Thinker’s Keys

Thinking Creatively Thinker’s Keys – The Thinker’s Keys were developed by Tony Ryan, an Australian learning consultant, as a set of twenty different activities designed to enhance thinking tasks. – Each key provides a new perspective or viewpoint to quickly generate new ideas and new directions.

Thinking Creatively 1. The “Reverse” Key – Swap the idea around – e.g. What can’t you do instead of what can you do? What have you never seen instead of what have you seen?

Thinking Creatively 2. The “What if” Key – Speculate on new ideas – e.g. What if there were eight days of the week instead of seven? What if wheels were square?

Thinking Creatively 3. The “Disadvantages” Key – Look at the shortcomings – e.g. What are the disadvantages of a bus, and how could we improve it?

Thinking Creatively 4. The “Combination” Key – Combine two concepts together – e.g. What can you come up with from the combination of a chair and a microwave?

Thinking Creatively 5. The “BAR” Key – Bigger, Add, Replace – e.g. What would happen if you were to make a bus (or part of a bus) bigger? What could you add to a bus to improve it? What part of the bus could you replace with something else?

Thinking Creatively 6. The “Alphabet” Key – Create a list of A to Z relevant to the idea – e.g. Topic: computers. – List: Apple, Bugs, CPU, Database, Electricity, Floppy disks, Gigabytes, Hardware, Input, Java, Keyboard, Language, Megabyte, Network, Operating System, PC, Quantum Computing, RISC, Software, Testing, User Interface, Versions, WWW, XML, Yahoo, Zip

Thinking Creatively 7. The “Variations” Key – Look at the alternative ways – e.g. How many different ways can you think of to tell the time?

Thinking Creatively 8. The “Picture” Key – Visualising using a simple diagram – e.g. Find a link between this diagram and your program of study:

Thinking Creatively 9. The “Prediction” Key – Predict the Future – e.g. How will college work in 30 years time? What will be the next big development in your program of study?

Thinking Creatively 10. The “Different Uses” Key – Unexpected uses of products – e.g. What are ten unexpected uses for a balloon?

Thinking Creatively 11. The “Ridiculous” Key – Make statement virtually impossible to implement and try to make it work – e.g. Why can’t we power the electricity using energy generated by conversations? – We’d need microphones everywhere converting audio into electrical impulses, and instead of going to speakers, those impulses would have to go into the powergrid.

Thinking Creatively 12. The “Commonality” Key – Create a list of features that two items have in common – e.g. A dog and a table Both have four legs Both can be found in houses Both need occasional cleaning Both have owners

Thinking Creatively 13. The “Question” Key – List 5 questions given an answer – e.g. The answer is key 1.What opens locks? 2.Someone who sings badly is said to be off______? 3.The stone at the top of an arch called the _____stone? 4.The primary light that illuminates a scene in a play is the _____ light? 5.What did Tony Ryan suggest there were 20 of?

Thinking Creatively 14. The “Brainstorming” Key – State the problem and brainstorm as many possible alternative solutions as possible – e.g. Encouraging people to read books Government bans TV one day a week Pay people to read Make books very cheap Hide a golden ticket in one book Free download of eBooks once a month

Thinking Creatively 15. The “Inventions” Key – Invent sometime new – e.g. A new type of Swiss Army Knife – A new type of key – A new way to light a room – A new way to wash dishes

Thinking Creatively 16. The “Brick Wall” Key – State something that appears to be indisputable, and dispute it – e.g. “What goes up must come down” – Not in outer space – Not if it gets stuck – Not if it’s lighter-than-air – Not if it’s taxes

Thinking Creatively 17. The “Construction” Key – Build something tangible with some everyday materials – e.g. Drinking straws, paper, Sellotape – Build a container that will allow you to throw an egg out a window and it will land unbroken.

Thinking Creatively 18. The “Forced Relationships” Key – Build something to solve a problem with dissimilar materials – e.g. Mobile phone, brush, DVD, lipstick – Build a device using the above materials that will work as a fire alarm.

Thinking Creatively 19. The “Alternative” Key – Do a common task in an unusual way – e.g. Work out a few ways to: – Brush your teeth with a toothbrush – Tell the time without a clock – Cut the grass without a lawnmower – Light a fire without matches

Thinking Creatively 20. The “Interpretation” Key – Create an unusual scenario and come up with multiple explanations for it. – e.g. The goal posts have been removed from the local pitch. What could have happened? – A car backed into a post badly splintering it and for safety sake it had to be removed. – The local football team borrowed them – A new building is going to be built on the field