Divide the class into groups of 6 to 10 people and discuss this problem: Your community wants to encourage people to get out of their cars and use alternative forms of transportation. Brainstorm for 15 minutes as a group, accumulating every possible idea. How many ideas are generated?

Here’s how to run this brainstorming group.

• Appoint one member to be the recorder who lists all the ideas as they are mentioned.

• Appoint another member to be the moderator and suggest techniques described in this chapter as idea starters.

• Identify a cheerleader to keep the discussion positive and find gentle ways to discourage critical or negative comments.

• Work for 15 minutes generating as many different creative concepts as your team can come up with, regardless of how crazy or dumb they might initially sound.

• Go back through the list as a group and put an asterisk next to the 5 to 10 ideas that seem to have the most promise.

When all the groups reconvene in class, each recorder should list the group’s best ideas on the blackboard. As a class, pick out the three ideas that seem to have the most potential. Analyze the experience of participating in a brainstorming group and compare the experiences of the different teams.