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Brainstorming Directing the creative energy in your classroom The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas. Linus PAULING, American scientist
Many teachers avoid brainstorming, as they associate it with noise or discipline problems. This may be true at the outset, but once you see how it works and how much fun it can be, brainstorming will become a firm classroom favourite. Here are a few basic tips to help you make your learners fall in love with brainstorming. Start incorporating it into your classes and you can bet that sooner or later you will hear your students say: “Teacher, can we brainstorm this?”
What is brainstorming and what is it not? Your students are full of creative energy. The challenge is to help them channel this energy and use it in an organised way. Brainstorming should never turn into criticism. Perhaps the most precise definition of brainstorming is: “All ideas that come up before any discussion or judgment takes place.”
What are the benefits? The average learner finds it difficult to come up with a variety of ideas in response to a problem. Imagine a solitary child staring at a blank sheet of paper. A lonely place, indeed! However, that same child feels less pressured and less alone when working in a group and is much more likely to come up with different ideas, solutions and connections.
Great! Can you count the oceans and the continents? Yes, 70 percent are oceans!
Seas cover a really big surface.
The continents are coloured. We are yellow.
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