101 Activities For Teaching Creativity And Problem Solving

(Joyce) #1
Chapter 4

Basic Idea Generation:


“No-Brainers”


Y


ou have probably heard the expression “That’s a real no-brainer!” In case you haven’t,
a no-brainer is an activity that requires little mental effort or ability. (It doesn’t mean
you don’t need a brain!) Traditional or classical idea generation typically is considered to
be a type of no-brainer in that it relies on whatever ideas we can call up without deliber-
ate use of stimuli.
Depending on your creative thinking ability, basic idea generation activities may or
may not work as well as other activities. This doesn’t mean they lack the potential for
yielding blockbuster ideas. All idea generation approaches have that potential. You’ll just
have to experiment with activities from different categories to determine the best ones for
you. You also should explore the activity selection guide described in Chapter 2. (Remem-
ber, the activities in this part of the book can be used by either individuals or groups.)

NOTE: FOR ALL ACTIVITIES, REMIND PARTICIPANTS
TO DEFER JUDGMENT WHILE GENERATING IDEAS.

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