Something I learned recently about brainstorming was that if everybody takes five minutes individually to think up and write down a few ideas, then they will feel more confident of their ideas when the group sharing and discussing part happens.

Forbes ran an article (http://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliepeace/2012/04/09/why-most-brainstorming-sessions-are-useless/) in 2012 that said traditional brainstorming sessions are rarely the best way to ensure innovation; the author shared a few ground rules she likes to follow to make sure her brainstorming sessions are effective:

  *   Provide strong leadership and a framework to follow. Keeping it free-flowing and without rules might sound good, but that is what allows the loudest voices in the room to hold court and squeeze out those who are shy, that may have brilliant ideas which never get heard. (For excellent examples of this principle at work, watch any episode of ‘The Celebrity Apprentice’.)
  *   Give everyone time to themselves to think, and then come together with ideas to share. Introverts typically need time alone to get their creative juices flowing, and given the chance, they often come up with amazing solutions on their own (whereas extroverts may actually be more creative by feeding on the energy of a group).
  *   Make it mandatory for everyone to contribute ideas. There shouldn’t be any effort to shoot down ideas initially–create a safe space to share before everyone starts thinking critically.
  *   Make it a rule that if you are going to shoot down an idea, you need to come up with an alternative.


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From: First Lego League in Virginia and DC [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of B Bergenstock [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, September 18, 2013 1:58 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [External] [VADCFLL-L] instant challenges/ core values training

As a  former FLL coach, I found one of the most important things we did as a team was our weekly instant challenges.   These mirror the challenges they will encounter in the "core values" judging of the competition and can be part of the life-skills that students carry with them after the FLL.
    Once your team learns to cheer each on and rely on each other in short bursts, it goes a long way to soothing problems that can arise in the rest of the season- robotic design disputes, skit role issues, and other personality conflicts.  It won't cure all ails, but it certainly improves a team cohesion:)
   Make sure you stress good communication models in the instant challenges. A way to introduce more ideas is to say that, "That's one idea. I have another."  "We could also...."  "Kinda of like that idea, .... " The goal is non-judgement of stated ideas, while still forwarding the new idea.  If kids judge ideas or put ideas down, stop them and remind them that the brainstorming part of open to all ideas. They should even try to refrain from making positive remarks, because that can seem like an endorsement for one concept and stops other people from forwarding different ideas if they don't think the new idea has any chance.  I found my teams were enriched by the exercises, and it made the meetings so much fun to have them each time we met.
Good luck this season!
Brandy
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