| . |
. |
. |
|
Brainstorming
to Autonomy
|
|
|
The technique referred to as brainstorming is
used when you want people, working together, to generate ideas on a specific topic. (See Footnote 1 ) As such, it can be a useful
and enriching tool in the EFL classroom and a means of showing students that they are
collectively capable of generating far more ideas to improve their learning process than
they believed possible. This in turn, leads to an increase in their autonomy of learning
and self-responsibility. Most of the examples included in this article come from second
year university students studying English philology, but others are from secondary
schools, EFL classes where the author first experimented with different types of student
brainstorming. I believe, however, that the technique can be used successfully to enrich
the classroom and promote learner autonomy within any subject in secondary, tertiary and
adult studies.
|
|
|
In sum, I have found brainstorming to be useful
in a wide range of areas as a device to help students identify their over-all classroom
dynamics. But most importantly, it improves the quality of student participation and
student production in class.
|
|
|
I. Ways of organizing brainstorming
|
|
|
Whole-group brainstorming is what usually comes
to mind when the term is used, but here we will also look at two other possible ways of
organizing this technique which I found to be successful for generating students' ideas in
a wide variety of areas. The first alternative is pyramid brainstorming; i.e., moving from
small groups to the whole class. The second alternative concerns going from the individual
to the whole class. After a presentation of these two variations I will discuss the whole-
group activity of brainstorming. Among these three types only the first steps vary. As we
shall see, the complexity of the area students brainstorm is what usually defines which
type of organization will work best.
|
|
|
Organization One: Pyramid brainstorming-from small group to whole class
|
|
|
Step 1 State the topic: You, as
the teacher, state the topic or write it on the blackboard (ex., "What one does to
learn new vocabulary.") You then give any explanation that may be needed. The topic
to brainstorm can also come from a single student or from a student group.
|
|
|
Step 2 Generating ideas: The
students form groups of three or four. They can make their own suggestions usually by
collaborating with the people around them, or follow teacher-suggested criteria, such as
grouping with classmates they have not worked with recently, or classmates with whom they
have not discussed this topic. Ask the small groups to talk and write down their ideas.
You can set a time limit or simply walk around the class. When you see that a group has
two or three ideas written down, ask them to write them on the board. Then ask the other
groups, to add on the board any thoughts or ideas that they may have. No attempt should be
made to put things in any kind of order or make corrections or comments.
|
|
|
Step 3 Clearing up ideas: When it
appears that no new ideas are forthcoming, you ask the whole class or small groups to
discuss the relevancy and the clarity of the ideas on the board. (Some ideas will most
certainly be eliminated.) For example, if the topic is what is to be included on the next
test, after the class has brainstormed, they go back over the list to make sure everything
said during the brainstorming is relevant to the test (i.e. related to the objectives and
contents to be covered on this test).
|
|
|
Now is the time to ask questions about anything
that does not make sense. First ask if anyone in the class has any questions about what is
on the board. You, yourself also may wish to ask questions. If some ideas seem too vague
or general, ask the group who wrote them to explain what they mean and then add this new
input to the board.
|
|
|
Step 4 Choosing ideas: Ask
everyone to copy the entire list to keep as a reference, or follow one of these four
steps:
|
|
|
1. Each student or small group chooses one of
the items on the board for a future task. For example, ask each one to choose one of the
topics to develop a dialog or write an exam.
|
|
|
2. Each individual chooses and writes the ideas
s/he considers most relevant or important. For example, if the topic is reading
strategies, each student chooses those s/he thinks will be most useful personally.
|
|
|
3. Each class member chooses a given number of
the items that s/he believes to be most important. For example, after the class has
brainstormed all the new vocabulary from a lesson, each chooses eight items to add to
his/her individual vocabulary list.
|
|
|
4. Ask the whole class to discard all but five
or ten items on the blackboard. This can be done through discussion or voting. For
example, if the topic is popular songs, the class votes to choose five songs they would
most like to work on together.
|
|
|
Organization Two: From individual to whole class
|
|
|
Step 1 State the topic: Same as
above.
|
|
|
Step 2 Generating ideas: Give each
student three-to-six minutes to write his/her ideas on the selected topic. This step can
also be assigned as homework.
|
|
|
Step 3 Selecting ideas: Form pairs
and ask each pair to make a list of their individual ideas, possibly limiting the number
to eight ideas between the two. Set a time limit. Have the pairs form groups of four,
again sharing and combining their ideas into one list of a limited number of items. Set a
time limit. Then, form groups of eight students.
|
|
|
Ask each group either to read the list of ideas
or write the list on the blackboard. You may now need an alternate Step 3 (clearing up
ideas) or you may go directly to step 4 (see organization one above), or you can ask each
group for a copy of the list.
|
|
|
Organization Three: Whole class brainstorming
|
|
|
In this type of organization, probably the most
traditional form of brainstorming, the entire group works together from the beginning.
Whole-class brainstorming is useful when individual students must come up with ideas
without previous small group discussion period. I have used it to generate ideas
concerning the concepts and content of a reading selection based only on the title. I have
also used this organization when students are identifying places where they could find
foreign speakers to interview.
|
|
|
Once the topic has been stated, the class
members simply say whatever ideas occur to them. These may be written on the board, a
transparency or by a secretary-often the teacher-or not written at all. The choice here
depends on the outcome desired, the complexity of the brainstormed area, the size of the
class and the dynamics within the group. As stated in Organization One, do not at this
point correct or comment, but you may wish to ask for a more detailed or specific
explanation. Time limits may help the students to learn how to think and say their ideas
faster. Following this, go on to steps three and four in Organization One above.
|
|
|
Which type of brainstorming to use
|
|
|
I have found Organization One, pyramid
brainstorming from the small group to the whole class, to be most useful where students
have to reflect on how they do something and/or when small group discussions will help
them generate more ideas. This includes work with strategies. We have found Organization
Two, from individual to whole class, to be most suitable when we want students to clear up
ideas individually before sharing or comparing them with others, such as choosing which
vocabulary to learn from the new words. Organization Three, whole-class brainstorming,
takes the least time but can have results which are less rich in ideas. It seems to work
best for using simple topics which will interest most of the class in participating (ex.,
where to find foreigners to interview). Unfortunately, in whole-group brainstorming, the
tendency is for contributions from only a few with the majority sitting passively. To
encourage greater participation, switching to one or the other of the two alternatives can
well be your solution.
|
|
|
II. Ways the teacher can enhance a brainstorming activity
|
|
|
Our experience has been that, when using this
technique, students come up with a great many ideas, but we have also found it true that
there are groups, or days, when the total number of ideas generated, or the quality of
these ideas, leaves something to be desired.
|
|
|
Hints during small group discussion
|
|
|
In small group/pyramid brainstorming, once the
students have been working a few minutes on generating ideas, I often go around to the
groups and ask them what they have written so far. Sometimes students have ideas which are
very general so I ask them how they can make them more specific. This helps them to
generate more ideas. Other times the group has not understood clearly enough the area to
be brainstormed and we can help them get back on track. You can also compliment them on
what they have written or, say a few words in private to get a sleepy group thinking.
|
|
|
Putting together the lists of various groups of
students and handing this cumulative list to all the groups can be one way to give the
learners more ideas. This can include giving the group lists compiled by the class(es)
from a previous year for incorporation into their own initial brainstorming lists.
|
|
|
You, the teacher, may add your own ideas or
suggestions to the list the students have accumulated on the board near the end of step
two. For example, when brainstorming for strategies, to help make reading easier and more
profitable, I have suggested the idea of reading a piece the first time as fast as
possible to get a general idea, then re-reading it for details. In the area of defining
what to include in a test, the teacher may wish to add something the students have not
mentioned or may wish to eliminate a student suggestion. An example of the latter is
including translation from their first language to the FL, an activity we had not done in
class. (The students' response was that "there is always translation on our
tests." After discussion, the group agreed to drop this item from their list of
suggestions.)
|
|
|
III. Putting the ideas into practice
|
|
|
Brainstorming, particularly on strategies, can
generate ideas, but we also want to "push" the students towards putting these
ideas into practice, ideas such as how to help yourself to read better or to improve
composition writing.
|
|
|
With some areas we have found that simply giving
out a photocopy of the final list of suggestions or ideas suffices. I have done this in
areas such as the criteria for assessment which the students then use for their
self-assessment.
|
|
|
For areas which the students will put into
practice outside the classroom more often than in class, I ask the students to keep a
"plan of action" in their notebook. This plan of action has two parts: The
action (idea, strategy) itself and then, when, where, and how often it will be put into
practice. (See Appendix 1 ) Each
student makes a personal list and then adds new ideas as they appear. This means that
after any topic is brainstormed, each student will choose one, two, or three items from
the brainstormed list, add them to an individual "plan of action" including
when, where, and how often s/he will try to do this.
|
|
|
About once a month, you, the teacher, can ask
the students to write and hand in an assessment of their "plan of action," that
is, what isn't working and why/why not. This pushes the students to keep track of their
own work, to check if they are trying out new strategies, and evaluate which is/is not
useful. The objective is to help the students organize their own learning, that is, to
help them to acquire metacognitive strategies related to the organization and evaluation
of their way of working.
|
|
|
IV. How does brainstorming help students become more autonomous?
Changing attitudes and acquiring skills
|
|
|
One outcome of student brainstorming, what they
do and what they could do, is making them conscious of the strategies each already has. It
also helps them discover what other classmates do. The former is useful because students
are often unaware of how they go about a task themselves. The latter, because it has often
never occurred to most of them that there is any other way to face a task other than their
own habitual way. The realization that they can get ideas from their classmates is one
more way to help students understand the teacher is not the only source for learning.
|
|
|
Asking students to brainstorm specific areas,
contents, or processes, is a way of showing them, as opposed to simply telling them, how
much they, individually and collectively, already know and know how to do. A blackboard
covered with student ideas on a given area is an implicit message of this collective
knowledge or ability. This message can be made explicit by the teacher pointing out to the
group the number of ideas they have come up with or by asking them if they had expected
that they would find so many possibilities before beginning the brainstorming activity.
This is one way we have found to help students change their attitude towards their role in
decision-making in their learning process.
|
|
|
Brainstorming, especially pyramid brainstorming,
helps the student to become conscious of the skills s/he has already acquired, what s/he
already does in order to learn and what else s/he could be doing. In other words, students
identify the strategies they already have and also what other strategies s/he could be
putting into practice.
|
|
|
Further, pyramid brainstorming helps each
student to reflect on his/her present way of working, and to discover that this way is not
the same as for someone else. This can come as quite a shock to students and teachers
|
|
|
As students become more conscious of how each
one learns and of their capabilities of making decisions about their own learning process,
they begin to acquire the ability to accept the responsibility of this learning process.
They are now on their way to becoming more autonomous. Simultaneously, as the teacher sees
the class of students collectively come up with ideas in a given area and then use these
suggestions to improve their learning process while accepting greater responsibility for
the in-class work and overall group dynamics, the teacher becomes more willing to let the
students try working with ever greater amounts of autonomy. In this way the "snowball
keeps growing."
|
|
|
Leslie
Bobb-Wolff teaches English and methodology in the Modern Language Department of
the University of La Laguna, in Tenerife,Spain. |
|
|
Return
|
|
Footnote 1
| 1. The definition given in Webster's New World
Dictionary, 2nd edition is "the unrestrained offering of ideas or suggestions by all
members of a conference to seek solutions to problems" (p. 171) |
Appendix 1
PLAN OF ACTION
(short term) |
| Action (what?) |
When? How Often?
Where? |
Check
(dates) |
|
|
|
|
|
. |
. |