mastermind kit.april2012
DESCRIPTION
ÂTRANSCRIPT
Created on 4/12/2012 9:27:00 AM
Mastermind Kit
Instruction Booklet
and
Activity Solutions
Contents of the Kit: Paper and Pen Activities (17 exercises)
After Basic Counting Pie Pieces
Alphabet Add Ons Squarely
Box Lock Triangles
Five Triangles Two Squares Volume
Flex Think 1 & 2 [2 pages] Volume, Volume, Volume
How Many F's Wordles
New Word 301
Nine Lines 6 From 9
Hands-On Activities
Porcupine Progression (wooden block and nails)
Stack 21 (5 dice)
Tangrams (2 laminated pages and 2 sets plastic puzzle pieces)
Brick by Brick & Block by Block (stand alone activities w/ own boxes not listed in this guide)
Item#71348
A NON-PROFIT CORPORATION
www.pa.org 1-800-468-8898
Created on 4/12/2012 9:27:00 AM
Mastermind is a set of activities that focus on creative, out-of-the box thinking. Many
people might describe the individual exercises as "brainteasers."
Many people have pre-conceived notions about their own creative problem solving
abilities. Some people love these types of puzzles and problems; some people hate them.
Some people will "see" the solution to some of these exercises instantly. Others will feel
that they will never be able to find an answer. The exercises can be frustrating, even
infuriating. Yet there is often a wonderful moment of elation that accompanies the
discovery of the solution. And over the years of presenting Mastermind to groups, my
observation is that people's ability to find creative solutions to these types of problems
improves the more time they spend trying to solve them.
There are many productive reasons for presenting Mastermind to groups; some include:
• Helping people develop problem solving skills and improve their out-of-the-box
thinking
• Exploring strategies for overcoming the frustration and inertia that can occur
when you feel "stuck" trying to solve a problem.
• Practicing techniques for solving problems cooperatively in a team environment.
However, there are some groups for whom Mastermind may not be appropriate. These include:
• Groups for whom English is a second language (since many of the verbal
exercises involve puns or slang expressions which may be unfamiliar or difficult
to interpret)
• Groups with short attention spans who become frustrated easily
• Groups or individuals who may feel "dumb" if they are unable to solve the
problems
Presentation and Design Options
One of the advantages of Mastermind is its tremendous versatility.
It can be a "stand alone" activity, i.e. the group is focused only on these exercises and is
given a specific time frame to solve them.
It can be an "overlay" activity where the group has to perform the tasks without being
given a specific time frame to do the work. For example, a group is given the Mastermind
exercises at the beginning of the day and told to complete them before the end of the
training, but they are never given a block of time to accomplish these tasks.
This design idea is described in detail in the PA book, Adventure In Business (Meeting
the Atwells section - pp. 27-31).
Created on 4/12/2012 9:27:00 AM
It can be an additional problem that is presented to a group to provide more work to be
done and hence increase participation. If you have 20+ people doing the Spider's Web,
hand out some of these exercises to occupy people who are not directly involved in
attempting the web. This option also can be helpful in engaging people who may decide
not to participate in a physical activity like the Web, yet who are very willing to
contribute in other ways to the group's success.
With large groups on a high challenge course, Mastermind exercises can be a fun way of
occupying people when they are not climbing.
There are multiple possible uses for this kit's activities, limited only by your own
creativity. And since these activities are designed to help you think out-of-the-box, don't
feel constrained by the description here in black and white. Imagine your own unique
applications and have some creative fun!
Type: Problem Solving - Creation
Group Size: 8-40
Time Frame: 20 - 45 minutes; or as an overlay activity in an all-day format
Goals
• "Out of the box" thinking, creative problem solving
• Dealing with feeling "stuck," strategies for making progress
• Decision making, planning, effective resource allocation
Materials
A selection of Mastermind activity sheets and props.
Paper activities:
After Basic Counting Pie Pieces
Alphabet Add-Ons Squarely
Box Lock Triangles
Five Triangles Two Squares
Flex Think I & II Volume/Volume/Volume,
How Many F's? Wordles
New Word 301
Nine Lines 6 From 9
Created on 4/12/2012 9:27:00 AM
Prop Activities:
Porcupine Progression (wooden block and nails)
Stack 21 (3 dice - or more if you choose)
Tangrams (2 sets of plastic shapes - 7 pieces per set)
Briefing
This briefing would be for a "stand-alone" design where the group is focused only on
solving the
Mastermind tasks.
"This activity involves solving multiple problems. Today, there will be a total
of____problems for the group to solve. While each of you will be receiving some tasks as
I hand out the materials, the goal is for this group to find successful solutions to all of the
problems.
The problems themselves should be self-explanatory. If you have any questions about
any of the problems, please feel free to ask and an instructor will be happy to assist you.
All of the problems have solutions.
Whenever you feel that a problem has been solved, you may present your answer to an
instructor and your answer can be verified for you. If your first answer is incorrect, you
are free to continue working on that problem and you may submit as many answers as
necessary until that problem has been solved."
At this point, either hand out the activity sheets and props so that each person has
something, or pre-arrange the materials so that the group has to gather the materials and
then divide them up.
Rules 1) All the materials are prepared in advance and packaged ready for use. It can be helpful to
have pens and blank paper available if the group requests them (and you want to make
these resources available to them).
2) Handout the activities and review and clarify the rules as needed.
3) Inform the group of the time constraint and let them begin.
Created on 4/12/2012 9:27:00 AM
Debriefing
The focus of the debrief is to examine how the team organized to solve the problems,
what strategies worked well and what processes and behaviors prompted creative
solutions.
• What strategic plan was developed by the group to complete all the exercises?
What aspects of the plan worked well? What aspects of the plan did not work
well?
• Was it difficult or easy to solve these problems? Please explain.
• Did you feel "stuck" (i.e. unable to find a solution) and/or frustrated at any point?
What was your response when it happened? How did you attempt to overcome it?
• Did this experience feel similar to or different from how you have solved
problems in the past?
• How and why?
• What insights occur to you that would be helpful to remember that could improve
your ability to think creatively in the future? .
• What ideas do you have based on this experience that could enhance a group's
abilities to work together and solve multiple tasks?
Instructor's Notes
• In working with cross-cultural groups where English is not the primary language,
some of the language-based problems are difficult to interpret and understand
because they are based on slang. This activity may not work as well for such
groups.
• As a stand-alone activity, a selection of 10-12 problems is typically enough to
engage a group of 10-15 people for 20-30 minutes (depending on which problems
are presented). For an "overlay" design scenario, it may be appropriate to reduce
either the complexity or the number of the problems. Including 2-4 prop activities
is customary since they often have more complex solutions; and they appeal to
some people who find the paper brainteasers unappealing.
Thematic Connections
In an overlay scenario, Mastermind is expanded to encompass an entire training day.
There is a specified end time, but no block of time set aside for working on the problems.
The goal is to replicate a workplace environment where people must manage many tasks,
not just one. This particular activity lends itself well to this type of overlay because the
problems are small, easily portable, engaging but at the same time challenging and
achievable in a segmented time frame.
Mastermind activities are commonly used in Site Central variations to provide the
"Management" team with tasks to perform while the Task team does its work. Again, this
Created on 4/12/2012 9:27:00 AM
mirrors the actuality that management has other work to do besides managing a specific
work team. In this scenario, the "managers" often come to realize how easy it is to get
wrapped up in their own tasks and forget about helping the task team, and the
"employees" (i.e. task team") gain an appreciation of how critical the communication
flow is to a successful effort. This type of scenario is described in Adventure In Business
in the activity appendix - Object Retrieval, pp. 271-276.
When working with multiple groups, often you can put multiple sets together and observe
if the groups view this as competition or collaboration. To do this, assemble enough
Mastermind sets so that each group has its own materials to work with. To reinforce the
value of working collaboratively, have each group's set include a few exercises that
another group has so that if the groups communicate they can avoid repetition and work
more efficiently. This works best when there are multiple trainers assigned as well.
Activity Variations and Options
We have sometimes incorporated other, more physical types of activities into a Mastermind
initiative. Some of these options are listed below with page references to the books where they
are described.
Moonball QuickSilver, p. 176 / Silver Bullets, p. 31
Almost Infinite Circle Silver Bullets, p. 131
Traffic Jam Silver Bullets, p. 122/ QuickSilver, p. 211
Two By Four Silver Bullets, p. 123
Created on 4/12/2012 9:27:00 AM
MASTERMIND SOLUTIONS
Solutions for paper and pen exercises are list in alphabetical order (301 and
6 From 9 follow at the end). Hands on solutions and diagrams follow these
solutions.
AFTER BASIC COUNTING
The numbers are correct because they are listed in alphabetical order.
ALPHABET ADD-ONS
Letters in the top row are made up of straight lines; letters in the bottom row
have curved lines. Letters to be added to the top row are: E, F, I, L, M, N,
V, W, X, and Y. Letters to be added to the bottom row are: B, D, O, P, Q
and S.
THE BOX LOCK
FIVE TRIANGLES
Move the five lower matches (i.e.
lowest one on each side and the
three in the base) into the
configuration shown in the
diagram (with the dark lines).
Created on 4/12/2012 9:27:00 AM
FLEX -THINK I
1) ME + MA + NH + VT + CT + RI = New England
2) Senate + House of Representatives = United States Congress
3) 8 Days - 24 Hours = 1 Week
4) 3 Pairs = 6
5) Hour Hand & Minute Hand at 12 = Noon or Midnight
6) 4 Jacks + 4 Queens + 4 Kings = All the Face Cards
7) Sun & Mon & Tues & Weds & Thurs & Fri & Sat are Days of Week
8) 88 = Piano Keys
9) 23 Years - 3 Years = 2 Decades
10) Eight - 8 = Zero
11) Yesterday + 2 Days = Tomorrow
12) 13 = Stripes on the American Flag
13) A Year - Spring - Summer - Fall = Winter
14) 1 = Wheel on a Unicycle
15) 30 Days = Days in Months April, June, September and November
16) 90 Degrees = Right Angle
17) Nina + Pinta + Santa Maria = Ships of Columbus
18) 1 + 6 Zeros = 1 Million
19) 8 = Sides on a Stop Sign
20) A. Lincoln & J. Garfield & W. McKinley & J. Kennedy were all
Assassinated Presidents
Created on 4/12/2012 9:27:00 AM
FLEX – THINK II
21) Nouns/Verbs/Adjectives/Adverbs/Conjunctions/Prepositions/Interrogatives = Parts of
Speech.
22) Senate + House of Representatives – United States Congress
23) Mars/Venus/Earth/Mars/Jupiter/Saturn/Neptune/Uranus/Pluto = Planets of the Solar
System.
24) 16 Ounces = 1 Pound
25) 12 = Signs of the Zodiac
26) 54 = Cards in a Deck (with the Jokers)
27) 88 = Piano Keys
28) 57 = Heinz Varieties
29) 13 = Stripes on the American Flag
30) 32 Degrees Fahrenheit = Temperature at which Water Freezes
31) 18 = Golf Course
32) 30 Days = Days in Months April, June, September, and November
33) 3 = Blind Mice (See how they run)
34) 90 Degrees = Right Angle
35) 8 = Sides on a Stop Sign
36) 4 Quarts = 1 Gallon
37) 1 = Wheel on a Unicycle
38) 5 = Digits in a Zip Code
39) 1000 Words is what a Picture is Worth
40) 29 Days = February in a Leap Year
Created on 4/12/2012 9:27:00 AM
HOW MANY F's?
Counting the one in the title, there are 7.
THE NEW WORD
Starting in the lower right hand corner, spell the word: DISCOVERY.
NINE LINES
To the original set of six lines (dark lines), you can add five new lines in the
following pattern to make nine.
PIE PIECES
There are at least two solutions that we know of.(see below). There are
probably more.
OR
Created on 4/12/2012 9:27:00 AM
SQUARELY
30 is the correct number of squares.
TRIANGLES
38 triangles are on the page.
TWO SQUARES
Volume, Volume, Volume
Fill the 5 gallon container. Pour 3 gallons into the 3 gallon can, then empty
the 3 gallon can. Now pour the 2 gallons remaining in the 5 gallon can into
the 3 gallon can. Refill the 5 gallon can. Pour 1 gallon into the 3 gallon can
(to fill it) and you now have exactly 4 gallons in the 5 gallon can.
Created on 4/12/2012 9:27:00 AM
WORDLES
Double Vision That’s Right I Understand Broken
Engagement
Paint By The
Numbers
Neon Light Running Ahead of
Schedule
Ingenious
Working
Overtime
Mixed Up Kid Misunderstanding
Among Friends
3 Degrees Below
Zero
Paradox Room For 1 More Excellence Paradise
301
301
6 FROM 9
SIX
Created on 4/12/2012 9:27:00 AM
Porcupine Progression Insert one nail into block. Put all but one nail into the diagram below. Put
last nail (in bold below) on top of criss-crossed nails, then balance on head.
Stack 21
The answer is always 21 minus the number of spots on the top of the top
die. (For example, if a six shows on the top die in the stack, the answer is 15.
Check it out.)
Hint:
If people can identify that opposite sides of any die always add up to 7, then the answer is
nothing more than multiplication. Since the sum of two opposites sides is always 7
(THAT’S A FACT!), then the total for three dice stacked would be 21. Since all you want
to know is how many spots are hidden, look at the spots on the top of the stack, then
subtract that number from 21 and you have the answer. [i.e., if 4 shows on the top, the
answer is 17].
Instructor's Field Notes and Variations
People may feel inadequate when they do not get the solution, especially if others in the
group did. When presenting this activity, be careful to make certain that everyone learns
the answer and that no-one is made to feel inferior if they do not get it quickly.
NOTE:
The key to the solution “holding” is the placement of the two nails
that run horizontally in the diagram. One nail (A) sits on the head
of the nail in the wood and all the other nails rest on top of it; the
other (B) rests on top of the criss-crossed nails. These two nails
“lock” the others in place and provide the stability.
A B
Created on 4/12/2012 9:27:00 AM
TANAGRAMS