Brainstorming as a teaching method: examples

Who is the author of the brainstorming method?

Brainstorming was created by Alex Osborne. He had an interesting and eventful life. He worked at a construction site, as a messenger, and as a clerk to earn money for his studies. From the age of 21 he was a police reporter, salesman, teacher. The next position is assistant manager at the plant.

And finally, Osborne became a co-owner of a large company. In 1937, he came up with the brainstorming method. Before telling the public about it, I successfully used it for 2 decades.

Alex Osborne called the creation "brainstorming". The word is translated differently. These are “unexpected brilliant idea”, “crazy idea”, “great plan”, etc.

What is it and when is it used?

You've probably encountered such a situation, at work or even in life, when you need to solve an important and complex problem.

And the ideas are boring templates that are certainly not capable of resolving the problem, except perhaps for a small improvement in the situation. So, just in this case you need to use the brainstorming method.

Brainstorming is a method for generating ideas based on creativity and intelligence.

Now the picture begins to emerge. A characteristic feature of the method and its main advantage is the ability to find a non-standard approach to solving a problem.

And that’s why this approach will help you quickly find a way out where you don’t see it. The areas where brainstorming is used are vast.

And you guessed it, more than one person is involved in the process. For example, this could be: a marketer, a sales specialist, a loyal customer, a product developer, several potential clients.

However, the composition is selected based on the tasks. But I will tell you about this a little later.

Advantages and disadvantages of the brainstorming method

Like any other technique, brainstorming has pros and cons. The advantages include:

Creative thinking develops.
All participants have to be actively involved in the work.
One of the tasks of brainstorming is to push the boundaries of consciousness.
Participants interact with each other.
Brainstorming technology is easy to use and does not require any equipment or premises.

Interestingly, brainstorming as a learning method is applicable not only to adults. It is often used at school and even in kindergarten. It stimulates creative activity, activates the learning process, helps children form their own opinions and interact with each other.

The disadvantages include:

As stated above, all group members should actively participate in the discussion. But it happens that only a couple of people work. The others wait silently for the process to end.
Due to the abundance of ideas and solutions, the event often stretches for several hours.
The method will be ineffective if the participants do not know how to work in a team and interact with each other.
Sometimes experienced employees try to become leaders in discussions by overpowering less experienced colleagues.

Also during brainstorming you need to follow a number of rules. Ignoring them nullifies attempts to find a solution to a problem or task.

Standard Brainstorming Time Frames

Using the brainstorming method will be effective if it is properly organized. It is most effective to carry out MMS in the morning from 10:00 to 12:00 or in the afternoon - from 14:00 to 17:00. It is advisable to choose a separate room or auditorium isolated from noise as the place where it will be carried out. It is advisable to equip it with a poster with the rules of the MMS, and a board for quickly displaying ideas.

For maximum concentration of participants on the problem, their tables should be positioned so as to surround the leader’s table, that is, placed around it in a square or ellipse.

Solving a problem using a brainstorming method should be recorded either on video or on a tape recorder so as not to miss the ideas expressed. Moderate humor is encouraged at the event. The use of the brainstorming method is relevant for forty to sixty minutes. If a simple subproblem is discussed, then a quarter of an hour is enough.

Popular types of brainstorming

There are several types of brainstorming. They differ in the technique of conducting, the role of the participants, and the results.

Brainwriting

For 15 minutes, team members write down ideas, but do not speak them out loud. The leaf is passed around in a circle. Participants, having read the previous sentence, add something of their own. The main goal is to put forward as many proposals as possible. However, you cannot criticize until the event is over.

Brainstorming on a whiteboard

The board is placed in a visible place. As soon as an idea comes into the head of a manager or another employee, he writes it down on a piece of paper and pins it on the board.

In Japanese

This type of brainstorming was created by the Japanese Kawakita and Kobayashi. Otherwise called “rice hail”. The point is that the participants use the same approach to solve the problem. The workflow consists of several stages:

The first step is to identify the problem. The presenter presents the details and nuances of the topic being discussed. Participants write down their thoughts on the problem being solved on separate pieces of paper. Moreover, this is done in such a way that everyone leaves a note on all pieces of paper. Then you need to select records related to each other and hand them over to the presenter. He will read it aloud. All that remains is to come up with a name for each set. It should reflect the essence of the problem.
Searching of decisions. The stage is similar to the previous one. Only this time, participants write down ideas for solving the problem. At the end they are grouped into sets. Each set is given a name that expresses the general essence of the proposals. The purpose of this part of brainstorming is to identify constructive ideas that are appropriate to the current situation.

Collective work in this case brings group members closer together, teaches them to work together with colleagues, and understand their position.

Multistage

In short, there are 2 groups working here:

those who create ideas;
those who evaluate the results of work.

It is desirable that the first group should include erudite people with the same temperament. They must fully understand the essence of the problem. 10 people are enough.

Recruit those who will analyze the proposals invented by the “generators” into the evaluation group. It should include a representative from management. This person will make decisions about the implementation of positively evaluated ideas.

A leader is assigned to each group. His main qualities are delicacy and erudition. It depends on them how quickly participants find the right idea.

A multi-stage assault looks like this:

Members of the first group express ideas.
The task remains the same, but new, non-standard approaches are needed. You can put forward the opposite of what is named.
The second group is connected. It brings together everything that was said in the first stages, systematizes information, and looks for solutions to the problem.
The difficulties that may arise when bringing ideas to life are discussed.
The proposals made are collected into several principles.

The last stage is the most interesting. This is a discussion during which all previously proposed ideas are broken down. You only need to criticize them, not the participants. The names of the latter should not be mentioned. It is important that the process takes place without development customers. Only in this way will the work give the desired results.

Brainstorming examples from the practice of an internal coach

A practical example of gaming technology from practice.

Warm-up

The group of participants is divided into two parts. Plant further apart to create privacy.

The presenter tells a fairy tale about a jug and a pipe. Briefly and colorfully, one plot, focusing on the position:

The girl doesn't want to.
Parents need the girl to collect.

Prepare two cards with the inscription “parents” and “girl”.

Round 1

The first group will be "Parent", the second group will be "Girl".

The presenter asks question No. 1 to participants. How do you persuade, force, by what methods, a girl to pick berries?

Group No. 2 receives the task: Think through as many answers as possible to the question: “Under what conditions will I, a girl, agree to pick berries?”

Discussion time is given - 5 minutes. All answers are written down by one of the participants on a piece of paper.

Round 2

The teams change roles. The one who was the “girl” will become the “parent”.

Round 3

One participant from each group writes down the answer options on a different flipchart.

Discussion.

And here an explosion of emotions begins, even among the most reserved leaders.

An understanding comes that if you step into another person’s shoes and look at things differently, insight occurs. Not utopian, but working options are offered.

I will say right away that it seems that group No. 2 was luckier. At first we played the role of a lazy child. Then, with ready-made solutions (the girl’s thoughts), they got used to the role of parents.

Main round

But the process does not end there. This was just a warm-up and a “paradigm shift.” Then everyone returns to current work tasks and resolves serious issues.

There are 2 questions on the agenda:

The role of the leader. How to make it work effectively?
The role of the employee. Under what conditions will employees agree to work effectively?

This is where they change places. Group No. 2 takes on the role of leader. And then they work in rounds.

The result obtained in 2 hours of moderation exceeded all expectations. Decisions were made, 90% of which formed the basis of motivation. The company operates under these conditions very effectively. (Read more about KPIs)

Outdoor events have a good effect. Team building combined with brainstorming. This is a perfect picture. People are liberated and behave differently than within their usual walls. The shackles are removed, and creative energy flows differently. Faster, more efficient and more creative.

Stages of classic brainstorming

Generating ideas using brainstorming takes place in 3 stages:

Definition of the problem. This is preliminary preparation for work. During it, participants are assigned roles. Someone will be the leader, someone will be the assistant, etc.
Searching of decisions. This stage can be considered the most important. The result depends on it. For maximum efficiency, some rules should be followed. Firstly, you shouldn’t limit your imagination. Come up with any unusual and even absurd ideas. Secondly, the proposals made can be combined with each other, improving them. And thirdly, you cannot evaluate or criticize what the participants said.
The third stage is grouping and evaluating ideas. It is often ignored. And that's wrong. It is at this moment that suitable ideas are highlighted, the whole process is reduced to a single result.

The success of all stages depends on how coordinated the participants can work. Their opinion regarding the problem and ways to solve it is also important.

Types and basic techniques of brainstorming

There are many variations of classic brainstorming that build on its basic principles. They include additional methods, procedures, games, tools, equipment and technologies that are used to organize and stimulate participants. The leader must review and compare different brainstorming techniques, select the best one and apply it to the specific situation. Factors that determine the specifics of the situation: 1. Main characteristics of the problem: complexity, level of uncertainty and novelty, unclear definition, heterogeneity, dynamics. 2. Features of the group: size, heterogeneity, level of development and qualifications, status and age of group members. 3. Brainstorming situation: characteristics of the room, availability of necessary equipment, special forms, cards, posts, pens, sheets of paper on flip charts or software.

I. Structural and procedural differences

Reverse (negative) brainstorming.2. Combined brainstorming. 2.1. Double brainstorming. 2.2. Reverse and classic (forward) brainstorming. 2.3. Negative – classic (direct) – negative brainstorming. 2.4. Shuttle brainstorming.3. Brainstorming “question generation”.4. Brainstorming with stop-and-go stops. 5. Gordon's method (sequential opening technique).6. Rawlinson's Brainstorming.7. Kaleidoscopic Brainstorming (KBS).8. The “Bold Ideas” method.9. Individual brainstorming.10. Brainwriting.11. Individual brainwriting.

II. Group brainstorming techniques

Group brainwriting.2. Brainwriting with a common fund.3. Gallery method. 3.1. Brainstorming with posts. 3.2. Demonstration Brainstorming. 3.3. Brainwalking (brainstorming in motion).4. 6-3-5 Brainwriting. 5. Game brainstorming. 6. Brainstorming with limitations.7. Circular brainstorming and the round table method. 7.1. Circular brainstorming. 7.2. Round table method (written version). – “One sheet of paper” version. – Stack of Cards version. – Small group version.8. Group exchange method. 8.1. Version "One idea on one sheet". 8.2. Version "Many ideas on one sheet." 8.3. Idea Book method.9. Nominal group method.10. Massive brainstorming. – Phillips method 66.11. Role-playing brainstorming.12. Rotating role method.13. Blue leaf method.14. Pin card method.15. KJ method (Key Ji method), “Generic resemblance diagram”. 16. Snowball method.

III. Brainstorming combined with other known methods

Who to trust to conduct brainstorming

The effectiveness of the group depends on who is doing the brainstorming. Therefore, place in this role people who can think creatively, analytically, logically, and also respond correctly to criticism and comments. It is also important that they enjoy the authority and respect of their colleagues. The group leader has a number of responsibilities:

Decide what type of brainstorming is needed at the moment.
Gather participants into groups.
Define the problem at the ideation stage.
Provide the conditions necessary for the active work of each individual participant.
Systematize and analyze ideas.

The leader also evaluates the results of the brainstorming session. He decides to implement them in practice.

The emergence and development of the method

Like any popular technique, the practice of brainstorming or brainstorming has acquired a number of legends and myths. One such story says that back in the days of the ancient Norman Vikings, there was a tradition of the whole team gathering in the center of the boat in order to quickly find a way out of a critical situation and express their ideas in a circle. Each of the warriors, starting with the youngest and ending with the leader, in turn shouted out a vision of the decision, and the helmsman summed up the results and made a choice. It seems that such a “bicycle was invented” in every generation and in every nation, because its rules fit into the logic of ordinary common sense in managing people.

With the development of management as a scientific methodology, many management tools began to be assigned to the authors in modified interpretations. This was especially evident in American scientific creativity of the last century. The brainstorming method is a bright metaphorical name for a tool for collective activation of creative thinking, which journalist, writer and manager Alex Osborne introduced into Western business culture in the 40s and 50s. The name of the technique “brainstorming” became popular first in America, then in Europe. By the way, this method of collective generation of ideas was widely used in research institutes and design bureaus of the USSR, but it was more often called the brainstorming method.

Photo by Alex Osborne, author of the brainstorming method

The rules of brainstorming in the Soviet years were somewhat different from modern ones. However, the pace of life in scientific institutions, especially during the period of stagnation, was lower. As fate would have it, in the 80s I attended one of these events, held at the design bureau of an industrial institute in the field of mechanical engineering. Two competing departments were working on related design problems. In one of the key projects, a technical problem arose that the development team could not solve. At the Design Bureau’s Technical Council, it was proposed to hold a joint seminar on the topic “Increasing the speed of development of the L unit while simultaneously increasing the quality of the output parameters of the M unit.” The form of the seminar was a brainstorming session.

It must be admitted that the best leaders of the Soviet formation were well versed in the intricacies of managerial psychology and even sometimes pedagogy. And it was the socio-psychological patterns of business communications that played (and still play) a key role in increasing creativity at meetings. At that moment, the GIP was appointed to conduct brainstorming on the problematic topic. He gave top priority to the goals and objectives of the event. After their successful formulation, the composition of the seminar participants was carefully discussed with the head of the HR department and selected.

The methodology of the event involved the formation of two groups: the generation of ideas and their selection. The first included experienced and young designers, technologists from both departments (number of 10 participants), the second was appointed by order of three members of the scientific and technical council and two deputy heads of the institute. At the appointed time, members of the generation group were invited to the seminar. A report was given by one of the leading designers on the progress of the development work and the difficulties that arose. Then the GIP took the floor. He explained very clearly and calmly that now his colleagues had to express their thoughts about what solution would speed up the design without losing the quality of the product. There was a taboo on any kind of criticism.

At the next stage, a discussion began without critical remarks, which lasted one hour. They spoke at random, all the ideas expressed were recorded by the secretary. A five-minute smoke break was prescribed, during which the discussion became more heated, the activity of the informal leaders of the team increased, and a dispute arose. Gradually the discussion moved into the design room. The ISU gently but firmly guided the speakers, recalling the key issue, purpose and objectives of the seminar. So another 30 minutes of brainstorming passed. In total, about 40 proposals were generated, and they were placed on the presenter’s table in an anonymous list. The ISU summed up the seminar and thanked those present for their participation.

A day later, the idea evaluation group met. The brainstorming was continued in a new phase, much calmer than the previous phase. The group members came prepared with notes in the margins of the lists provided to them in advance. One of the deputy directors made a proposal regarding the criteria for selecting ideas, and the controversy initially revolved around this issue. Once it was settled, the discussion and voting proceeded quickly and productively. What caught your attention at that moment? There was a feeling that the procedure was drawn out and too slow, but the result turned out to be very good and the solution was effective.

Is it possible to brainstorm online?

There is an opinion that a personal meeting is the best option for brainstorming. But in practice it has been proven that communication via Skype, on forums or in chat rooms is no less effective. And sometimes it gives a greater effect. Why is this happening? There are several reasons:

Many people are embarrassed to participate in discussions. The calm atmosphere during online brainstorming encourages them to create unusual, unique ideas.
The proposed solutions are immediately recorded.
In a chat or forum, team members can speak simultaneously.
This method of brainstorming requires minimal effort.
The resulting ideas and solutions are easier to process.

When hosting an event online, it is also important to follow the basic rules. The main thing is that the ideas expressed cannot be criticized.

Rules for conducting effective brainstorming

As stated above, the effectiveness of brainstorming largely depends on compliance with the rules for its conduct. There are only 10 of them:

Preparation is a must. It starts a couple of days before the event. This gives participants the opportunity to explore the problem in advance and find solutions to it.
As many people as possible should participate in the brainstorming session. Many participants - many ideas.
The task assigned to the working groups must be thoroughly studied. This will help you see its essence. Participants will be on the same wavelength. There will be no misunderstandings or contradictions.
Everyone participating in the brainstorming session should take notes. Most often, this responsibility is assigned to the leader. But he is also a person, he misses something or does not notice. Therefore, it is better if participants also take notes.
This rule can safely be called the most important - do not criticize. You should not condemn, even if what a person says seems stupid or absurd. Maybe this proposal, after revision and improvement, will be implemented in life. Remember: criticism can discourage a person from continuing the discussion. And this cannot be allowed.
If you're a member, offer more options. Do not be shy. Voice every thought that comes to your mind. Do this even when it seems that the best offer has already been made.
Involve additional participants to get ideas. Let these be strangers or employees who do not take part in the event.
Combine ideas with each other. This advice is especially successful if proposals are made by people of different ranks, specialties, and positions.
To make information easier to perceive, use posters, diagrams, and boards.
Simulate a situation in which everything does not go as expected. Now think about how to turn it in your direction? Find more options. Prepare yourself for such a turn of events psychologically and morally.

These rules of brainstorming should always be followed, regardless of the field. This could be work, personal and family relationships, business. Take time to organize the process. Take into account its nuances and features. This is how you will find a way out of any situation.

Examples of brainstorming

Imagine a ship on which you need to transport iron ore concentrate. Transportation causes a lot of problems because the cargo behaves like a liquid. When the ship rolls or rolls, it flows from one side to the other. Brainstormers need to eliminate this shortcoming.

The facilitator reminds the team not to criticize the ideas expressed. 6 experts put forward solutions to the problem:

Pour the load to the edge. In this case, there is nowhere for it to flow.
Press down the concentrate with large shields.
Using partitions, divide the hold into several parts.
Spray with polyurethane foam liquid. This is done when transporting grain.
Wet the load and then freeze it.
Magnetize.
Place a pillow under the load. Inflate it with air. It will rise and press the concentrate tightly against the ceiling.

Participants list dozens of ideas. According to the rules, they cannot be stopped. But the presenter suggests moving on to the next stage - criticism. This is where the analyst comes into the conversation. Through discussions, the team realizes that the idea of shields and partitions is not suitable. Suggestion to use air pillows too. They will have to be inflated using an on-board compressor. All together the equipment will be too heavy.

The “magnetic” idea turns out to be the most suitable. Participants propose hanging magnets around the perimeter of the hold in the form of a garland. They can be turned on and off if necessary.

Preparatory stage of MMS

Its high-quality implementation requires compliance with certain organizational aspects, in particular, adherence to phasing.

The first stage, the installation stage, is recommended to be carried out two weeks before the date of the actual implementation of its main part (formulation of options for solving the problem).

The brainstorming method involves a clear formulation of the problem itself, the selection of a leader, and the identification of participants in two groups: for generating solution options and for their subsequent expert assessment.

Starting from the organization stage, mistakes that reduce the effectiveness of the method should be avoided. A fuzzy, unclear statement of goals and objectives initially leads to zero effectiveness. If the task put up for discussion has an ambiguous structure (in fact, consisting of several tasks), then there is a high probability that those discussing will become confused about the priority and order of resolving the problem.