101 Activities For Teaching Creativity And Problem Solving

214 101 Activities for Teaching Creativity and Problem Solving

49. What if?

Background

What if cows could fly?

What if we grew telephones in our ears?

What if we were all thumbs?

What if diamonds were soft and cushions were rock hard?

What if plants could talk?

What if people who asked “What if... ?” all the time suddenly died?

Do you get the idea? As you read each of these questions, images formed in your

mind. Most of these images probably were rather provocative. At least, they were a little

out of the ordinary. Any time our minds encounter contradictions or paradoxical think-

ing, we experience a perspective shift. In this case, asking “What if... ?” frees our minds

and opens them to possibilities we might never have thought of or explored. Asking

“What if... ?” pushes out the boundaries of impossibilities and limits.

Objectives

• To help participants generate as many creative ideas as possible


• To help participants learn how to use the activities to generate ideas

Participants

Small groups of four to seven people each

Materials, Supplies, and Equipment

• For each group: markers, two flip charts, and masking tape for posting flip-chart
  sheets


• For each participant: one sheet each of three different colors of sticking dots
  (^1 ⁄ 2 ” diameter) and one pad of 4 x 6 Post-it®Notes

Handout

• What if...? Handout

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