Odyssey of the Mind Helps Develop 21st Century Skills

Complex technical and artistic problem solving

Global Awareness

• Global competitiveness and understanding
• Teams meet other teams from around the works and the annual World Finals

Intellectual curiosity

• Research to find information needed to solve the problem
• Choosing a problem and idea that is personally exciting

Interpersonal and Collaborative Skills Communication

• Teamwork: consensus, collaboration, communication
• Understanding and valuing the power of diversity within the team
• Understanding personal strengths and weaknesses
• Practicing active listening skills
• Learning to value other team member’s ideas and contributions

Problem Solving & Creative and Critical Thinking

• Analyze complex open-ended real world problems
• Identifying challenges within the problem
• Brainstorm possible technical solutions
• Brainstorm possible thematic and artistic solutions
• Evaluate potential solutions – How creative is this solution? Will other teams have thought of this?
• Spontaneous: training your mind to generate creative solutions by analyzing and evaluation your ideas and learning to use targeted thinking strategies.

Self-Direction

• No outside assistance rule: teams generated research, solutions and decision making
• Select potential solutions using scoring criteria
• Planning for tournaments

Authentic Assessment Accountability and Adaptability

• Team reflection of effectiveness during spontaneous practice
• Team reflection of tournament results
• Planning and refining for future tournaments
• Create-test-improve-re-test best solutions