Make Learning Fun!: Activities to Develop Creativity

By C. Samuel Micklus, Ed.D.

Make Learning Fun! Activities to Develop Creativity is a collection of problems used in the Odyssey of the Mind creative problem-solving competitions. It includes 11 long-term problems and 48 spontaneous problems. It also includes an introductory chapter by problem writer and program founder Dr. Sam Micklus on the problem-development process, and a brief history on how the program began back in 1978.
This book is a great resource for Odyssey of the Mind team members to hone their problem-solving skills. It includes the same type of spontaneous problems that team members are given on the day of competition to test their ability to “think on their feet.”
This book is also a great classroom resource and can be used to teach every type of student. Students do not have to be Odyssey of the Mind participants to benefit from solving the problems in the book. All of the problems are appropriate for use in and outside of the classroom because they appeal to all types of learners and are effective in developing problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.
As the book titles suggests, the Odyssey of the Mind program is meant to make learning fun. Students work together in teams so they form life-long friendships as they learn cooperation and collaboration. Because the problems are open ended, students can integrate their own interests into their solutions. With titles such as History the Way It Was and Bridge the Gap, there is bound to be a problem here that appeals to every student. Problems range in subject matter from the arts, to technology, to the classics.
In addition to teamwork, students are taught to budget their money, because each problem has a cost limit, and also to budget their time, since each problem also has a time limit. There is a “no outside assistance” rule, so students must solve the problems on their own, or seek out learning the skills necessary .

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Sep 3, 2013
• ISBN: 9780988729506

Book preview

Aristotle

Chapter I

A PERSONAL NOTE

This chapter presents a general discussion about how long-term and spontaneous problems for the Odyssey of the Mind competitions have been and are developed. Quite often people ask, How do you come up with the problems? To this question there are many answers. They include being constantly on the lookout for materials that can make an interesting problem, suggestions from friends and colleagues, things that interest me, and creativity meetings. I could also answer the question: I don’t know. Readers will not find here a discussion of the subject of creativity based on a scientific study, nor will they find recommendations about what should be done to develop one’s own creative skills. Some people may discard everything that is mentioned, while others may even try some of these approaches. Hopefully, it will at least bring about a smile or two.

All of us have had years of experience as students. Looking back, what made some subjects more enjoyable than others? Certainly, different disciplines or subject matter appeal to us more than others. However, one of the most crucial elements in education is the teacher. Some teachers have the ability to make their subjects more interesting than others. Students know when teachers are excited about their work. In the same way that motivated teachers stimulate students, bored teachers can dampen the creative and curious spirit of their students. Making learning enjoyable is one way to help motivate students from kindergarten through graduate school. College students quickly learn to take professors rather than courses.

First, a little bit of background that led up to the Odyssey of the Mind. One of my primary responsibilities at Glassboro State College (now Rowan University) was to teach a course entitled Industrial Design. Having earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Design from the Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts) and having practiced the profession for a number of years, I gained a great deal of practical insight to the creative process. This field seems to attract individuals who are part artist, part engineer, and who often possess a flair for creativity. Industrial designers are in the problem-solving business. They often have to redesign an existing product, and at other times create something entirely innovative. It seemed logical to begin a course in industrial design by offering a creative problem-solving activity. Little did anyone realize that Odyssey of the Mind would grow out of such activities.

My first class, all males, had to face a challenge over water. Each student was required to design and to construct a flotation device that would carry him on an irregular course, one-half mile across a lake. The term flotation device was used instead of boat to help students extend their thinking beyond designing typical boats. Since that time, flotation device has become the common term for life jackets and flotation cushions.

The following limitations were given:

(a)   No gasoline engines were allowed.

(b)   The device was to keep its designer safe and dry.

(c)   A maximum of $5 could be spent. However, the students could borrow materials and use scraps.

(d)   Upon completion of the project, each person had to clean up any mess.

For the most part the class was excited about the project. In the ‘60s, students dared to be different. They welcomed activities that were nontraditional. Upon giving the class the project, some rather humorous interaction took place. Jokingly, the class was told that if someone drowned, he would receive an F for the project. All laughed, except one young man who raised his hand and said that he couldn’t swim. I replied, Don’t worry, there will be a priest at the lake. (Some learning theorists may stop reading this chapter at this point.)

Of course, safety was a prime concern. The captain of a U.S. Coast Guard cutter was kind enough to lend us a life jacket for each student. I will always remain indebted to him. His ship was under repair in Gloucester, New Jersey, and he was glad to help. I then went to the fire department of a neighboring town and asked to borrow an aluminum boat that they kept in a garage. The spokesman said that I couldn’t borrow it for our morning extravaganza because they might need it. When I pointed out that it was full of cobwebs and probably had never been used, he said, If someone drowns, I’ll lend it to you so that you can look for him. So much for logic.

We managed to obtain several lifeboats. One pram, eight feet in length and equipped with a tiny antique outboard motor, was our primary safety craft. In addition, one student lent us a small wooden rowboat. Another student brought in as the third reserve vessel a tractor inner tube and a piece of plywood which served as a deck. An honest-to-goodness lifeguard stood watch aboard the latter craft.

Before each class member was permitted to launch a craft into the water, I personally secured his life jacket. The three safety boats were strategically placed around the lake and then the flotilla began. Some devices floated, some sank, some worked, some didn’t. As one young man began his journey by holding onto a large structure made of pipes and inner tubes while trying to walk on the water, he turned to the shore and shouted, Where’s that priest?

A student attempts to walk on water.

A device propelled by water wheels.

A device powered by a battery.

A student sails floating trashcans.

An inverted VW hood with an inner tube & bicycle frame.

Where’s that priest?

A design based on a water strider (Ranatra Fusca).

Who said that teaching is supposed to be rewarding?

Eventually, each of the students crossed the finish line, was lifted from a sunken craft, or was towed back. When the event was over, the class picked me up and threw me into the lake. (If this is how they treat professors, I’ll never have them attempt to fly from a rooftop.)

It was a fun project that received a great deal of attention. Several newspapers covered the event. More important, the Odyssey of the Mind seed was planted.

Evaluating the college projects was very subjective. One water strider received an A even though it didn’t work. Others that worked but were more typical boats received a slightly lower grade. Would anyone take a risk rather than a safe approach to answering a problem if it could affect grades or class standing? College students will generally go for the higher grade. To remove the threat of grades, several approaches were taken. For some projects, students did a self-evaluation. In others, juries of peers were formed, and at other times it was a combination of the opinion of a jury and the professor – hardly sophisticated methods, but probably motivating.

It was a time in history when people would say, Do your own thing! For me, creativity was my thing. It became a personal challenge to develop a new problem each year. After all, if students were expected to be creative in solving problems, the problems themselves should reflect imagination. The basic criteria in each of these problems were that the students enjoyed them and they helped set a creative-thinking framework for the remainder of the course.

In subsequent years, the students were faced with problems that required them to build vehicles without wheels, to have a Styrofoam war, and to make pie throwers.

A pie thrower arrives on a truck.

A net holds the pie but misses the target.

A student mashes up his pie and then...

... sprays his pie.

A pie slides down a rope toward the target.

A pie is pulled along cord over target...

. . . Look out. . .

Beautiful!

Some people never learn. After being thrown into the lake, I should have been aware of the pies. Each student had to design a device to launch two pies – the first at a fellow classmate target. The second was to be used for a hostility moment. Here the class was divided into two groups and faced each other with their pie throwers. I was exhilarated! My class was about to bury themselves in Jell-O and whipped cream! After carefully lining up the two groups, I gave the signal to begin. One young lady turned and hit me directly in the face at point-blank range. Then nearly thirty pies followed, hitting me with amazing accuracy.

Living near the campus had its advantages. After class, rather than smearing Jell-O and whipped cream all over the seats of my junk car, I walked home and, complete with clothes, stepped into the shower. It was a great day!

The Odyssey of the Mind needed to have new problems to solve. Young students couldn’t be subjected to deep water and sometimes dangerous mechanical pie throwers. Their problems had to be equally challenging, but safer. My biggest challenge was to make the problems more objective. It wouldn’t be enough for a judge to say, I like this solution better than that one, so this one wins. The loser would have every right to ask, Why? Besides careful scoring, additional considerations were to make the problems more explicit, inexpensive, and enjoyable for spectators.

The first Odyssey of the Mind problem was to develop a method of communicating nonverbally between a five-member team. One member of the team was blindfolded and guided by the four remaining team members. The blindfolded person could not be touched and no language was permitted. While being guided by auditory signals along an irregular, four-foot-wide path, the blindfolded person used a blowgun to shoot at balloons placed at random heights and locations. The blowgun was a plastic tube used to separate golf clubs in a gold bag. A cork with a pin was used as the missile. Each broken balloon received 10 points, with additional bonus points awarded for consecutive breaks and portions of the course successfully navigated. Penalties were assessed for stepping out of bounds. Teams used all sorts of noisemakers to communicate with the receiver. One team seemed to break traditional thought by putting a sight on its blowgun . . . a flashlight taped to the golf club tube. When the light came in contact with the balloons, the teammates knew that the target was lined up accurately. They then gave a special signal to the shooter and . . . Bang! Bang! Bang! Another team used musical instruments as its guidance system. A guitar signaled the person to turn left and right; a saxophone, forward and backward; and a violin, up and down.

After this first competition among 28 schools, which was intended to be a one-time event, the teams expressed an interest in doing it again. Everyone had a good time. Young people love to use their imaginations. They also love to compete. The Odyssey of the Mind was on its way!

REWARDING CREATIVE RISK-TAKERS

As Odyssey of the Mind competitions increased in number, it seemed as though many of the most creative teams were not always the winning teams. Generally, teams tried to receive as high a score as possible and placed an emphasis on winning, rather than on being creative. However, there were many instances of students presenting spectacular results, realizing that they probably would not receive enough points to be victorious. These students were true risk-takers. Something had to be done for them to emphasize creativity without requiring a high score, or even success. Exceptional creativity was the sole criterion. After