The Kutztown Area High School Odyssey of the Mind team will be competing at the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals, a four-day extravaganza that is modeled after the Olympics, that will be held at Michigan State University May 21 to 24.
“It has definitely been an exciting year for the Kutztown Area School District Odyssey of the Mind program,” Douglas Wunder, KASD Odyssey of the Mind director, said in a statement.
The district had four teams win first-place finishes at the regional tournament at Millersville University on March 8.
The Kutztown High School team placed first at regionals and then second at the state tournament held at Pocono Mountain East in Swiftwater, Pa., on April 5, advancing to the World Finals in Michigan. The Kutztown team is the only team from all of Berks County that qualified to attend this international competition this year.
“This has only happened three times in the program’s 13-year history, so it is a big deal,” said Wunder.
The high school team includes juniors Jillian Rager, Joslyn Diffenbaugh and Peytan Diffenbaugh; sophomores Andrew Neuenschwander and Tomas Hamm, and senior Vivian Sutlif.
“Odyssey of the Mind is a student-directed problem-solving program designed to foster critical thinking, teamwork and innovation,” said Wunder.
Participants are placed onto teams of similar age and select a problem to solve with the understanding that the solution will take months to develop. Problems typically emphasize structural builds, robotics, or theatrics. All require the creative reuse of materials, explained Wunder.
“The teams work together to develop unique solutions to the selected problem, using skills such as writing, acting, building and designing. The end result is a student-created short skit,” he said.
The teams then compete in tournaments with schools from other districts. At the event, all teams present the skit that is referred to as the long-term problem. Then they are also challenged with a spontaneous problem. Each team presents its skit in front of a panel of judges. The judges decide how each team solves the problems most cleverly and creatively, explained Wunder.
During the spontaneous part of the tournament, each competing team is asked to solve a word problem or a hands-on problem. They may be instructed to make a tall structure with limited materials or asked to tell a made-up story that involves each member taking a turn, he said.
“The bottom line is that students have had no prior knowledge of what they might be challenged with. They are judged based on time efficiency, cleverness and how well everyone works and contributes together,” he said.
Wunder said that the most significant aspect of the program is to challenge students to go beyond conventional learning and incorporate problem solving in learning, not just worrying about winning at a competition.
“Conventional education is important, however, Odyssey of the Mind can expand educational understandings to students who do well in school. It also allows students who struggle with traditional academic methods a different approach to learning. So when we do succeed in competition, it’s icing on the cake,” said Wunder.
High school team coach Nate Diffenbaugh said Odyssey of the Mind encourages students to work as a team while encouraging them to utilize the unique skill set that each one brings in order to succeed.
“As a student-led program, they are challenged to not only create a solution to the problem presented but also manage all steps of bringing the solution to a finalized production,” said Coach Diffenbaugh.
Students gain skills in leadership and group dynamics, he said.
“Our goal is for students to have fun and gain skills that will help them to continue to succeed beyond school,” said Coach Diffenbaugh.
Many members of this team have been working together for years.
“I hope they have the chance to appreciate that their hard work has led to this opportunity,” said Coach Diffenbaugh. “The chance to meet and interact with other students from across the world is exciting. Our hope is that they walk away feeling proud our their work and having enjoyed their time.”
Team members shared what they like about Odyssey of the Mind.
“It is a creative outlet and I get to make art with my friends,” said Jillian.
Peytan likes competing and working with power tools.
Tomas likes to build things, which he said is fun and a creative outlet.
“The fact that there is a little bit of everything for any student,” said Joslyn. “There are different aspects such as art, music, and writing. You can choose your creative outlet and contribute to the solution.”
Vivien said it is a creative outlet and a strong community of friends.
“There is a tight sense of community within the group,” said Andrew.
They also shared what they gained from the experience.
“I have improved my ability to improvise and to utilize the skills of the team to solve a problem,” said Vivien.
Peytan learned how to problem solve together as a team and Joslyn learned how to collaborate with a diverse group of skilled people.
Jillian learned how to come up with creative solutions when faced with complex problems while Andrew learned how to help to cope with performance anxiety to help the team succeed.
“I have worked to get better at building and creating things,” said Tomas.
To prepare for the World Finals, they are working on improv, team building and revising their props.
“We are continuing to build and have fun with our solution,” said Peytan.
The team is excited to be advancing to the World Finals.
“It is a payoff for all of the hard work we put in to be able to succeed and advance,” said Vivien.
“It is fun to know that our team gets to share our solution with people from across the world,” said Jillian.
Joslyn said Pennsylvania is known to be a very competitive region. This year, Kutztown was able to advance four teams to states, which is difficult in itself, she said.
“It is special to have the chance to share our solution at multiple competitions with others who have also been working for months on the same solution,” continued Joslyn. “It is a fun experience for our team to meet people from across the United States and teams from across the world. It is awesome to meet others from across the world who are working to solve the same thing.”
Peytan said they get to be one large representative group with the people with whom they were competing with previously.
“It’s also really special to serve as a role model for other teams in our school district, and being able to encourage each other on the way,” she said.
“Instead of just representing our school district, like we do at states and regionals, we get to represent Pennsylvania on the world stage,” said Peytan.
A GoFundMe fundraising page, Send Kutztown OM Team to World Finals, has been created to help the team cover registration fees, transportation and necessary supplies.
For more information about Odyssey of the Mind, visit https://odysseyofthemind.com/.
Source: Berkshire mont