Program helps kids get creative

Destination Imagination. Does that sound more like a vacation place or an art camp? Actually, it’s neither. Destination Imagination, or DI as it is commonly called by participants, is a process that facilitates the development of leadership, teamwork, creativity and problem-solving in students.

Destination Imagination is a global educational program for students in preschool through college. Students ages 4 to 7 (preschool to second grade) participate in Rising Stars, www.dirisingstars.org a program designed to introduce creative problem-solving and teamwork. Third-graders through college-age students work in teams of two to seven to solve one of five unique challenges. The specific challenges are different each year but always focus on the following fields:

Challenge A: Technical-Mechanical

Challenge B: Theater Arts-Science

Challenge C: Theater Arts-Fine Arts

Challenge D: Theater Arts-Improvisation

Challenge E: Structural and Architectural Design

I’ve had the honor and privilege to participate in DI as an apPRAISEr. (Yes, that’s how it’s spelled. Like everything else, DI has its own jargon.) An apPRAISEr is kind of like a judge; apPRAISErs are trained by regional and affiliate directors to award points to teams for general skills such as teamwork, using materials creatively, and specific skills for a given challenge such as creating and performing a song that reveals the results of research on a myth and constructing a vehicle that will propel itself around, through and over an obstacle course. Praise and points are awarded for the process as well as the end product.

DI differs from other problem-solving, creativity and leadership programs in one major area. The adults set up the challenges. The adults manage teams. The adults celebrate with the teams. But the process and the product are all student-driven.

We all know that sports team coaches get to influence the game by moving players in and out, calling for certain plays, and shouting encouragement and chastisement from the sidelines. In DI, no adult can influence the game. Each task is completed by the team as a whole with only guidance, not direct help from team managers.

For example, one of the challenges last year involved choosing a paper airplane style to use during the presentation. One team of girls invited a boy in their class known for being a paper airplane fanatic to one of their meetings to learn about different types of paper airplanes. The boy taught the team how to make about a half-dozen different planes. The team then used their new knowledge to choose a plane for their solution to the challenge.

Another team might decide they want to make their costumes out of duct tape. The adult can help by using the team budget to buy gray duct tape for experimenting with making duct tape fabric but the students come up with the idea, brainstorm resources to teach themselves what they need to know (in this case, the books, “Ductigami” and “The Jumbo Book of Duct Tape”), practice the new skill, design the costumes, then construct the costumes by themselves.

As I said earlier, adults can provide guidance but do not provide any direct help except for things that need an adult for safety reasons. Even when using an adult for safety reasons, the adult watches but doesn’t do. Even with power tools the adults teach how to use the tools and machines safely and then the kids use them. Managers can teach the skills first but the kids have to do it themselves. Adult participation in the team’s decisions and problem-solving is called interference and is a serious breach of DI rules.

I’ve worked as an apPRAISEr for four workshops where students practiced Instant Challenges. Instant Challenges are short problem-solving situations presented to teams. The teams are challenged to solve the problem with creativity, teamwork and some sort of solution.

An example of an Instant Challenge is the one titled “Ping Pong Pasta.” The team is given three rubber bands, 25 pieces of various pastas, and 12 inches of masking tape. The task is to build a tower that is not attached to the table that will balance ping-pong balls. The team has five minutes to build the tower and then it is measured with two points awarded for every inch of the tower’s height. Then one minute is allotted for the team to balance as many ping-pong balls as possible on the tower. The balls need to stay on the tower for at least 15 seconds. Two points are awarded for each balanced ping-pong ball. The team also is awarded up to 30 points for their creative use of the materials and up to 20 points for teamwork. This distribution of points illustrates how important the process rather than the end product is to DI.

I’ve also apPRAISEd at Regional Celebrations and at the State Celebrations. In fact, I’m looking forward to being one of many apPRAISErs and volunteers for this year’s state celebration. The event will take place at the University of Maine in Orono on Saturday, April 19, from early in the morning, (teams can register as early as 7 a.m.), and closing ceremonies are expected to begin around 5 p.m. at Alfond Arena.

Parents, friends and interested parties can observe any of the main challenge presentations. The lobby of Donald P. Corbett Business building will have people to direct you to where and when each of the challenges take place. The state DI celebration is a good opportunity to watch what can happen when our youth are challenged to be creative, to solve problems and to work together. If you watch the February vacation high school basketball games on TV or in person, you will enjoy watching a DI event. There is action, excitement, competition, skill, accomplishment and unadulterated fun. Come to the state celebration and see our youth be passionate about learning.

For more information about DI, check out these Web sites: www.createme.org www.destinationimagination.org www.idodi.org.

What are your experiences with DI? E-mail me at: Conversationswithateacher@gmail.com.