Basic Brainstorming: The Start of the Creative Thinking Process
By Neil Wuttke and Victoria Sears
()
About this ebook
Brainstorming is like any other skill: The more you practice, the better you become.
But students, teachers, children, and adults continue to struggle with creative thinking, and when it comes to brainstorming ideas as members of a group, they often fail to contribute.
Neil Wuttke, who has been a primary schoolteacher for forty-two years, walks you through brainstorming in this guide that shows how calling upon experiences and memories can help you express your thoughts and think for yourself.
He explores how to apply brainstorming strategies in a classroom setting with activities that encourage creative thinking. Whether its using the word silver in as many ways you can, naming things that have wheels, or listing chains, the activities are fun and thought provoking.
Boost your confidence, rejuvenate your memory, and put some excitement into your life with the insights, lessons, and activities in Basic Brainstorming.
Neil Wuttke
NEIL WUTTKE has been a primary school teacher for forty-two years, specializing in teaching middle school students. He has been participating in the Tournament of Minds Competition for twenty-six years and has been the co-director of its South Australian branch for three years. He also enjoys coaching football and playing water sports. He lives in the southwestern suburbs of Adelaide and teaches at Henley Beach Primary School.
Related to Basic Brainstorming
Related ebooks
The MI Strategy Bank: 800+ Multiple Intelligence Ideas for the Elementary Classroom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fostering Creativity in Gifted Students Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTeaching How to Learn: The Teacher's Guide to Student Success Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Explain Absolutely Anything to Absolutely Anyone: The art and science of teacher explanation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsActive Learning in the Middle Grades Classroom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Challenging Exceptionally Bright Children in Early Childhood Classrooms Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBig Questions for Young Minds: Extending Children's Thinking Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEnsure Educational Success Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mindsets in the Classroom: Building a Growth Mindset Learning Community Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Be Amazing: How to teach science the way primary kids love Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLectures and Play: A Practical and Fun Guide to Create Extraordinary Higher Education Classroom Experiences Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Simple STEAM: 50+ Science Technology Engineering Art and Math Activities for Ages 3 to 6 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVisual Impact, Visual Teaching: Using Images to Strengthen Learning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How School Crushes Creativity Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Curious Minds: 40 Hands-on Activities to Inspire a Love of Learning Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Managing Your Own Learning Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnderstanding Creativity Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Magic Capes, Amazing Powers: Transforming Superhero Play in the Classroom Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCrames: Creative Games to Help Children Learn to Think and Problem Solve (in only 5 minutes a day!) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Agile Learner: Where Growth Mindset, Habits of Mind and Practice Unite Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGetting to the HEARTS of Teaching Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBig Ideas in Education: What every teacher should know Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPromoting Creativity in Childhood: A Practical Guide for Counselors, Educators, and Parents Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMotivated Minds: Raising Children to Love Learning Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Schoolwide Enrichment Model in Science: A Hands-On Approach for Engaging Young Scientists Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Parenting Interesting Children : A real life story of raising a child with mental health and behavioral challenges: A real life story of raising a child with mental and behavioral health challenges: A real life story of raising a child with mental health and behavioral challenges Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTeacher-Led Research: Designing and implementing randomised controlled trials and other forms of experimental research Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Artful Educator: Creative, Imaginative and Innovative Approaches to Teaching Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Teaching Methods & Materials For You
From 150 to 179 on the LSAT Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Three Bears Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fluent in 3 Months: How Anyone at Any Age Can Learn to Speak Any Language from Anywhere in the World Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Becoming Cliterate: Why Orgasm Equality Matters--And How to Get It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Speed Reading: Learn to Read a 200+ Page Book in 1 Hour: Mind Hack, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How To Be Hilarious and Quick-Witted in Everyday Conversation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Take Smart Notes. One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Speed Reading: How to Read a Book a Day - Simple Tricks to Explode Your Reading Speed and Comprehension Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Financial Feminist: Overcome the Patriarchy's Bullsh*t to Master Your Money and Build a Life You Love Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Easy Spanish Stories For Beginners: 5 Spanish Short Stories For Beginners (With Audio) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Jack Reacher Reading Order: The Complete Lee Child’s Reading List Of Jack Reacher Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Conversational Spanish Dialogues: Over 100 Spanish Conversations and Short Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher's Journey Through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Call of the Wild and Free: Reclaiming the Wonder in Your Child's Education, A New Way to Homeschool Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A study guide for Frank Herbert's "Dune" Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Personal Finance for Beginners - A Simple Guide to Take Control of Your Financial Situation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Principles: Life and Work Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Study Guide for S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSummary of The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The 5 Love Languages of Children: The Secret to Loving Children Effectively Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everything You Need to Know About Personal Finance in 1000 Words Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Basic Brainstorming
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Basic Brainstorming - Neil Wuttke
Copyright © 2017 Neil Wuttke.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Illustrations - Victoria Sears
Bachelor of Visual Communication
Balboa Press
A Division of Hay House
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.balboapress.com.au
1 (877) 407-4847
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,
and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.
ISBN: 978-1-5043-0834-2 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-5043-0835-9 (e)
Balboa Press rev. date: 05/24/2017
Foreword
Brainstorming - most of us have heard of the process, but probably think we are not good at it and that others will show us up if we are involved in a group session.
This book is a guide to how anyone, child or adult, can, with practice, improve their ability to brainstorm, think divergently or think outside the square in a variety of situations.
While the book is aimed at classroom teachers who want to initiate and develop a positive process with their students, all individuals can gain from the range of these activities.
Acknowledgements/References
1. Brainstorming: Activities for Creative Thinking
Craig Dickinson, Paula Dickinson, Eileen Rideout
Creative Publications, 1987
2. Year Seven students at Henley Beach Primary School in Adelaide during the last few years for their creative answers.
3. www.morewords.com
4. www.enchanted learning.com.au
Brainstorming is the process of generating ideas and solutions usually within group discussions. It may be used to solve specific problems, develop new ideas, stimulate thinking or to list additional information. It can be used in a high-pressure situation or just for fun. Within a group discussion it can lead the group in many directions. Group members are encouraged to think and express ideas out loud, even if they seem to be off task, divergent or do not fit the original brief. No-one is allowed to criticise, discuss or analyse any idea until the session is deemed complete.
Brainstorming was coined by Alex Faickney Osborn (1888 – 1966) in his book
‘Your Creative Power’ published in 1948.
This is how he explains the name ‘Brainstorming’.
‘It was in 1939 when I first organised such group thinking in our company. The early participants dubbed our efforts ‘Brainstorm Sessions’ and quite aptly because in this case, ‘brainstorm’ means using the brain to storm a creative problem and do so in commando fashion, with each stormer attacking the same objective.’
Why is it effective? It can be fun and encourages creative thought and stops criticism during the group’s discussions. The evaluation of the list of ideas happens later. Ideas from one group member can be built upon to make another idea or an even better idea. This can be called piggy backing
. Osborn calls this ‘contagion’ and ‘chain reaction.’ He believes that more associations are produced in groups than if one person brainstorms by themselves.
Brainstorming is like any other skill; the more you practise, the better you become. However, some individuals, both student and adult, struggle to take an active role in these group sessions. It can be something that individuals need to learn and be confident about to be able to participate.
This book is about how to start the creative thinking process using individuals’ experiences and memories, to use their knowledge and understanding to help them to express their thoughts.
The activities in this book can help train students and adults to think for themselves and come up with multiple answers to a range of basic questions. It will also help them feel confident to participate in any group brainstorming sessions, think divergently or think outside the square. These activities can also be used to develop brain connections in people of all ages and help dementia patients to rejuvenate memory patterns.
My Experiences using Basic Brainstorming
As a classroom teacher for forty plus years, I’ve used brainstorming for the last twenty-six years as a daily activity called ‘Peer Group Teaching’ in middle primary (students from 8 to 10 years old) and upper primary (students 11 to 13 years old) classrooms in a wide variety of schools. Students are rostered on to run the session, and take control of the classroom, usually in pairs as this helps confidence. They really enjoy this level of involvement and this peer control can be a powerful tool in the classroom. One of the students asks