1. Instant Challenges

2. Why ICs (Instant Challenges)?
Integral Part of the competition
Teaching Tool for Creative Problem Solving and a Chance to Develop Teamwork
Instant Challenges are free from interference

3. Integral Part of the Competition
It is not only a fun team-building activity, it accounts for 25% of the team’s score.

4. Practice! Practice! Practice!
Successful solutions to instant challenges take time to develop. Being able to creative problem solve on your feet in a short period of time takes a lot of practice. It is good practice to begin a meeting with an IC and end with an IC.

5. Instant Challenge Strategies
Ask the team to generate ideas about possible team jobs in solving an instant challenge. Jobs might include:
Task manager—in charge of overall development and implementation of a task-based instant challenge
Performance manager—in charge of overall development for a performance based instant challenge
Timekeeper—in charge of asking the appraisers for the amount of time left
Materials manager—in charge of making sure that materials are thoughtfully used; supplies are limited
Score manager—in charge of keeping track of where the team will score the most points in a challenge situation
Flex team member—has the ability to float between numerous positions
Have the team members switch jobs for each practice session so that they are familiar with all of them.

6. Videotaping
Record the team as they practice an instant challenge. Then watch the video and critique what the team did. This is very helpful in developing teamwork skills

7. Debriefing questions
How do you think you did as a team? What did you learn about teamwork by doing this challenge?
How well did you manage your time? How might you have used your time more effectively?
What were some strengths of your solution? What worked well?
If you were to start the challenge over again, what might you do differently?
How well do you feel you utilized the materials you were given, if any? How might you have used the materials differently? Were there materials the participants did not use? If not, why not? How might they have been used?
How well did you create your solution to fit the emphasis in the scoring? Would you do anything differently?
If the solution did not work, what could you have done to make the solution work?
Could your solution have been more creative, novel, or unique? What might you have done to make that happen?

8. Criteria for Growth
Criteria for teamwork, performance skills, and use of materials
Use these rubrics to help your team understand and grow.

9. Repeating…
To develop creativity and to discourage the team from thinking that there is only one “correct” solution to a challenge, have the team do the same challenge several times, each time requiring a different solution.

10. A New View
Try having your team do the same task based challenge several times and have them remove an important materials each time they do it.

11. Growing the Instant Challenge Mindset
Have the team do an instant challenge a couple of weeks later. Have the team discuss if they are approaching the challenge differently this time compared to before.

12. Interference Policy
Only team members may contribute ideas and create the Team Challenge solutions. That means that no one other than team members can contribute to the Central Challenge or Team Choice Elements.
When a team is working on an instant challenge, the team manager can help the team process what they completed and how they might improve. This is not interference.
A chance to practice the skills needed for problem solving

13. Kinds of Instant Challenges
Task based
Performance based
Combination

14. Time to jump in!
Instant Challenge

15. Other Great Resources Instant Challenge App
More Instant Challenge Resources
Instant Challenge Packet
Roadmap—great resource for beginning and continuing team managers. It features a variety of instant challenges and gives you an easy step by step process in guiding your team through the creation of their solution.