SCAMPER and Creative Problem Solving in Political Science: Insights from Classroom Observation

ABSTRACT

This article describes the author’s experience using SCAMPER, a creativity-building technique, in a creative problem-solving session that was conducted in an environmental conflict course to generate ideas for managing postconflict stability. SCAMPER relies on cues to help students connect ideas from different domains of knowledge, explore random combinations between ideas in the same area and reduce mental blocks. Insights from classroom observation show SCAMPER’s utility in helping students formulate novel ideas and encourage divergent thinking and classroom participation. Combining SCAMPER with another session designed to evaluate the ideas’ logical connection to the problem is likely to maximize the students’ ability to deliver both original and relevant ideas. SCAMPER is a promising tool that instructors could use to develop their students’ creative problem-solving skills to tackle policy challenges across different subfields in political science.

KEYWORDS:

• Active learning
• creativity
• ideas

Notes

Examples can be found on the Elizabeth Radziszewski’s Web site http://eradziszewski.webs.com/.

The students did not evaluate the solutions’ originality—this was based on my assessment.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elizabeth Radziszewski

Elizabeth Radziszewski is an Assistant Professor at Rider University. Her research focuses on international security, civil wars, social networks, foreign policy, and creativity in the classroom. She is the author of Social Networks and Public Support for the European Union (2013, Routledge). Her work has been published in The Journal of Conflict Resolution, Political Research Quarterly, International Interactions, Foreign Policy Analysis, Journal of Global Security Studies, and The Wilson Quarterly.