Ideate
The goal of this step of the District 127 Design Thinking process is to generate as many ideas, possible solutions, product ideas, etc. as possible. Early on in this stage, students should be creative and not limit their ideas. Once a significant number of ideas have been generated, students or groups of students will analyze, combine, revise, and narrow the ideas into something that they are willing to move forward with. Many of the most innovative ideas are not the first ideas so it is important to not get hung up on their first few ideas.
Strategies for Ideation
In-person Brainstorming: There are a lot of different ways that students can brainstorm ideas. Using sticky notes, large papers, or whiteboards are a great way for students to quickly record and share their ideas for group analysis.
Resource sheet from the Collective Action Toolkit about Jam Sessions
Resource sheet & link from HubSpot - 15 Creative Exercises That Are Better Than Brainstorming
Get Visual: Incorporating drawing, sculpting, and/or building into the ideation process can unlock all kinds of innovative solutions.
Bundle & Narrow Ideas: Once a number of ideas have been generated, groups can begin to organize and pare down the ideas into robust solutions.
Grow an Idea: Have members of a team identify, ask questions about, and improve on one of the original ideas from the brainstorming session.
