The national Odyssey of the Mind has made a video “A Creative Experience “, which can be downloaded for free online. The 10-minute video features testimony from teachers, parents, coaches, and team members who talk about the benefits and rewards of participation, and includes problem footage filmed at past World Finals. For more information, please visit the Odyssey of the Mind and the Pennsylvania Odyssey of the Mind. For more FAQ’s visit the Pennsylvania Odyssey of the Mind.
What is Odyssey of the Mind? Who participates? The Odyssey program began in 1978 with 28 schools in New Jersey. Today there are more than 3,500 memberships in the United States and many foreign countries including Canada, Japan, China, Poland, Germany, Hungary, Hong Kong, Singapore, Slovakia, United Kingdom, Moldova, Australia, Lithuania, West Africa, Siberia and Kazakhstan. At the annual World Finals teams from around the world present their solutions to the same problems. How is it organized? Teams of up to seven members form to solve a long-term problem and develop skills in spontaneous problems. A coach, who must not be involved in any way with the solution, but may help the team logistically by providing practice locations, materials and instruction in techniques, guides teams. Teams compete in each problem against other teams in their division. Divisions are divided according to school grade. In order to compete at the World Finals competition, teams must qualify at their regional competitions and then at their state competitions. How are teams judged in competition? Thousands of volunteers from around the world judge the competitions and serve in various positions to help make the tournaments a success. Teams are scored for their Long-Term problem solutionand “Style” (the elaboration of their long-term solution) and how well they solve a “spontaneous” problem on the spot. Teams compete within age divisions. How did Odyssey of the Mind get its start? Dr. C. Samuel Micklus, Professor Emeritus at Rowan University in New Jersey, created odyssey of the Mind. In 1978, 28 New Jersey schools participated in the very first creative problem-solving competition ever. “Dr. Sam” still develops all problems for the program, along with his son, Sammy, President of CCI. How much time does Odyssey of the Mind take? This is an individual team decision, but most teams meet from October or November until the Regional Tournament in March (and beyond, if they advance past Regionals). Most teams meet once or sometimes twice a week. Many teams meet from 1 – 2 hours per meeting, depending on age and frequency of meetings. Most teams sometimes have a lengthier work session to finish up props, costumes, and so forth. All meetings must be at the convenience of the coach(es), of course! How does my child get involved in Odyssey of the Mind? Every September, the faculty coordinator, currently Joy Walls, holds an information/registration meeting where students can register for the program. How can I, the parent, volunteer for Odyssey of the Mind? There are always many opportunities for parents to participate and support the program, including coaching, judging and fundraising, to name just a few. Every year the program coordinator has parents complete a Parent Volunteer Form expressing the parents’ interests. What is a Long-Term problem? Cost There is a “cost” limit on the value of all materials used in the presentation of the long-term solution, other than “exempt” materials. This limit is typically US$125–150; the team members must submit a list of all non-exempt materials, which the judges check to make sure that the team is within the cost limit. Exempt materials include computers, most audio-visual equipment (projectors, radios, televisions, music players, etc.), batteries and power cords, footwear, musical instruments, and tables and chairs. Each year, six problems are released, corresponding to six general categories: There is a lot of overlap in these categories. Acting problems can make use of technical solutions, and technical problems can emphasize their skits. Many aspects of scoring emphasize creativity and ingenuity rather than technical or acting skill; in addition, special awards are sometimes given to teams whose solutions may not be successful, but which demonstrate exemplary “out-of-the-box” thinking. Style Style is a component of long-term where teams are judged on specific elements of their skit. There are five elements; two are specified in the problem, there are two “free choice of team” elements, and the fifth is a score of how well the other elements contribute to the performance. The pre-specified elements are related to the problem in some way; they are typically something to do with the appearance of a vehicle or costume, however in the Balsa Wood problem, the structure may not count as a style element. The style points account for a significant part of the overall score, depending on the nature of the problem. My child says, “adults can’t help” with the Odyssey of the Mind team at all. Is there anything I can do? Adults may certainly help, but some kinds of help are “OK,” and some kinds are not. A fundamental rule for Odyssey of the Mind is that all the work must be the team’s own, including all the ideas and all the work on a long-term problem solution. The team may have no “Outside Assistance” with the long-term problem. Some students will then assume that parents should not help in any way, but there are some things parents can do, including: What are spontaneous problems? The Spontaneous (“Spont”) problems are the part of the competition which requires quick, off-the-top-of-your-head thinking. Spontaneous problems fall into three categories: Although an Odyssey team can consist of up to seven members, only five can participate in the Spontaneous problem. Team members that do not participate must either leave the competition room or stay in the room without communicating with the rest of the team in any way. The team members usually decide in advance who will participate in the different types of Spont problems. After the judge announces which of the three types a team will be given, the other teammates will leave or stay as the case may be. Why can’t I watch the spontaneous competition? Even coaches do not attend the spontaneous portion of the tournament. This is a time for the team to be “all on their own” to solve a problem on the spot. Part of what we want children to learn is how to work as a team to solve a problem quickly that may be totally unexpected. An audience would not only distract them from focusing on the problem (which they only have 5-10 minutes to solve) but also there is not room for an audience, as the problems may take up an entire classroom, with only enough room for the team and judges. If you are interested in spontaneous, you could ask the coach about watching a team practice, or even offer to learn the process and be a “spontaneous coach.” You might work with other parents on the Spontaneous Fair, by setting up problems for several teams to come practice and/or volunteering to judge. You could also volunteer to be a spontaneous judge at a tournament (but be aware you would almost certainly miss the team’s long term performance, depending on the schedule.) How do I find my child when I arrive at the tournament? Every tournament has a registration/information desk where there are maps of the performance sites and copies of the schedules. You need to know which school your child or relative attends, what grade he or she is in, and you MUST also know the name of the long-term problem the team is solving. One school may have several teams performing at different locations, so knowing the name of the problem – or at least the type of problem it is – is necessary in order for us to direct you. How are the teams scored? Each team is given a score out of 350 points: 200 from Long-term Style is scored from 1-10 in each of the five categories, and the Long-term and Spontaneous problems are scored according to each problem’s individual rules. The scores awarded are then scaled within each problem and division based upon the highest score achieved by any team in each of the three scoring categories. So, for instance, the team scoring highest in Long-term in a particular problem and division receives 200 points, and the scores for the other teams in that problem and division are scaled proportionately. A team ranking first in its problem and division in all three elements of the competition would thus receive a “perfect” score of 350 points, regardless of the actual raw scores assigned by the judges. (See actual scores on the PA site which show how style and spontaneous can effect overall scores.) Why can’t the Closing Ceremonies begin earlier at our tournament? Keep in mind that score room personnel check every score for every team. Then think about the fact that the last team of the day has 30 minutes to return to discuss any scoring issues. If the last team performs at 4:00, that team finishes at about 4:15; those scores don’t usually reach the score room until 5:00. Then they must be checked, verified, and entered into the computer before ANY scores for that entire problem/division can be calculated and printed out. Verification takes some time; printing takes some time. And there are scores coming in after 4:30 for other problems (probably) and possibly for spontaneous. By the time all of those are checked and associated, membership numbers and math verified, and so forth, it is usually about 5:45 or later … IF no sites are running late and there have been no tribunals. Most tournament directors will allow at least 2 hours after the last team finishes to be confident of having scores printed before starting Closing Ceremonies.
The long-term problem solutions are presented as skits of no more than eight minutes. During these skits, some team members will generally be “backstage” controlling the technical aspects of the skit, while others will be acting. The Long Term presentations take 3-5 months to produce.
100 from Spontaneous
50 from Style.