The 30 Circles
The aim is to avoid self-censorship in the creative processes.
10-20 min.
15-30 students.
Virtual whiteboard
1. Ask each student to find a blank piece of paper and have them draw 30 black circles on the paper.
2. The students are challenged to fill in as many circles as possible with the aim being quantity not quality, put heavy emphasis on the fact that it’s quantity not quality you are looking for. They are given 3 minutes to complete the challenge.
- Show them examples of things to fill the circles with by sharing your screen and showing a picture where you have filled out a few of the circles in various ways e.g., shading, drawing emojis etc.
3. The students share and reflect on the similarities there are between their circles.
4. The teacher brings the students together to discuss the following points:
- Did you stop yourself from self-censoring?
- When you went for quantity, did you think that your work poor or did you think you would edit it?
- Can this activity be the basis from which creativity can flourish?
Inspired by: Bob McKim. Adapted from: Tim Brown https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_brown_tales_of_creativity_and_play and https://www.artworkarchive.com/blog/7-fun-exercises-to-quickly-improve-creative-thinkin