Brainstorming is a problem-solving technique that is not always easy for students. However, once mastered it is a transferable skill that they will be able to utilise in education and the world of work.
Many students feel they must come up with the correct answer, whereas brainstorming is a way of generating ideas to be examined later. Brainstorming generates new ideas and creative thought. It totally encourages the free flow of ideas that builds on previous knowledge which enables students thinking process.
When brainstorming you note everything and then sort out the good from the bad. Here we are sharing why brainstorming activities for students is a powerful and useful tool to master.
Brainstorming is a form of creativity that draws on the experiences and unique background of each student involved, which also requires students to feel comfortable enough to share their own ideas and possible solutions.
These are some tools and effective tips a teacher can use to make the brainstorming process easier for students.
These brainstorming activities for students will help teachers and parents support their children and students as they revise for exams.
Revision is a tough skill to master and I have written many times on the secret to revision and when to start revision for GCSE’s, brainstorming is a great technique if used correctly.
The following brainstorming activities for students will enable them to be active in their revision, it will also support teachers who are looking to develop independent learners. It is really important that students have a range of methods for taking notes and creating study aids.
Brainstorming Activities for Students
There are several tools available to make it easier for students to participate in a brainstorming activity. These are great for encouraging students to come up with a large number of ideas fairly quickly.
Pre-printed mindmaps, concept maps, online mapping tools, and software such as Visio and PowerPoint provide a great structure for students.
Place the topic or concept in the middle of the mind map and branch off of ideas as primary or secondary thoughts. These brainstorming activities for students are probably the most tried and tested that you remember yourself for effective brainstorming.
Just as effective is to use a free form style. Instead of adding a level of categorising offered by a mindmap, have students list ideas as they come on the board or a piece of paper. These ideas can be organised later.
Whether creating a mindmap or a list, remember the goal is to come up with ideas and worry about how usable they are later. Sometimes the most outrageous or unique idea is the most useful.
So grab some paper and highlighters and practise those brainstorming skills for students.
1. Multi-purpose Items
This is a simple, straightforward game that is good to play to encourage creativity and brainstorming activities for students.
This creativity is a really important skill when brainstorming, as the idea is to create as many ideas as possible in quick succession, no matter how odd they might be.
The game works as follows: give a student an object, any item will do. Then, ask them to list as many different uses for that object as possible, whether typical of the object or more off the wall.
For example, if you were to suggest ‘wellington boots’, the student would be expected to write ‘shoes’ as a use, but also more creative ideas such as ‘container for soup.’
While the game is a little odd, it encourages off the wall, creative thinking – really important in brainstorming. This is one of the best brainstorming activities for students as it develops lateral thinking and there are no right answers.
2. Famous Foreheads
This is a particularly famous game which you’re sure to have heard of, if not played yourself.
The idea of the game is simple, and it works best with a larger group. In that situation, students would be given a post-it note and asked to write the name of a famous person on the note.
Then, they would pass it – face-down – to their partner and would ask yes or no questions to determine the identity of the person on the note.
This is a great activity to encourage critical thinking, as you start with a really long list, only to have to keep coming up with shorter and shorter lists of ideas.
This skill is particularly helpful when trimming down a brainstorm after it’s completed.
3. Talking Timebomb
This is a simple game, and it needs essentially no preparation.
The game works as so: a group of students is given a theme or main topic as a starting point, and then told that whenever they’re chosen, they’re to say a word that fits with the theme.
For example, if the theme was countries, the first student could say ‘Canada’, and then pass the game on to the next person.
The passing system works best with a physical object like a ball that could be thrown around, though it can also work if students simply point each other out.
This game works well to develop the skill of quickly coming up with many ideas that link to a core theme – this is, of course, the core skill set in brainstorming.
4. English Shiritori
Shiritori is a popular game in Japan that is often used to teach language and cognitive skills.
The aim of the game is to think of a word that begins with the letter that the previous word ends with. For example, a sequence could be ‘Bottle, Elephant, Tap’.
This game is great to teach simple association skills that transfer well to brainstorming activities. You can add a 10 second time limit on for additional pressure!
5. Compound Words Game Board
This game is a fairly simple one that helps students to learn how best to connect two ideas in a brainstorming session.
The idea is simple. A teacher writes out a list of words, and a student randomly selects their words from that list – typically by selecting a random number within a predetermined range.
The student then makes a note of their words and tries to combine them into as many compound words as they can within, say, thirty seconds.
This game teaches students skills transferable to brainstorming. Namely, it teaches students to combine two similar fields to create an entirely new one.
This could be useful if several branches of a brainstorm could do with being connected to form a sub-storm.
6. Cultural Dictionary
This game is particularly helpful if you’re teaching abroad, though that doesn’t need to be the case.
The idea of the game is that you go around the classroom collecting different words that have a particular cultural meaning.
Then, you can draw them out on a brainstorm to demonstrate the method of creating effective brainstorm.
7. Rhyme Time
This is a great activity to teach students how to pick linked words and phrases that would go well together on a brainstorm.
The idea of the game is simple: the teacher picks out two or three words, and then the student has thirty seconds per word to write as many rhyming words as they can think of.
This is a great opportunity to teach students ways to think of separate but related topics that can be useful and handy for brainstorming around a central theme.
8. No Subtitles
A particularly difficult part of brainstorming is being able to keep up with the pace that the activity requires, especially if you’re working in a group.
To teach kids to think more quickly and efficiently, this activity is ideal.
A great way to do it could be to pick a simple scene or sequence from film or tv that’s roughly a minute long, and then play it with the sound and subtitles off.
While it’s playing, ask the students to say what they imagine the characters on screen to be saying, no matter how silly or creative the ideas get.
This is a great way to teach kids to think quickly and creatively, and can be great fun!
9. Pushy Salesperson
This is a great game to help develop creative thinking skills in students and can be used with the whole class. The idea is that a teacher presents them with an item or two that is, on the surface, useless. For example, one such item could be a leaky umbrella.
Give the students a little thinking time, and then they must try to sell the useless item to either the teacher or to another student.
This activity encourages out of the box thinking and lets students begin to consider items or ideas in ways that may not have been done beforehand.
This is a critical skill in the process of brainstorming and can be an effective way for students to learn.
10. Like or Dislike
This game is a simple one that helps to hone students’ observational skills.
In this game, the idea is that every student has to write down a list of the things that they like, and a list of things that they dislike.
Then, the teacher reads the lists aloud, and the class has to try to guess who the person that wrote the list was.
This is a great game to help people learn more about each other, though it has use beyond that.
It is also really useful for helping people to develop their critical thinking skills by examining different lists of information and people in their class.
11. Break Off Into Small Groups
Another useful brainstorming technique is to use small groups instead of whole-class brainstorming. Team brainstorming is a powerful tool and often used in the workplace with team members, so getting students proficient in this is a useful skill.
Each group should have a group leader or dedicated recorder and all students in the group should be encouraged to participate by offering ideas. Small groups are more comfortable for quieter students, which will lead to more active participation by all class members.
A fun way to conclude each brainstorming session is to have students categorize the ideas, whether individually or in a group, and offer their best (or worst) idea to the class.
Choose categories that encourage creativity, such as the most outrageous idea, dumbest idea, or silliest idea.
Brainstorming tips such as using small groups, encouraging quantity and investigating quality later, and demonstrating the importance of all ideas help students understand that brainstorming results in getting ideas out in the open, not finding the correct answer.
Students should be provided with a format, whether a free form list or a mindmap, a time and a quantity to help students who work better within a structure.
The important outcome of this problem-solving technique is for students to become comfortable sharing ideas, no matter how strange, so that all can benefit from the resulting creativity.
Conclusion
We hope that these brainstorming activities for students and those in the world of work are useful and encourage alternative thinking strategies. Many of the best ideas come from utilising brainstorming methods as it allows you to be truly free from the constraints of boundaries that might minimise new solutions. For more read 7 tips to help a teenager study.
