101 Activities For Teaching Creativity And Problem Solving

Combinations 163

Time

20 minutes

Related Activities

• Bi-Wordal [22]


• Circle of Opportunity [23]


• Ideas in a Box [25]

Procedure

1. Distribute the Word Diamond Handout, review it with the participants, and
   answer any questions they may have.


2. Tell the groups to state their problems so that they contain at least four major
   problem attributes or elements, including both nouns and verbs.


3. Have them select four major words or phrases from this statement and write them
   on a flip chart, arranging the words or phrases in the shape of a diamond. There
   should be one word at each vertex (point) of the diamond.


4. Tell them to select one of the four words or phrases, combine it with another, and
   write down any ideas prompted.


5. Ask them to continue selecting and combining words until they have tried gener-
   ating ideas from all possible combinations.


6. Have them write down their ideas on Post-it®Notes (one idea per note) and place
   them on flip charts for evaluation.

Debrief/Discussion

This is yet again another exercise with the potential to create unique perspectives by the

combination of related problem elements. The visual of the diamond shape helps partici-

pants create word combinations easily that may spark unique ideas. It also consumes rel-

atively little time, so it is a time-efficient technique because the number of word

combinations is limited. On the other hand, the small number of words can be a limiting

factor by providing a smaller number of stimuli than other activities.

Consider having participants debrief using the following questions:

• What was most helpful about this exercise?


• What was most challenging?


• What can we apply?


• How would you rate the value of this exercise to helping us with this issue?


• Will this exercise be helpful in the future for other sessions?

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