101 Activities For Teaching Creativity And Problem Solving

What Is It? Handout

Consider the problem of improving an office desk. First, describe what desks are. For

instance, you might say that office desks are not just desks, they are

• Smooth writing areas


• Occupational centers


• Computer support stands


• Leg and lap covers


• Hollowed-out wooden boxes

Then use these descriptions to generate ideas:

• A variable-tilt writing surface built into the desk top


• Desks tailored to different occupations. For instance, a doctor’s desk might have a
  place to hold a stethoscope, a blood pressure cuff, and other diagnostic tools, as well
  as a built-in computer screen with the Physician’s Desk Referenceon a CD


• A computer monitor that flips up when needed, a CPU under the desk, and a key-
  board built into the desk top


• A desk with heating pads and foot warmers


• A desk that can be collapsed easily and stored in a compact area

Grab Bag: Miscellaneous Activities 243

101 Activities for Teaching Creativity and Problem Solving.Copyright © 2005 by John Wiley &

Sons, Inc. Reproduced by permission of Pfeiffer, an Imprint of Wiley. http://www.pfeiffer.com

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