Starko: Chapter 6

Thinking About the Classroom

“Look through magazines or gift catalogues. On your own or with your students’ help, collect pictures that illustrate the use of each of the SCAMPER verb in developing new products. You may want to use the pictures to create a bulletin board. Younger students can use the examples to learn about inventing, while high school design students can use it to spur or improve their projects. Alternatively, either group could pick a common household item and use the SCAMPER verbs to plan ways to improve it” (Starko, 2011, p. 134).

I think that the magazine clippings would be a great activity for students to do when they first learn SCAMPER. They have to creatively think and choose objects that represent each verb. Choosing a household appliance and assessing the features that can be improved by SCAMPER is also a great way to learn what each letter represents. The students would have to organize their ideas and present it to the class. After presenting their ideas, they would post their projects on a bulletin board that has SCAMPER at the top. This board would be a great resource for the students.