Odyssey of the Mind
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Odyssey of the Mind (often called OotM and OM, but see below) is a creative problem-solving competition involving students from kindergarten though college. Team members work together at length to solve a predefined problem (the Long Term problem); and present their solution to the problem at a competition. They must also generate spontaneous answers to a problem they have not seen before; this is the Spontaneous competition.
Odyssey of the Mind is administered by Creative Competitions, Inc.
Contents |
[edit] History
The Odyssey of the Mind program was started in 1978 by Dr. C. Samuel Micklus, a professor at Rowan University in New Jersey. That first competition, known as "Olympics of the Mind", involved teams from 28 New Jersey schools; now, the program is international, with teams from Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Siberia, Singapore, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, and West Africa competing in addition to those from the United States. [1]
In 1999, a rift in the Odyssey board of directors over the profit status of the organization led to the formation of a separate organization, Destination Imagination, a non-profit that runs a program similar to Odyssey of the Mind.
[edit] Organization
Odyssey of the Mind teams are divided into four divisions: Division I, roughly corresponding to elementary school ages, Division II for middle school, Division III for high school, and Division IV for college. The requirements are structured so that students may compete at higher levels than they typically would, with the exception of Division IV which has more specific requirements. They may not, however, participate in a lower levels; for example, a student of the right age for Division II could compete in Divisions II, III, but not Division I. Division IV is specifically for college students and therefore requires a high school diploma or GED and enrollment in at least one college class.
There is also a non-competitive primary division; this is for young children, who are given a simplified problem and fewer constraints than the higher divisions. They present and are given feedback at the first level tournament and cannot advance.
In the United States, each participating state has its own Odyssey organization. Most states are further broken down into regions. Teams compete at the regional level first and then, if they win, progress to the state level. In the USA, there is no national level. State-winning teams go directly to the World Finals, which have always been held in the USA, usually near the end of May. The World Finals for the 2006–07 school year will be held from May 23–26, 2007, at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.
[edit] Long-term Problems
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.
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. They correspond to six general categories:
- The vehicle problem focuses on the design and construction of a vehicle used to solve a designated problem, with a lesser emphasis on the performance accompanying the solution. The problems alternate between team-driven vehicles sized to carry a person and independent self-propelled vehicles. The vehicle problem for 2006-07 is called "Tag 'em" and will involve one or more small vehicles making trips through a designated course and being labeled ("tagged") using some remote mechanism.
- The technical problem is mainly focused on a technical solution involving building machinery, and like the vehicle problem places secondary emphasis on the performance. The technical problem for 2006-07 is called "The Large and Small of It" and is focused on a story-book that incorporates visual special effects, along with three large-scale pages from the book. Previous technical problems have included robot building, sound production and others.
- The Classics... problem involves a performance tied to some area or aspect of human achievement or culture (art, literature, music, etc.). The problems typically focus on the performance itself, without substantial technical requirements. They have included in the past topics from Shakespeare interpretation to art analysis, great human achievements, and other "Classical" themes. The problem for 2006-07 focuses on travel and geography.
- The structure (or balsa) problem involves building a structure out of 1/8 inch balsa wood and glue, see example [2]. The task is always to make the structure hold as much weight as possible; each year, there is a different requirement as to how the structure must be built. There is little emphasis on acting and on the script in this problem, but the skit must include the structure in it. The 2006-07 problem requires that the structure be able (by disassembly or some other means) to fit inside a box smaller than the finished size of the structure.
- The performance problem is heavily focused on acting and on the script, with the major challenges involving the incorporation of required elements in the performance. Past problems have covered topics such as idioms and animation. The 2006-07 problem requires a humorous performance including a self-centered character who repeatedly takes advantage of others.
- The primary problem is designed for younger participants in grades K-2, and contains simple requirements for a problem that can easily challenge the youngest minds. Teams who solve this problem do not officially compete and are not scored.
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.
[edit] 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. The free choice items may be anything the team wishes as long as they are not already scored as part of the long-term solution. Each element is scored from 1-10, accounting for 50 points of the overall score.
[edit] Spontaneous problems
The Spontaneous problems are the part of the competition that encourage quick, off-the-top-of-your-head thinking. Spontaneous problems fall into three categories:
- Verbal problems involve responses to a question, statement, or picture; team members' responses are graded on wittiness and creativity. Usually, team members have one minute to think of responses and then two minutes to give the responses. The order of responses is usually random, being controlled by a deck of randomly sorted cards or some such device.
- Verbal hands-on problems are similar to verbal problems, but they usually involve manipulating a physical object in some way. This may include using an object as a prop, or taking clay or aluminum foil and making characters, which then participate in a story made up by the team members.
- Hands-on problems rely almost entirely on the manipulation of physical objects; these problems usually take longer than verbal problems, and team members may sometimes only be able to communicate non-verbally.
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.
[edit] Scoring
Each team is given a score out of 350 points: 200 from Long-term, 100 from Spontaneous, and 50 from Style. 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.
[edit] Naming
- Though the program is often called "OM," this use has been discouraged as the result of a trademark-related lawsuit. An agreement was reached that prohibits the use of the acronym "OM". As a result, participants are encouraged not to use the designation "OM" and all official works use the acronym "OotM" instead. The use of the acronym "OM" may result in a penalty, depending upon the rules of the particular regional or state Odyssey organization in question.
- When founded, the program was known as "Olympics of the Mind." In the late 1980s, the International Olympic Committee enforced violations of its trademarked "Olympic" name, and forced the program to change its name. The new name selected was "Odyssey of the Mind" to fit the "OM" acronym in use at the time.
![[2]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Structure_Problem.jpg#filelinks){kind=link}