Over 100 volunteers that facilitate student creative problem solving met to learn the emerging “best practices” in teamwork, creativity and problem solving skills at Saturday’s New Hampshire Destination ImagiNation training at Bow Memorial School.
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The volunteers, who came from every part of the state, volunteer as Team Managers – the adult facilitators who lead Destination ImagiNation teams in their communities. They learned, through a variety of methods how to facilitate skills that allow students to build teamwork and creative problem solving skills.
“Some adults don’t always understand how the kids on their team see this”, according to NH Destination ImagiNation alumna Sarah DelCore of Hampstead. DelCore, now in college, helped train many of the Team Managers with the unique perspective of having been on a team herself. “We put the Team Managers in the kid’s shoes. We threw a Challenge at them and they had to solve it and got to see how the team members feel – and experience some of the emotions the kids have.” This new viewpoint provides new-found respect for the team members and helps the volunteer better facilitate the teams, which start competition in March.
Sessions included “think on your feet” Instant Challenge skills and tactics, improvisational storytelling techniques, team dynamics, technical solutions and Challenge specific training.
Destination ImagiNation is an extra-curricular program that teaches students the 5C’s of innovation. Participants build critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication skills and confidence.
Last year, over 1,500 students took part in NH-DI creative problem solving programs and were well represented at Destination ImagiNation Global Finals, where the top teams compete in creative problem solving. During the year, teams of up to seven students solve team-selected Team Challenges that incorporate national learning standards and core school subjects with a focus that is technical, scientific, fine arts, improvisational, structural or social-learning. Teams choose one of six Challenges that seem interesting to the team. They also learn and practice “think on their feet” skills for the Instant Challenge portion of the competition.
Teams are still forming in New Hampshire and in over 30 countries that participate in the program.
For more information, visit NH-DI.org or contact 603-868-2140.