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Brainwriting

It can be challenging to come up with ideas in group work. Time, doubt, and overanalyzing are often barriers to brainstorming. Brainwriting is a useful tool to support group collaboration and facilitate both individual and collective development of ideas.

Brainstorming

The first phase of this method starts with a brainstorming session where students are given 4-6 minutes to individually write down three ideas related to the topic on Post-its. Then, the notes are passed to the next person who adds bullet points to elaborate on the ideas. This process continues until everyone in the group has contributed to each idea.

Narrowing Down

Next, a group discussion is initiated in the second phase to narrow down the ideas and agree on the most promising ones to be explored further. It's important to maintain a single conversation at a time and stay on topic. In this phase, the traffic light method can be used. Students individually review and mark the ideas with green, yellow, or red. Once all the ideas are marked, the group goes over them collectively, gathers the ideas with the most green marks, and discusses which should be explored further or the possibilities of combining different ideas. The group should ultimately come up with a final idea.

Reflections

Concluding reflections and feedback, both individually and as a group, contribute to increased learning outcomes from the activity for both participants and facilitators.

Reference:

Transition Makers Toolbox. (n.d.) Brainstorming with Eureka.

Published July 23, 2024 11:42 AM - Last modified Nov. 19, 2024 7:44 PM