101 Activities For Teaching Creativity And Problem Solving

Related Activities

• As Easy as 6–3–5 [81]


• Idea Mixer [84]


• Museum Madness [86]

Procedure

(Note:The following procedure is designed for four groups.)

1. Ask the group members to take one sheet of 8.5” x 11” paper and draw a rectangle
   on it lengthwise so that there is about a one-half inch border. Then tell them to
   divide the rectangle into four cells by drawing straight lines. Have them number
   the cells as: “1” in the upper left, “2” in the upper right, “3” in the lower left, and
   “4” in the lower right.


2. Play loud music while each group generates an “Absurd, Bizarre, Exotic Idea”
   and writes it in cell 1 on the worksheet.


3. Have each group pass its worksheet to another group.


4. Tell the groups receiving the worksheets to examine the first idea, write a “Some-
   what Realistic” version of this idea in cell 2, and pass this worksheet to another
   group.


5. Instruct the groups to examine the worksheets passed to them, write an idea that
   is “A Little More Realistic” in cell 3, and pass this worksheet to another group.


6. Have the groups then write down the final, most realistic idea in cell 4 and title it
   “The Buck Stops Here.”


7. Ask the groups to share all their ideas with the other groups, record any new
   ideas on Post-its (one idea per note), and place them on flip charts for evaluation.

Debrief/Discussion

A distinguishing feature of this activity is that it provides an opportunity for multiple

groups to interact with each other. In addition to the competitive spirit and social satisfac-

tion this interaction can provide, involving other groups also increases the number of per-

spectives available for resolving a problem. It also is a relatively structured activity, which

sometimes can be an advantage for groups lacking energy or wanting more boundaries

instead of a free flow of ideas. On the other hand, this structure might limit the number of

ideas, so consider the tradeoffs involved. Ask the participants to discuss how the struc-

ture might have affected them in comparison to more traditional brainstorming.

Also 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?

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