Semester Project
For our second presentation, we did problem solving activites with the class. The chapter we were assigned was on creativity and problem solving; in the individual and collective (group) sense.
Kim's problem solving activity was on "Survival Scenarios." The purpose of these scenarios was to see how creative the other groups could be in developing solutions given their limited options. The two scenarios she chose were an air plane crash and a Thanksgiving scenario -- which she created herself. This was a fun activity because each group got
together and worked as a team to decide what people got to use the raft
in the air plane crash; and for the Thanksgiving scenario, the groups were able to decide what food could save their Thanksgiving
dinner. This all relates back to the chapter of problem solving because in order to solve problems, it is best to do so creatively. The groups were able to solve these scenarios by having about 5 minutes for each scenario and were able to brainstorm together and use different creative outlets to come up with solutions.
Emma and Jacquelyn decided to teach the class about different problem solving skills. They gave the groups four different types of puzzles. For example, one puzzle was of a big square and the groups had to figure out how many different squares were in the big square. Another one was of a square that had lines going through it. You had to look closely because the object of the puzzle was to find a cross in the square. If you want to check them out, these puzzles can be found at http://www.puzzles.com. Groups used different problem solving skills in order to solve the puzzles. We did this hoping groups learned the importance of ones ability to use different types of skills to solve the same problem.
Reza gave group members a famous quiz game developed by Andersen Consulting that was designed to help group members better understand their style of thinking. The questions are built off of one another; for example, one question was "How do you put a giraffe in the fridge?" and "How do you put an elephant in the fridge?" The purpose of these games was to test group members creativity and how we tend to make simple problems complicated in the real world.
Shareca chose a mystery solvig scenario in which group members were given a scenario about someone who was killed. Groups really had to use their creative problem solving skills in order to figure out who the culprit really was. This was a challenging and fun activity.
And here's a little tidbit about our first presentation: For our first project, we had the chapter on creativity that dealt with
criteria for something that was creative. The three criteria was that
it
had to be new, useful, and be made into a product. For one of our activities, we
had each group draw whatever they wanted on a piece of paper then take
play-doh and re-create what the drawing on the paper was. This also
illustrates how the chapter describes creativity. Each group was able
to
draw something new and original, make it useful by creating it and
making it a finished product. This activity was a lot of fun and the
other groups did a really great job. Many people in the class are very
creative and we have some pictures from that activity to show you what
they drew and then the play-doh "sculpture."