I am currently reading a fascinating article called "Groupthink: The brainstorming myth", by Lehrer (New-Yorker Magazine, Jan 30 2012).
It seems reasearch supports the claim that the process of brainstorming, where all criricism is suspended, people say whatever comes into their heads and the whiteboard is covered with sentences, does NOT actually achieve its goal of improving the ability to solve problems.
"Dissent simulates new ideas because it encourages us to engage more fully with the work of others and to reassess our viewpoints".
In the article they claim that "getting along well" and "staying positive" is simply not productive.
When thinking about the school system, I find brainstorming taking place in staff meetings and during lessons.
I believe the claims made in the article regarding how contesting, arguing and debating ideas get better results is very applicable to staff meetings. Criticism should be a part of a healthy and productive discussion.
However, the kind of brainstorming done in class isn't REAL brainstorming anyway, its hypothetical and over when the bell rings. Therefore, I would stick to the previous rule of no criticism. A group of teenagers is much more vulnerable / possibly more aggressive than a group of trained professionals. We want the children to be exposed to a civilized discussion!
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It would be interesting to read this article - that's some unusual point of view. Whenever I was involved in brainstorming or tried to initiate it, it always worked fine and was rather productive.
Dear naomishema,thanks for your post! I love brainstorming and I use it...It is very useful!!!!! But as you said,,,it is not real brainstorming because over when the bell rings...
Hello,
I also observe that sometimes students pay a lip-service to brainstorming when we do it before a writing activity or a pre-reading activity. Some of them stay silent and some others express their ideas to one another but somehow not everyone can make a sense of others' ideas and build on them. It just does not ring any bells. But I also believe that it could be teachable (listening to others, helping ideas to evolve into a cause effect cycle...etc.). When I consistently get feedback as a follow up fpr brainstorming, students take the activity much more seriously (they know that I will ask them about ideas that they talked about).
It was a very interesting point. Thanks for bringing up.
They bring a multitude of examples from different situations (science, entertainment) to make their claim that having to deal with dissent pushes one to think in a more creative manner.
Brainstorming the traditional way leaves everyone feeling good. Which may be exactly what we want for class!
Naomi
I see that we agree - in the classroom we are not really trying to solve a real problem. Now what about staff meetings?!!!
Feedback is a POWERFUL word, I quite agree!
Naomi
Hi Naomi
I`m a little surprised by this opinion.
I often use brainstorming during my lessons . In most cases ,when I want to start a new topic I use B-g for
1. checking the students initial knowledge about the topic
2. to create motivation for the new lesson.
I never tell them what topic we are going to discuss, they guess it through key questions and brainstorming. It turns out that they create that part of the lesson for themselves.
Hi, colleague, I agree with aslı. Thanks both of you..
Hello,
I also observe that sometimes students pay a lip-service to brainstorming when we do it before a writing activity or a pre-reading activity. Some of them stay silent and some others express their ideas to one another but somehow not everyone can make a sense of others' ideas and build on them. It just does not ring any bells. But I also believe that it could be teachable (listening to others, helping ideas to evolve into a cause effect cycle...etc.). When I consistently get feedback as a follow up fpr brainstorming, students take the activity much more seriously (they know that I will ask them about ideas that they talked about).
It was a very interesting point. Thanks for bringing up.
I really like the activity you described!
I believe their point is that brainstorming like that lets everyone participate and feel good, which is perfect for the classroom. However, it is not what is needed to find creative solutions to real life problems.
Naomi
It is always intersting to read the results of studies!
Naomi