Team Manager Training

Destination Imagination Colorado Confident Kids in an Amazing State of Creativity Our mission is to prepare Colorado’s kids to be the innovators of the future by combining the arts, sciences, and technology with creativity, teamwork, and problem solving. 2

How to Speak DI 3 Destination ImaginationOdyssey of the Mind ChallengeProblem Team ManagerCoach Challenge MasterProblem Captain Instant ChallengeSpontaneous Central ChallengeLong Term Problem RS, EL, ML, SLDivisions I, II, III, IV AppraisersJudges Team Choice ElementsStyle

By the end of today – Where to find resources to help you – Understand the DI Creative Process – How to start being a team manager 4

5 Destination Imagination teaches students the creative process for Imagination to Innovation using challenges focusing on STEM, the Arts, Service Learning and 21 st Century Skills Destination Imagination

6 All students from Kindergarten through University can participate in age or grade-defined levels: Rising Stars Preschool-2 nd grade Elementary K-5 th grade Middle 6-8 th grade Secondary 9-12 th grade University Level Students must participate in 2- to 7-person teams. Teams compete in one of 7 Team Challenges. We offer the following types of Team Challenges: Technical, Scientific, Fine Arts, Improvisational, Structural, Service Learning, and Rising Stars!

Resources – DIColorado.org – Destinationimagination.org – Youtube – Facebook – Challenge Masters – Regional Director – Affiliate Director 7

8 The Creative Process

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Establishing Goals 10 DI is a competition based program, the final product is presented at the tournament However, the competition is not the end goal You and your team should have goals and expectations that may change as the year goes on Completing the challenge and having a solution to present at your regional tournament is an amazing goal By doing this your team will have learned many life skills Celebrate!

Creative Problem Solving Tools 11 Many ways to generate and focus ideas Road Map Google Creative Problem Solving Tools online

Financing a DI Team 12 Team Membership Fee: $90-$150 Team Supplies: $250 on average Regional Tournament Fee: $30 T-Shirts (optional) $15 for team member Total cost is about $535, or about $77.00 a team member for a team of 7 PTA, team parents, local businesses Collect up front or at the end of tournament season

Team Meetings 13 Team meetings should fit the needs of the team manager and the goals set by the team Team meetings can be after school, in the evenings or on weekends. On average teams meet for 16 weeks, for an average of 2 hours a week You may need to increase practice time as tournament gets closer depending on your solution

Your Role as Team Manager You are your team’s personal challenge master In other words, you are the team’s expert on the challenge You ensure that your team understands the challenge Your team is responsible for how they solve the challenge You are responsible for explaining the challenge so you team can understand it 14

Becoming the Challenge Expert Read the entire challenge – every page Read it again Each challenge is divided into several parts. Technical, Scientific, Fine Arts, and Structural all follow the same format; Improvisational and Service Learning have slightly different formats. 15

16 The first page is an overview of the challenge with two very important pieces of information. Time Limit – this tells your team exactly how long they have to present their challenge at the tournament Team Budget – this lists the amount of money your team can spend on the items included in the solution they bring to tournament. This amount does not include tools used to build the solution or anything that did not make it into the final solution.

Section A – The Central Challenge – Here your team learns the overall intent of the challenge and the specific requirements and creative elements of the challenge Section B – Team Choice Elements – Every team presents two creations that demonstrate their talents and abilities. This section describes the requirements for those two creations. 17

Section C – Presentation Site – Here you learn the minimum requirements for the presentation site where your team will present their solution. You should check with your Tournament Director to determine the exact dimensions of the presentation site at your tournament. Section D – Reward points – One of the most important parts of the written challenges, this section lets your team know the amount of points each requirement is worth. If your team understands this section they will better be able to budget their time and effort. 18

Tournament Data Forms Part One: Required Paperwork and Materials – a checklist of the paperwork that you supply at the tournament to help the appraisers learn about the work of your team. Part Two: Brief Description of Team Choice Elements – an opportunity for your team to describe the items they want the appraisers to score as their Team Choice Elements. Team Manager Tip: the more detail the team provides about the Team Choice Element and the Appraiser understand how the team solved the challenge. 19

Instant Challenge Success Practice, Practice, Practice And practice some more Allowed to teach everything (even the solution) Coach on all aspects of challenge Practice, practice, practice Challenges available online 20

What do I do first? 21

How to choose a challenge

Interference 23 Skills Challenge and Rules SOLUTION The Team OWNS the top

Interference Safety is NEVER interference Teaching skills the students ask to be taught is not interference Using Instant Challenge to teach building and performance skills is not interference Making sure the students understand the challenge is not interference No person (teacher, parent, friend, sales assistant) other than the team members may touch the materials used in the actual performance. That IS interference 24

Integration Combining into the whole All elements of the challenge relate to the central story Team Choice Elements need to add to the story, not be apart from it. 25

Safety Volunteer Code of Conduct – Must be signed by all Team Managers, Appraisers, and Volunteers – Will be signed online at open a shopdi account. 26

Safety Background Check Teacher’s Licence Check with your district Verified Voluneteers CBI 27

Safety continued… Working with children – Have two adults and at least two children at all meetings – When driving, always have at least two kids with you (no texting, phone calls) – Have homeowners or renters insurance and automobile insurance – Get permission slips signed by parents for transportation and tools use – Ensuring safety is not interference; if the activity is not safe you can stop it 28