Creative Thinking & Problem Solving - Let's Design a Game
This 6-week course teaches creative thinking and problem solving skills, using the context of designing a board game to demonstrate and reinforce the techniques.
David Morgan-Mar, Ph.D.
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(133)
What's included
6 live meetings
5 hrs 30 mins in-class hoursHomework
1 hour per week. Students will be given simple tasks to practise and reinforce the thinking techniques they have learnt during each lesson. These tasks can be done alone, or preferably with the assistance and input of family members. Homework tasks can be done in a few minutes, or can be practised as often as the student wishes. Between weeks 5 and 6, the student will have a board game they helped design. They should print it out and play the game a few times with family or friends. The family/friends should give constructive feedback, saying both what they enjoyed about it, and what aspects they think could be improved.Certificate of Completion
A certificate will be provided, listing the creative thinking and problem solving skills covered during the course.Class Experience
This course teaches general techniques of creative thinking and problem solving, which can be applied to many real world problems and design processes. To reinforce the skills, students will use them in a practical project - designing a brand new board game. Each lesson will introduce a specific method in the creative problem solving process, with examples. The students will then use that method to perform the next stage of board game design, guided by the teacher. By the end of the course, students will have acquired a toolbox of creative thinking skills and practised how to apply them to various problems, plus a unique game that they have helped design! Classes are highly interactive - the environment will encourage all students to contribute ideas and provide feedback to each other. Students will thus also learn how to work productively in a group. Each class typically begins with a few slides to introduce key problem solving concepts, followed by interactive examples and then applying them to the game project. Course outline see the Syllabus. Between weeks 4 & 5, and 5 & 6, students are expected to play the game that we develop during the class with family or friends, and make notes on what parts are fun, and what could be improved, for discussion during the next lesson.
Learning Goals
Creative thinking and problem solving techniques: problem analysis, defining the goal, brainstorming, lateral thinking, idea generation, divergent/convergent thinking, idea evaluation, risk/benefit analysis, combining ideas, verification of solutions.Students will experience working in a group environment, learning how to give and receive goal-oriented constructive criticism.
Syllabus
6 Lessons
over 6 WeeksLesson 1:
Defining the Problem
We look at how to analyse a problem or goal, to identify the critical issues that require answers, as well as any distracting information that is less important. Students will learn the thinking hats technique to focus their thinking on the current task. We will define basic parameters of our board game and discuss what our goal is. 55 mins online live lesson
Lesson 2:
Brainstorming
We examine the idea of divergent thinking to generate new ideas. We look at several techniques to assist in thinking "outside the box" to come up with inventive solutions to problems. We will brainstorm several aspects of our board game design, and produce creative ideas that will make the game exciting and novel. 55 mins online live lesson
Lesson 3:
Convergence
We focus on methods for analysing and evaluating ideas, to narrow down to concepts that can provide good solutions to the problem at hand. Students will learn to constructively criticise ideas, both their own and those of other people. We will select some of the ideas created in week 2 to use in our board game. 55 mins online live lesson
Lesson 4:
Develop and Combine
We look at how to grow existing ideas in fruitful directions, towards our creative goal. Ideas can be combined to produce new and cool solutions to problems. We explore how modifying ideas and pulling in ideas from other parts of the creative process may lead to new insights. Our game starts to take shape, as we combine a select few mechanics into a working system. 55 mins online live lesson
Other Details
Supply List
Learners will need writing paper and a pen/pencil for the thinking exercises during the class. Between classes, learners will also need to print out a few pages of game board elements, to test the game that we will be designing. Cardboard, writing implements, and scissors will be useful. They will also need access to common board game supplies such as dice and small game pieces. Copies of the class notes will be posted in the Outschool classroom for download after each lesson.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined January, 2021
5.0
133reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
2 Degrees
Doctoral Degree in Science from University of Sydney
Bachelor's Degree in Science from University of Sydney
I am a published game writer and designer, with multiple writing credits in the GURPS roleplaying game system by Steve Jackson Games, as well as gaming articles published in Pyramid magazine.
I am also a trained and authorised teacher of Primary Ethics in the New South Wales government education system, a course which covers critical thinking concepts. I have been teaching K-6 students face-to-face as a volunteer in the NSW school system since 2012.Reviews
Live Group Class
$80
for 6 classes1x per week, 6 weeks
55 min
Completed by 10 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 11-14
2-6 learners per class
