Synectics

Definition: Synectics is a Greek word meaning “the fitting together of seemingly diverse elements”. This technique uses metaphorical and analogous information exchanges within a carefully selected group of individuals of varying personalities and areas of specialization, with the team leader playing a dominant role during the discussion. Synectics operates on the principal that, by using the mind's remarkable capacity to connect seemingly irrelevant elements of thought, we can spark surprising new ideas that may later be developed into feasible solutions to problems.

Steps:

This strategy helps students connect thinking and problem solving.

1. Have students discuss a theme and share their perceptions of the theme.
2. Encourage students to suggest direct analogies.
3. Change the analogy to a personal analogy.
4. Put two things together that don't normally go together and develop another analogy.
5. Create a story, description, model, etc. to demonstrate new perspectives gained.
6. Reexamine the original topic.
7. Evaluate.

When to use:

Use with student to help develop creative thinking and problem solving skills.

Resources:

William J. Gordon, Synectics: The Development of Creative Capacity (New York: Harper and Row, 1961).

Synectics Slide Show

http://www.cse.uta.edu/~youn/course/4316/Slides/HTML_SLIDES/Creative_Engineering/tsld014.htm

Example:

In Synectics, metaphor is defined to include all figures of speech (similie, personification, oxymoron, etc.) that join different and apparently irrelevant elements through the use of analogy.

Direct analogy - How is a classroom like an anthill, math like a crowded bus, or a summer day like watermelon slices?

Personal analogy - How does it feel to be a zipper? What does it feel like to be a daisy? What if you could fly?

Symbolic analogy or compressed conflict - When is silence deafening? How can love be both kind and cruel?