Generating Tool

Force Fitting

Task: Invent a new vehicle by combining two vehicles.

• I had the students draw two vehicle cards from an envelope.

• They glued each vehicle into a force fitting equation.

• The sum was their new vehicle.

• The activities length varied from student to student. Some were done in 15 minutes others took 45 minutes.

Problem Solving Preferences• Some students were very stuck

trying to imagine the vehicles combined.

• Others had a complete story and purpose for their new vehicle immediately.

• The drawing process stumped a few. They found it difficult to draw what they had never seen before.

• I could of drawn a line between those who gravitated to this project and those who found it completely puzzling.

What were the results? Did you select the tools wisely? Apply them effectively? Were the results satisfactory to you and the group?

• This exercise was a perfect fit for this age group. It stretched the minds of many children but wasn’t frustrating.

• It was a great way to introduce the concept of force fitting.

• The results showed that the students understood the expectations of the assignment.

• I was able to extend the activity into a writing activity.

Would you do it differently if you were starting over? How?

• I should of spent more time explaining how force fitting is a tool to help thinkers come up with new ideas.

• A better introduction to the assignment was needed.

• This lessons beauty was in it’s simplicity. I could of introduced some larger ideas about creative problem solving as a result.

Force Fitting Lesson 2

• Students brought in stuffed animals. • We discussed how inventors combine ideas to create new

ideas. • We pretended to be stuffed animal designers.• Each child choose two stuffed animals to force fit together.• They drew their new design.• The introduction and drawing took 25 minutes.

Problem Solving Preferences• Some students could

immediately get to work and draw their new creation. Others were stumped and unsure how to tackle the task. They needed another process to get started.

• Drawing is not a process that works for all. The computer might be a different way to move ideas through.

What were the results? Did you select the tools wisely? Apply them effectively? Were the results satisfactory to you and the group?

• With this lesson I was able to explain that force fitting was a tool used to generate ideas.

• I was able to have students spend time discussing the work of their classmates in a quick pair-share format.

• We were able to spend more time understanding the process behind creative problem solving.