the scoring guidelines as reference only. ● Consider classroom style scoring. Give teams credit (score) for the effort as well as for the level of the result.

Was it successful? - Every judge has the same score for these categories. Objective Scoring Yes. No. The vehicle travels in reverse… 0 or 10 points. - No partial score. - Gets scored only one time. - May be attempted multiple times unless the problem states otherwise. Then the team gets the predetermined amount of points listed in the problem. Then the team gets zero points for that scoring category. For Example: Something is completed or not completed.

What Makes a Great Official? Being punctual? You must be on time. Knowing the rules of the problem you’re judging? Every judge needs to know the rules. Scoring consistently? Score ‘accordingly’. (That is, score what you saw, not what you expected to see or remember from years past.) Finding “cheaters”? Wrong approach. (Most teams follow the rules.) So, what makes a great Odyssey of the Mind judge?

A Great Attitude! Smile! Enjoy Watching The Performances! Congratulate the Teams! Have Fun! Relax the Team!

Things to Remember Teams worked for months creating their solution. his 8-minute performance is all the time they have to show their work. Make it rewarding. For most teams this 8-minute performance is all the time they have to show their work. Make it rewarding. You might judge 10 or more teams but each is different. Keep up your enthusiasm for every team! No matter how much experience you have, no one has ever judged this problem before. They’re new every year! Feel free to discuss the solution with other judges to ensure you didn’t miss anything. Give teams every point they earn! Use the range when scoring subjective categories. Creativity is diverse! Most teams will not advance. This is their OotM experience. You are the face of the program! ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Judges “To Do” Check List Smile! Read and bring a copy of the Problem, the general rules, and all clarifications to the tournament. Introduce yourself to the judging team. Welcome and help relax the team members for each team. Congratulate every team for solving the problem. Give every team all of the score they deserve. Consider the entire range when scoring subjective categories Consider the entire range when scoring subjective categories. Smile!! Smile!!! Take notes to remember each solution. __

Don’t act like a Judge Don’t act like a Judge. Don’t assess penalties without proof of a violation. Don’t score the first teams low if they did well. Don’t score harder in the next level of competition. Don’t ‘challenge’ teams with your questions. Judges “Not To Do” Check List Consider yourself as part of the audience that is allowed to award scores. If something you see later is better give it a higher score. If you already gave a team the highest possible score then both teams get that score. Any time 2 teams get the same score, whether both receive 1, 5, or 10 points, different levels of creativity are equated. Don’t worry, it happens. Never think,“That team couldn’t have built (or done) that”; however, don’t ignore violations because that’s unfair to teams that followed the rules. Scores should go up as teams advance since those tournaments have the teams with the most creative solutions. In a friendly, calm tone, ask questions in a warm manner that prompt the team members to talk and even brag about their solution. For example, ask “Who’s idea was it to…?” “How did you come up with ….?” “Was this your first idea?” __

Thanks again! Have Fun!

Tournament Information Date: March 1, 2014 Location: Nassau BOCES Rosemary Kennedy Center 2850 N. Jerusalem Rd., Wantagh, NY Hours of Tournament: 8:00 A.M. until 4:40 P.M. Web Site: Tournament Director Contact Information: Patricia Busset Mary Stephens 516 – Carolann James We’re on Facebook!