Breaking down Team Challenges: Finding the right fit for your team

You have your team pak, you may or may not have your team formed but you find yourself asking:

What is everyone talking about when they say ‘structure’ or ‘Challenge A’ or ‘Improv?’ What challenge should we pick? What's the difference between them all?

To start, lets break down the DI Challenges for this year.  You have probably looked at the bullet points of interest, but I find that it is helpful to look at the scoring breakdown to help you understand where the main focus of each challenge is.   Keep reading to see my high level breakdown of the 6 DI competitive Challenges and the non-competitive Rising Stars Challenge for DI's youngest members (K-2nd grade).

Challenge A: Assembly Required

Known as the ‘Technical’ challenge, Challenge A focuses on engineering and technical design.   

Challege A always requires the kids to design and build something- TECHNICAL.  This year they will be designing and building equipment to retrieve parts and deliver products that can hold at least one team member (just to give you an idea that this means something on a large scale).

At a high level if your team chooses this challenge you will be required to:

•       Design and build Equipment that retrieves Parts and delivers Products.

•       Assemble Products from team-provided Parts to Orders, and use the Products in your team’s Presentation.

•       Earn extra points by deciding how best to Orders with no Parts or Products left over in the Assembly Area.

•       Present a team-created story about something that happens just in time.

In Challenge A, it is important to realize that the majority of the points that a team will receive at the tournament revolves around the TECHNICAL element and the tasks that the team needs to complete as outlined in the challenge. If you look at the scoring breakdown for Challenge A out of a possible 240 points for your central challenge, there are only a possible 30 points for the story- the rest of the points are focused on the product, equipment, and success in completing the required orders.

 

What this means for you as a TM: If you have a team of kids who are excited about building something technical and they want to put their time and energy into working on a their products and their equipment, this challenge is the one for you. If you have a team of kids whose focus is on acting and who want to spend all their time on the story portion making costumes, etc. perhaps this is not the challenge you want to focus on. 

Challenge B: The Solar Stage

Challenge B is the ‘Scientific’ challenge or may unofficially be called the ‘hybrid’ challenge as it includes some sort of a scientific or technical focus as well as a theatrical/performance focus. 

Challenge B is designed for those kids who really like science and love to do research who can spend time learning and researching something, and then will integrate their findings into their performance. This year ‘The Solar Stage’ is focused on solar energy.  

Those teams chosing Challenge B will have to:

•       Create and present a theatrical performance that tells a Story about the use of solar energy.

•       Integrate research about past and/or current uses of solar energy.

•       Design and create a Solar Energy Prototype that demonstrates a new way to collect, capture and use solar energy.

•       Design and provide Theatrical Lighting to be used to illuminate the Presentation and to create special theatrical effects.

Looking at the scoring for Challenge B, roughly 1/3 of the points are focused on the story, roughly 1/3 on the a prototype for solar energy, and roughly 1/3 on theatrical lighting (more of the ‘technical’ focus.  See the breakdown below which is found on Page 6 of The Solar Stage):

Challenge B is a great challenge choice for teams that are split between those who are ‘technical’ and want to BUILD stuff but who also want to PERFORM.  This is the best of both worlds giving kids the opportunity to focus on a little bit of everything including a major research component.  

 Challenge C: Coming Attractions!

Challenge C is known as the ‘Theater’ or ‘Performance’ challenge.  This is the challenge for those kids who love to PERFORM. 

While teams oftentimes are asked to incorporate something ‘technical’ into their solution (this year through a cinematic special effect) the main focus is on the performance itself. 

This year’s Challenge C teams will:

•       Present a Movie Trailer involving characters from at least two Nations.

•       Design a Cinematic Special Effect and feature it in the Movie Trailer.

•       Create an Original Soundtrack that complements the Movie Trailer.

If you look at the scoring, over 50% of the Central Challenge score is on the performance aspects of a team’s solution, 17% including the incorporation of original music, and the remainder a cinematic special effect (the 'technical' element)

TMs, Challenge C is all about the costumes, the sets, and the PERFORMANCE! If your kids love to be in the spotlight, are musically inclined and love to focus on their sets and backdrops to enhance the performance, then this is the challenge for you!

  Challenge D: News to Me!

Challenge D is all about the Improvisation and the Acting Skills! This is a unique challenge that is quite unlike the rest of them, but those who love it wouldn't choose anything else!

Kids that choose Challenge D will:

•       Learn about different types of News Stories.

•       Learn about Cause and Effect relationships.

•       Practice techniques for Cooperative Human Scenery and Props and use Cooperative Human Scenery and Props to enhance your Skit.

•       Create a 5-minute Improvisational Skit about the Cause-and-Effect relationship between two unrelated News Stories.

•       Have all your plans suddenly become totally discombobulated by a

•       One-Minute Glitch (OMG)!

 

The Scoring Breakdown for this Challenge focuses on all of the above points of interest and all scores are given based on the performance that the appraisers see on stage at the tournament!

 This Challenge is perfect for those kids who love to perform but who don't want to "waste time" on things like cumbersome backdrops or intricate costumes.  The lead up to the tournament is spent conducting research, team building, and practicing performances and scenarios.  Leave the power tools and sewing machines behind for this one- they won't be needed!

Challenge E: Hold It!

'Structure' as it is called for short is all about the tiny little wooden thing that you will see kids stacking metal weights on top of at the tournament- the 'structure'.  Architectural Engineering and Design is the focus, and this year there is a technical element thrown in to add another DImension. 

 

Challenge E Teams will:

• Design, build and test a Structure made entirely out of wood and glue to hold weight and contain Tournemnt-provided golf balls.
• Design and build a Delivery Device that will deposit the golf balls, one at a time, into the Structure
• Create and present an original story about a 'Capivator'
• Integrate the Weight Placement and Golf Ball Delivery into the Story

 As you can see, 58% of the points for Challenge E come from the Weight Held Ratio (aka 'the Structure'), 17% on the Golf Ball Delivery Device (a Technical Element), and only 25% from the Story. 

Those teams who choose this challenge should have one or more team members who are excited and dedicated to building and testing structures throughout the DI season, at least one person who is excited to work on building a Delivery Device (this can be simple or super technical) and some folks who want to work on the story.  Keep in mind that over 50% of a team's score for this challenge is determined based on how the structure performs on tournament day. If a team doesn't have at least one member who is excited and willing to focus on the Structure, they should perhaps choose a different challenge.

Project Outreach: The World Canvas

 

Project Outreach is DI's Service Learning Challenge that is unique in that it lets team focus on things in their community and use Creative Problem Solving Tools to help them come up with a solution.   This Challenge involves working within your community throughout the season on your chosen project, and presenting your solution at tournament based on the things that you have completed within your community!  Teams may choose to create their project from scratch or continue an existing Project within the community that was started by the team or by another group.

Project Outreach Teams Will:

• Use creative problem solving tools to identify and select at least one real community need
• Design and carry out a Project to address the need.
• Create an Advertisement and use it in your Project.
• Create a Marketing Brochure to describe your Project.
• Share your Project at the Tournament with an entertaining live presentation.

 

 

 

Project Outreach teams will be scored on their their Project as a whole, including the Advertisements and Marketing Brochures they prepare, their Presentation at the Tournament, and the Impact their project is having within the community.

This is a great challenge for those kids who have a passion for Community Service/Service Learning projects and are looking for a way to incorporate DI practically into their communities.  

Rising Stars: Built to Last

 

 

 

 
The Rising Stars! Challenge is DI's non-competitive challenge designed for young children kindergarten through grade 2.  The idea is to expose kids to DI and help them to start learning creativity, teamwork and problem solving at an early age so they are ready to dive into the competitive program when they get older.  Like the other Challenges, Rising Stars teams will present their solutions at tournament, but unlike the competitive teams, they will not receive scores for their solutions, rather they will be given feedback and praise for their solutions.

 

Team's Solving Build to Last Will:

• Learn about toys and how they have changed over time.
• Create a play about making the best toy that will ever be made. Explore how your team works together to make decisions about your team created toy. 

 

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I hope that this helps give you a better idea about each of the challenges and the focuses of them.  If you already have your team perhaps this will help you as a TM understand where the kids should be focusing their energies. If you haven't picked a challenge yet, perhaps this will help you facilitate a discussion with the kids to help them decide which challenge they want to do.

Thank YOU for volunteering to be a TM and remember that we are here to support you every step of the way! Send your questions or comments to me at ask.crissybuhr@gmail.com - don't be shy- I'd love to hear from you!

Happy Wednesay!

Crissy

Practice Instant Challenge: Contradictions

On this Saturday between posts I wanted to post a practice Instant Challenge for you to do with your team. This is a 'Crissy' original written to simulates those Instant Challenges that your team will encounter in a tournament setting.  I will be posting challenges from time to time - either original ICs that I write or links to other sources so that you always have fresh challenges in your back pocket to pull out when you need them.

Like anything else, your team will get better at Instant Challenges with PRACTICE! As a Team Manager  you should do an IC at every team meeting to help your team prepare for tournament.  Try this one below at your next team meeting! And remember- email me your questions or comments at: ask.crissybuhr@gmail.com - I look forward to hearing from you!

~Crissy

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Contradictions (or Do as I Say…. Yeah Right!)

Challenge: Your team is to present a humorous PERFORMANCE telling how you get one character who always does the opposite of what (s)he is told to do something YOUR way (without realizing it)!

Time: You will have up to 4 minutes to use your IMAGINATION to plan and practice your PERFORMANCE, and then up to 2 minutes to present your PERFORMANCE.

The Scene: Have you ever met someone who always does the opposite of what anyone tells them to do no matter what? How would you get that person to do something you wanted them to do without them realizing that they were doing so? Your team is to present a performance where you use your CREATIVITY to get one character who always does the opposite of what they are told to do something YOUR way!

Materials:

A piece of paper and a pencil will be available for your team to use as you plan and present your PERFORMANCE.

Scoring:

You will receive up to:

A. 30 points for the humor of your performance.

B. 30 points for methods used to get the character to do something YOUR way.

C. 20 points for the creativity of the PERFORMANCE.

D. 20 points for how well your team works together

Team Formation

Forming a DI team can seem like a daunting task.  Perhaps your son or daughter wants to do DI and you are going to be the Team Manager and are wondering how to fill out the team. Perhaps you have a group of kids at your school that want to DI and you have to figure out who to put on which teams.  Keep reading for some ideas and suggestions of things to look for when forming a Destination ImagiNation team.

A DI team can have up to 7 team members.  Only the original team members are allowed to work on the team challenge solution. You may have fewer than 7 members on your team but you must have at least two members. Once your team has started working on the Team Challenge solution you may add team members up to the maximum until you register on the Wisconsin DI website (registration deadline is in January) for your first tournament. You may not replace a team member after you have reached 7 team members. If a team member quits, moves away, etc they are still part of the team as they have contributed to the solution in some way. Team members may not be added between tournaments. This information and more is outlined on page 9 of the Rules of the Road found in your Program Materials. 

Anytime you throw a group of kids together they need to learn to become a ‘team’- they don’t just start that way no matter how perfect a balance or mix you feel you have. This is part of the DI process and may take all season.  Getting the kids to trust each other, listen to each other, figure out what each other can bring to the table and how to work together is going to take some time and as a Team Manager you play an integral part in helping to facilitate this process (we’re not going to talk about this here, but teambuilding is definitely something that I will be talking about in the future so check back). 

The process for forming a team may be different depending on where you are. No matter how things are handled, you need to get some information about the kids to help you make your decisions about who is going to be on each team.  Different ways to gather this information may include:

•  Having the kids fill out some sort of questionnaire listing their skills, interests, etc. 
•   Speaking to teachers who work with the kids to learn more about them
• Hosting an informational night for kids and their parents where you interact with the kids and have them do some performances, Instant Challenges, etc. to see what they like/are good at
• Tryouts- some schools and programs may hold tryouts to decided which kids will be on which teams and in fact which kids may even be allowed to do DI (some schools have a limited number of spots based on how many team paks a school chooses to purchase).

Once you gather some information about the kids, there is no magic formula and it will take work to bring your team together, but there are some things to think about when forming your teams:

1. Age of the kids
2. Gender Balance
3. Skill sets/interests of the kids
4. Challenge Preference

1.       Age of the Kids

Destination Imagination is broken down into competitive and noncompetitive teams. There are four competitive levels within the DI program (the Rising Stars level being noncompetitive) designed to ensure that participants compete against their peers.  See below the chart from page 10 of the Rules of the Road which outlines the parameters for each of the competition levels:

Your team may have team members of all ages, but the Level at which you must compete will be determined by the participant in the highest grade-level or by the participant who is oldest. Combing participants from multiple competitive levels is not recommended and oftentimes combining kids of different ages even within the same competitive level can lead to problems.

For example, the elementary level is comprised of kids ranging from kindergarten through 5^th grade but would you want to put 2^nd graders and 5^th graders on the same team? 2^nd graders have a much different maturity level than 5^th graders and you may very well find that the 2^nd graders are frustrating the 5^th graders because the 5^th graders feel the 2^nd graders cannot contribute in the same way that the 5^th graders are. On the flip side the 2^nd graders might become frustrated because they feel that the 5^th graders are not letting them do anything. 

An age gap that is too great will most likely cause great frustration for you and your team members throughout the year and my advice is to form teams with kids as close together in age as you can.

2. Gender Balance

Having a balance of males and females on a team can be a very good thing.  Boys and Girls think about things differently and oftentimes have different skill sets to pull from. 

You may also decide that you want to have all girls or all boys on a team.  This can be very good or very bad depending on the kids. If you have a team full of elementary boys who are crazy energetic you may wish for a few girls on the team to balance things out. On the flip side if you have a middle school team of girls who are constantly fighting with one another you may wish you had a few boys in the mix to balance out the drama.  

Like any situation this greatly depends on the kids at hand and you may or may not have a choice in the matter. If you do have a choice however, you may want to avoid putting a solo boy or a solo girl on a team as they may feel left out of as if the rest of them are ganging up on them in team decisions etc. 

3. Skill Sets/Interest of the Kids

On every DI team no matter which challenge you are solving there are certain skills that will help a team in solving a DI team challenge.  This is not an all-encompassing list by any means nor should you think that you need ALL of these things on your team. Many of these skills can be taught and are things that the kids will gain through their experience with DI.  Some skills or traits to look for no matter what the  challenge include: 

• Teamwork- ability to work well with others
• Leadership/Project management skills
• Script writing
• Performance skills
• Ability to use tools/building to help with props and sets
• Interest in Costuming/someone who knows how to sew/make things
• Artistic skills (painting, drawing, etc).

If you know which challenge you are a Team Manager for you may additionally want to consider some high level skill sets/requirements for each of this years' Challenges  (in next week’s post I will talk about choosing a challenge and I will speak in more detail about each of the challenges):

Challenge A Technical:

• Building things such as robots, cars, etc.
• Knowledge/interest in manufacturing and assembling things

Challenge B: Scientific

• Knowledge/interested in science/physics (particularly light and solar energy)
• Theater experience particularly lighting design

Challenge C: Theatrical

• A theater/performance background
• Musical/Composition abilities
• Interest in other cultures/countries

Challenge D: Improvisational

• Strong performance skills
• Spontaneous kids who can make things up on the fly
• Interest in news/current events

Challenge E: Structural 

• Building knowledge/ interest in models, construction, bridges, etc. 
• Technical interest/knowledge

Project Outreach:

• Passion for service learning and community outreach
• Interest in Marketing and presenting

4.  Challenge Preference:

Something that should ALWAYS be considered is what do the kids want to do? What team do they want to be on? 

If you have a child who loves to build things and is incredibly shy and you put them on an Improv team rather than on a Structure team like they wanted you may not have a very happy child. 

Likewise if you have a child who wants to be on a team with his/her friends and you put them on a team with kids they do not know or do not work well with they may not enjoy their experience. 

This is not to say that kids should always put on teams with their friends and if someone is on a structure team one year they always HAVE to do structure, but make sure you are considering what the kids want to do when you make your decisions. 

The bottom line, if a child is excited about the challenge and the experience before them they will likely put a lot more effort into the experience than if they feel they were forced into something or if they are ‘stuck’ on a team they don’t want to be on. 

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I hope this information gives you some things to think about as you are forming teams. Like I said before, there is no right or wrong way to do this- these are simply some things to consider in forming a team.  

Remember that diversity on teams is a good thing and that teams do not always have to be made up of great friends. Remember that a team of all leaders is just as bad as a team without a clear leader and that Challenge A and E require a performance too so you may want to have someone on your team that wants to think about costumes, team choice elements and performances. :)

 If you have further questions on team formation or questions, comments or things you would like me to include on my blog in the future please email me at  ask.crissybuhr@gmail.com

Good luck with your team formations!

~Crissy