101 Activities For Teaching Creativity And Problem Solving

Chapter 12

Brainwriting with

Unrelated Stimuli

T

he activities in Chapter 11 are all based on stimuli related to the problem. Theoretically

this means that the resulting ideas may not be as unique as those generated with unre-

lated stimuli. Of course, that’s not always the case, because other factors (such as a highly

creative personality) may determine the quality of a group’s ideas. All things being equal,

however, unrelated stimuli are more likely to lead to winning ideas.

The activities in this chapter are based on sources of stimulation not related directly to

the problem. In that respect, they resemble the unrelated brainstorming activities in

Chapter 10. The difference, of course, is that the activities in this chapter are based on

basic brainwriting methods (the silent, written generation of ideas in a group).

As noted in Chapter 3, some research suggests that brainwriting may outperform

brainstorming, regardless of the stimulus source. Thus, unrelated brainwriting activities

have the highest hypothetical potential to produce the “best” ideas. This is only a conclu-

sion based on some research. The best activities may represent all categories, depending

on the user and the problem.

NOTE: FOR ALL ACTIVITIES, REMIND PARTICIPANTS

TO DEFER JUDGMENT WHILE GENERATING IDEAS.

LLLL

355

12 VG 355-388 10/6/04 1:30 PM Page 355