Creative Thinking Strategy 9: Awaken the Collaborative Spirit

Working with others in a group can be extremely advantageous in the critical thinking process. Naturally people think about things in different ways and through different perspectives, which means one person’s idea could spur a completely separate one by someone else. This makes group brainstorming techniques, such as Brainwriting, extremely useful when trying to think up larger quantities of unique and innovative ideas. Brainwriting has each group member write ideas on index cards and then pass them to their right after each idea in order to possibly spur a new idea by the person to the right of you. As the ideas get passed around from person to person, a single idea could spur three of four more ideas by other group members.

Note: In my brainwriting activity I had five individuals from different backgrounds participate.

Results, lessons learned, identified solutions

Ideas created during the brainwriting activity or as an after thought when expanding upon those ideas:

1. Use newsletters and blogs with catchy headers: I like using the word CAPlication instead of application in any blogs or newsletters. Example, “fill out your caplication today!”

2. Make fake sorority recruitment video for CAP: I think we should have cool music in the background, slow-mos, definitely use a gopro, show some of the social events we do etc.

3. Use Heavener school as a prop for marketing strategy: completely deck out Heavener with posters, marketing on televisions, stuff in the academic advising office, put flyers on the tables in the CAP office

4. Gator Times ads. This is a super simple idea but it’s a good one. Gator Times is pretty much the official newsletter of UF. This newsletter goes to pretty much everyone and would be a good general marketing tool to utilize.

5. Free stuff is always a popular marketing tool. Free CAP pens, maybe mugs, notebooks etc. Free stuff is always a hit when tabling. This idea also made me think that we need to be doing more at Business Bash (which is a business student organization fair that happens every semester)  

6. Host a "bring a friend" day during a CAP training where mentors can bring someone who they think would make a good CAP.

7. Ask professors to mention CAPs to students in their classes or advising sessions