Getting Involved - Schools
Tournament of Minds (TOM) is an International educational program developed for creative students across all sectors of primary, intermediate and secondary school education. It provides a dynamic approach to learning, whilst developing students’ enthusiasm for experimentation, problem finding and problem-solving.
Students are formed into vertically grouped team structures at Primary and Secondary levels, and undertake one of the four discipline groups: STEM; The Arts; Language Literature; and Social Sciences. Team members work together for six weeks - without assistance from teachers, parents or peers - to develop a creative way to communicate their solution to a panel of judges and an audience, working within pre-determined parameters, complex criteria and the deadline of Tournament Day. The teams must also participate in an unseen Spontaneous Challenge® on the day.
Tournament of Minds links with modern curricula and informs our core Challenge areas of STEM, Language Literature, Social Sciences and The Arts.
The Tournament of Minds’ objectives are:
- to promote the stimulation of real, open-ended challenges
- to develop creative problem-solving approaches and techniques
- to foster cooperative learning and teamwork
- to promote knowledge and appreciation of self and others
- to encourage experimentation and risk-taking
- to expand and reward creative and divergent thinking
- to stimulate a spirit of inquiry and a love of learning
- to develop enterprise
- to celebrate excellence