For many years, Destination Imagination (DI), has integrated project management into one of its key educational resources – Roadmap. Roadmap is a companion document that every DI team can use to help guide them through their creative process as they problem-solve a DI Challenge.
Now, DI is proud to continue its relationship with the PMI Educational Foundation (PMIEF) through the release of two brand-new Instant Challenges that will help youth learn and apply project management through an innovative activity that brings learning to life.
Specifically, the new Instant Challenges require teams to utilize the five core project management process groups that professional project managers use when undertaking a project: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing.
The first Challenge, Virtual Remix, requires teams to plan and present two virtual performances about managing a unique project. While the end product requires teams to integrate the management of a project as part of the performance of their solution, the Challenge also asks them to carefully consider how they apply the project management process groups as they develop their Challenge solution.
Additionally, there are a series of processing questions that adult facilitators will be able to ask while the team is solving the Challenge that will help youth understand their progress throughout the project management life cycle. This will reinforce concepts that will inevitably allow for greater inculcation of the core project management concepts.
This Instant Challenge marks the first time that DI has developed a Challenge that explicitly requires teams to utilize the Instant Challenge Project Management (ICPM) tool, which will help DI teams learn project management fundamentals in real-time and then immediately apply those skills as they engage in a hands-on, experiential activity. The best part is that it is FUN!
What also makes this Challenge unique is that it requires teams to tap into their improvisational acting and theater skills, which don’t always seemingly align with project management. However, integrating project management into a Challenge that is inherently artistic in nature ensures participants’ experiences will be richer than if the Challenge only incorporated one or the other. It will allow teams to make deeper connections with the content and imagine other situations and scenarios that will allow them to apply the complementary skills they are learning.
The importance of project management has always been a key underlying component of DI, and it has been with PMIEF’s help and support that we have been able to better integrate the tools and techniques necessary for teams to not only be successful in solving their Challenges, but also the challenges that they will inevitably face in school, their career and in life. We are proud of our continued relationship with PMIEF and hope that you and your family enjoy solving this Challenge as much as we think you will.
Click here to download the Virtual Remix Instant Challenge.
Stay tuned next month for our second Instant Challenge, presented by PMIEF! To learn more about PMIEF, visit www.pmief.org.
For more information about how to bring DI to your school or how to start a team, sign up for one of our upcoming webinars. If you enjoy this Instant Challenge and want to help DI continue to build more resilient kids and communities, consider making a tax-deductible donation HERE.
