How to Use Brainstorming
Impact on Learning
Assessment Strategies
Brainstorming With Canvas
Relevant Technologies
Things to Consider
Bibliography
Brainstorming is a pedagogical approach used to increase creative productivity, often in an effort to come up with potential solutions to a problem. The idea is that working in a group, students come up with the most outlandish ideas possible that could be considered as a solution to the given problem.
As the brainstorming discussion continues, students are encouraged to modify and improve on each other’s ideas, moving from the seemingly crazy to actually possible solutions. Brainstorming can also be used as an independent learning activity, which has been shown to generate even more innovative ideas than brainstorming in a group.
How to Use Brainstorming
The following are some of the ways this teaching approach is used to engage students:
- helping to define an issue
- diagnosing a problem
- generating possible solutions
- coming up with a storyline
- creating contingency plans for processes that might need alternate routes
- determining potential flaws in a design or process
- planning a presentation
- creating a final project
Impact on Learning
Using brainstorming as an instructional activity can impact learning through:
- helping students think outside of the box to come up with innovative solutions and ideas
- energizing, inspiring, and triggering ideas among students
- maximizing the potential to build off of students’ diverse experiences, backgrounds, and strengths
- building buy-in from others once a solution has been identified
- increasing motivation and creating stronger bonds among those in the learning community
- increasing inclusiveness and belonging by teaching acceptance and respect for individual differences
Assessment Strategies
Assessing the success rate of a brainstorm activity is best done as a low stakes option based on participation. Four criteria are recommended to ensure positive student participation (Miani, 2023):
- Defer judgement (no criticism of the ideas produced is allowed).
- Seek quantity (aim for the largest number of ideas possible).
- Build on each other’s ideas.
- Do not be afraid to propose wild and outrageous ideas.
One method for documenting student participation during a brainstorm activity, recommended by ICANS, provides the following rating scale:
Indicate how well the class did while brainstorming.
Use a (+) if students really worked at it.
Use a (=) if you felt students were so-so about it.
Use a (-) if students didn’t really try at all.
_____ Did not judge
_____ Welcomed all ideas
_____ Did not interrupt
_____ Did not discuss ideas
_____ Did not criticize ideas
_____ Everyone contributed
_____ Wrote down repeated ideas
_____ Kept focused on brainstorming
_____ Allowed enough time
_____ Stopped when everyone was finished
Other methods for collecting feedback or assessing the impact of a brainstorming activity would be to assign a discussion about how the process went or assign a written journal entry asking students to share their observations on the process.
Brainstorming With Canvas
Discussions: Canvas provides an integrated system for asynchronous online class discussions. Instructors and students can start and contribute to brainstorming through using discussions. You can learn more about using discussions in Canvas from the Canvas Community or from the Penn State Canvas Learning Center.
Relevant Technologies
There are many technologies that can be used to facilitate brainstorming activities.
Google Jamboard and Microsoft Whiteboard are provided for use by Penn State faculty, staff, and students.
Zoom and Microsoft Teams integrate tools for synchronous online communication with whiteboards, making them a great choice for hybrid and online classes.
Top Hat includes the Word Answer question type, which allows students to share open-ended responses. Student responses can be displayed in a graph or word cloud, making this tool a great option for full-class brainstorming activities.
H5P offers a similar word cloud tool in the set of “live engagement tools” available to subscribers.
AI tools, like ChatGPT, can aid in students’ brainstorming by generating a wide range of ideas, topics, and examples that students can evaluate and use to spark their own ideas (Rogers, 2023). Effectively, individual students can collaborate with AI tools in a similar way to how they might collaborate with classmates on a brainstorming activity. AI tools can be especially helpful for students who may be feeling “stuck” or who have limited experience with the brainstorming topic (Singer, 2023).
The following are examples of free technologies that can be used for online brainstorming:
- bubbl.us: A popular site for easily being able to create brainstorms or mind maps.
- Coggle: Empowers teams to seamlessly conduct virtual file sharing, create multiple mind maps, and track ideas with a built-in chat feature.
- Stormboard: Real-time interactive remote collaborative tool for brainstorming and organizing ideas and much more.
- Voyant: Free web-based text analysis tool that can generate word clouds and other charts to discover key terms, frequently used phrases, and other aspects of a text. Students might use this in brainstorming by compiling digital text from several sources relating to a topic into one document for analysis.
Things to Consider
When planning a brainstorming activity, consider whether having students participate synchronously (in real-time) or asynchronously (using online tools), as well as collectively as a class, in small groups, or individually will be more appropriate for your group of students and your learning goals. While in-person brainstorming can be great for building community and generating ideas quickly, virtual brainstorming may be a better approach for generating more original and innovative ideas (Tsipursky, 2022). Similarly, asking students to brainstorm individually, rather than as part of a group, can lead to them producing more and better ideas (Miani, 2023).
For successful implementation of brainstorming, you should consider the following strategies:
- Set ground rules, making sure everyone who participates understands that all contributions are valid, even ideas that may seem outlandish.
- Emphasize that the goal is to generate a quantity of ideas at this stage (the quality of ideas is not a consideration until later).
- Establish a “leader” for the activity and a “scribe” or note-taker (the instructor may fulfill one or both of these roles, or students might work in small groups that have their own leaders and scribes).
- Encourage students to listen carefully and politely to others’ contributions.
- Prompt brainstorming with an open question, such as “What are all the ways to xxxx”.
- Avoid any criticism until after the free-flowing ideas have all been recorded, to avoid stifling the creativity of any one participant and setting a limiting tone.
- Avoid any reward until after the free-flowing ideas have all been recorded, to avoid groupthink.
- Provide a relaxing, informal atmosphere that allows for easy conversation, removing potential barriers to contributing ideas that are out of the ordinary.
- Provide a setting that is as unstructured as possible, with the exception of setting a time limit for the activity and ensuring a way for all contributions to be recorded.
- Consider ways of visually organizing and presenting ideas, such as lists on whiteboards (physical or digital), sticky notes, and graphs of repeatedly offered words or ideas (such as a word cloud).
- Evaluate ideas at the end of the session by exploring solutions further, using more conventional approaches.
- One approach is to ask students to comment, rate, or vote on their favorite contributions.
- Minimize distractions.
- Consider using concept mapping to arrange and develop ideas.
Bibliography
Brainstorming. (2023, February 1). UNSW Teaching Staff Gateway. https://www.teaching.unsw.edu.au/brainstorming
Brainstorming Assessment. (n.d.). ICANS Chapter 4, integrated curriculum for achieving necessary skills.
Cook, L., Eyre, E., Manktelow, J., Pavey, S., & Thompson, R. (n.d.). Brainstorming. Mind Tools. https://www.mindtools.com/acv0de1/brainstorming
Miani, M. (2023, September 1). Brainstorming can breathe new life into your classes. Times Higher Education. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/brainstorming-can-breathe-new-life-your-classes
Parker, H. (2022, August 30). 13 best brainstorming tools & apps to bring your ideas to life. ClickUp. https://clickup.com/blog/best-brainstorming-software/
Rogers, R. (2023, April 27). 6 tips for using ChatGPT to brainstorm better. WIRED. https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-use-chatgpt-brainstorm-ai/
Singer, N. (2023, September 2). A.I. tools might hurt, or help, when applying to college. The New York Times. https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/i-tools-might-hurt-help-when-applying-college/docview/2859796548/se-2
Tsipursky, G. (2022, February 3). Why virtual brainstorming is better for innovation. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2022/02/why-virtual-brainstorming-is-better-for-innovation
Weimer, M. (2009, July 21). Problem-solving exercises that promote intellectual development. Faculty Focus, Higher Ed Teaching & Learning. https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/problem-solving-exercises-that-promote-intellectual-development/