Enrichment Program Develops Kids' Creativity

Creativity, teamwork and problem solving are skills that today's students will need as they live in an ever changing world of information and technology. Offered through the Falmouth Public Schools, the Destination ImagiNation (DI) enrichment program works with students to develop and use these skills in a fun and challenging way.

Students form teams that compete in a challenge chosen from a set offered through the International DI program, with each challenge connecting to specific national educational standards.

The challenges fall into seven categories: technical, scientific, fine arts, structural, improvisation, service learning and rising stars, a non-competitive challenge for students in kindergarten through second grade. Each team of four to seven students decide which challenge they want to tackle and then focus on solving that challenge as a team, using creativity, problem solving and teamwork. 

This year, Falmouth has seven teams spread out over six schools from elementary level through high school. Each team is managed by one or two volunteer parents. Managing a team does not mean providing help with a solution to the team's chosen challenge. Just the opposite is true; the rules are that the students solve the challenge on their own. Managers simply keep the team on track and help with getting supplies so they will be ready for the regional competition in March.

The adult leaders provide the group with a warm-up activity, and the students have time to work on their challenge. Towards the end of the meeting, the leaders provide the group with an "instant challenge," which the team must solve in 3 to 7 minutes. Instant challenges give the team a chance to work together to quickly solve something in a fun way, and then to analyze how they did, both with the challenge result and how they worked as a team. This fosters creative and critical thinking, promotes collaboration and leadership skills and helps the group recognize and work with the varied strengths and talents of the team members. It also teaches about flexibility, how to adapt and change to achieve a goal.

Destination Imagination teams usually start in September or October.  If the team does a good job on solving their challenge in the regional competition, they will then compete at the state level. And if they win there, teams go on to the culminating event in every DI Season — the global competition in Knoxville, Tennessee in May.