Creative Thinking Strategy: BRAINSTORMING

"To have a great idea, have a lot of them."
- Thomas Edison

In our increasingly complex world, our kids need to know more than how to access facts and restate information. They need to be able to make choices and decisions, identify and solve problems, and find answers in different ways. They need to be able to THINK - clearly, creatively, flexibly, and in their own way. Simply put, they need to know how to brainstorm.

The dictionary defines brainstorming as:
• A method of shared problem solving in which all members of a group spontaneously contribute ideas.
• A process undertaken by a person to solve a problem by rapidly generating a variety of possible solutions.

Brainstorming is fun, flexible, relevant to any and all content areas and situations. It fosters the production of a quantity of responses, a variety of options, and the ability to see things from many angles. When done in an open and idea friendly atmosphere (see Rules below), it provides opportunities for kids (and adults) to:

• Think divergently


• Look at problems and situations in many ways


• See a multitude of possible solutions


• Think creatively


• Think critically
  

TRY THIS: Techniques to Stimulate Brainstorms

RULES: There are only 3 rules for effective brainstorming:

1. NO WRONG ANSWERS - so all ideas are welcome.
2. The more ideas the better.
3. Your good idea may be the jumping off point for mine (this is called piggy-backing).

The following questions EYE OPENING questions are intended to stimulate the production of lots of ideas - in your classroom, after-school program, or around your dinner table. Choose one or many, and, please, share your results in the comment box at the bottom of this post.

NAME AS MANY
Ask everyone in the classroom or small group to:
• Name as many EYES as you can think of (responses might include eye glasses, island, eye witness, eye of the storm, eye see you, ICU)
• Name as many tools to SEE WITH as you can (responses might include binoculars, glasses, camera, contact lenses, crystal ball)
• Name MATERIALS THAT CAN BE USED TO SYMBOLIZE EYES IN ARTWORK (peas, pin pong balls, marbles, buttons, bottle caps)

METAPHORS
• How is an eye like a zipper?
• How is an eye like a clock?
• How is an eye like a book?
• How is an eye like an ear of corn?

IN WHAT WAYS:
• In what ways do artists draw eyes? To make the most of this question, collect examples from as many places and styles as you can. Arrange them. Ask kids - do you notice any patterns, any similarities. Any differences? How are eyes drawn by Picasso like, and unlike eyes drawn by Da Vinci?
• In what ways are the eyes of a cow like the eyes of a mouse? In what ways are they different?
• In what ways can an eye be used as a symbol?
• In what ways has the word EYE been used in book titles and song lyrics?
• In what ways would things change is vision was not one of our senses?

WHAT IF
• What if we had one eye instead of two?
• What is we had many eyes. (The legendary Argus had a head encircled by 100 eyes.)

What is Creativity?

Creativity is the ability to transcend traditional rules, patterns, beliefs, relationships, and ways of doing things. Creative thinking can result in meaningful new ideas, a variety of approaches to problems, new ways to get things done, and an open minded approach to life’s challenges and pleasures.

For many of us, creativity is usually associated with the arts and design; it is of course an essential element in scientific thinking, engineering, and cooking, but creativity is also an incredibly useful tool in the mundane areas of our lives – solving practical, everyday problems …
Here’s an example:

On a hot summer afternoon long ago, before cell phones and regular paychecks, a young man was driving along a deserted road when a sudden THUD and loud grating sound made it clear that something, not so good, had happened to his aged car. A quick examination determined that the gas tank has escaped its rusting brackets, and fallen to the ground.

For some people (me) this would be a crisis, cause for panic. For this guy, it was merely a problem to be solved. He found a bag of old ties meant for Goodwill in the trunk of the car, and a stack of wire hangers meant for the dry cleaners. He knew that ties, especially silk, are very strong, and he’d learned to tie knots in a sailing class. He combined the flexible hangers and the ties into a sling, tied the gas tank in place, and drove off to the nearest gas station.

Good thinking! His clever solution demonstrated the characteristics of all creative problem solvers. He :

• Identified and stated the problem – the gas tank fell down.


• Analyzed the different elements of the problem – the gas tank is heavy, tow trucks are expensive, driving like this can create dangerous sparks.


• Developed severak alternative solutions – call for help, slide something under the tank, lift it, etc.


• Selected and/or created an appropriate method for solving the problem - knot the ties, shape the hangers.


• Implemented the solution – just do it.


• And, evaluated the outcome of his actions – this time it worked.

So, what can each of us do to help our kids become creative thinkers and problem solvers?

In my opinion, it’s really not that hard. In my years of teaching, research and writing about creativity one idea stands out above all others – the most effective way to encourage creative thinking is to model the characteristics you are hoping to see - openness to lots of ideas, a willingness to listen, observing with all your senses, curiosity, a sense of play, and most important of all – a willingness to fail – to get things wrong and to try a different way. I believe that trash cans are essential tools when teaching creativity.

In other words, when encouraging creative thinking, attitude is everything. But, strategies help too ...

Please keep reading this blog for strategies, activities, resources, ideas all with one thing in mind, inspiring ideas.

How do you spot a Creative Thinker?

A graduate student researching the characteristics of gifted students asked this question to kids in a TAG (talented and gifted) classroom.

Answers included: “Use a green felt pen.” “Expose them to measles.” “A pair of binoculars might work.” “Stand next to one on the parallel bars.”

In this classroom, where kids were encouraged and taught to think creatively, funny and unusual responses just kept on coming. The graduate student wrote in her notebook, “The ability to think creatively and generate original ideas is a characteristic of gifted kids."

In these times of budget deficits and program cutting, parents and teachers of gifted kids are finding it more and more difficult to find the time and the resources to meet the needs of kids on the upper end of the special needs spectrum.

But, even in the good old days, when TAG programs thrived, and kids identified as gifted had special classes and services provided, the idea that every kid is gifted, that all kids can and should be encouraged to think creatively, was never a mainstream concept.

The prevailing attitude seemed to be that creative thinking is something only the kids identified as gifted need to learn. I disagree.

Today, classrooms are increasingly diverse, filled with kids at all kinds of risk, kids who don’t speak English as a primary language, kids who move too often to give us the time to get to know them, kids who perform poorly on tests, kids who try to hide their talents in order to fit in better, the list goes on and on. Even the kids we identify as gifted may only have special gifts in some areas, and be quite average in others.

To be sure that each kid has the best opportunity to succeed in life, I believe that we need to encourage and teach ALL kids to think creatively, and to help them understand the value of great ideas, and the ability to identify and solve problems. What better way to build self-esteem, and give value to unique abilities and points of view.

With this in mind, this blog will be a place for me (and for you) to share ideas and inspirations for simple (and not so simple) things that teachers, mentors and parents, can do to provide every kid, whether identified gifted, a talented artist, a math whiz, a shy guy, a newcomer, or a regular kid, with the tools they need to be able to think creatively, see the world in new ways, believe in their own abilities, solve problems, and maybe, make a difference in the world.

So, how do you spot a creative kid? Just keep your eyes open.