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Introduction

The SCAMPER technique is a creative brainstorming tool that can help you generate new ideas and improve existing products or services. It's a fun way to think outside the box and come up with innovative solutions. These elements challenge students to use their imagination for problem solving with the support of a framework of the following prompts: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate/Minimize, and Rearrange/Reverse. It is particularly useful in entrepreneurship education.

SCAMPER

The SCAMPER technique is widely recognized solely by its name.

Description

In the early 1950s, Alex Osborn, an advertising executive, developed the concept of brainstorming. He believed the technique of brainstorming could be developed within business to help with problem solving and the generation of new ideas. His belief was that everyone has the capacity to be creative and innovative if provided with the right tools and techniques to support them. He worked at developing a set of tools what would be useful for brainstorming. SCAMPER is one of the techniques developed by Osborn and later refined and promoted by Bob Eberle.

SCAMPER is a framework including key elements for problem solving using the following prompts: Substitute / Combine / Adapt / Modify / Put to another use / Eliminate / Reverse.

What is this technique/tool about? 

This tool will provide an opportunity for individuals or groups of students to actively engage in the development of a product / service. This will give students a deeper and knowledge and understanding of the process involved for an entrepreneur and will also increase the student likelihood of success as an entrepreneur into the future.

This tool will provide a step-by-step approach to developing a product / service and what elements need to be taken into consideration throughout the process.

 

For which purposes is it used (why in your secondary school teaching)

The purpose of using the SCAMPER technique for entrepreneurship and design thinking in the classroom is for students to:

• Stimulate creative thinking and the generation of ideas.
• Approach a task is a structured way.
• Use their imagination to solve problems and find solutions.
• Scaffold thinking about how designs could be developed or improved.
• Develop a systemic and practical approach to putting ideas into action.
• Organise ideas and thinking in developing a design and preparing a business plan.

Limitations

While this tool will support the development of key skills and competencies and go towards developing problem-solving and decision-making, it also has some limitations.

These include:

• Oversimplification: Working through a plan/steps/framework can sometimes over-simplify a more complex process which requires in-depth search.
• Limited scope: The framework may only address the issues that are provided to or researched by students and other important information might be overlooked.
• Time Consuming: The process of developing a product/service takes time and time will be limited to a few classes for this project.

How to implement these technique/tools

Preparation, before the session:

• Discuss the SCAMPER technique with students.
• Identify the key elements of SCAMPER – consider how each element could be used to develop a product / service / plan…
• List key questions under each element

During the session:

Use the SCAMPER technique with a classroom project:

Substitution (S): Students think about substituting, replacing, exchanging some aspect or part of the object, product, service, plan, idea, or process with another.

• Key Questions: What could be used instead? What other materials are available? What approach may work better? How might another component work?

Combine (C): Students think about combining, linking, relating, uniting parts or components of the object, product, service, plan, idea or process with another to enhance or produce something new or improved.

• Key Questions: What could be used with this? What can be added? What approach may work with this? How might another component add to this? What material/plan/idea can I combine with this?

Adapt (A): Students think about adapting, amending, adjusting, altering parts or components of the object, product, service, plan, idea or process to produce something new or improved.

• Key Questions: What could be used with this? What can be adapted? What approach could be adjusted to make this work? How has this been altered by others? What material/plan/idea could be amended to develop this further?

Modify (M):  Students think about modifying, varying, transforming, reworking parts or components of the object, product, service, plan, idea or process to create something better.

• Key Questions: What could be added to this? What can be removed? What approach could be adopted to make this work? How has this been altered by others? What material/plan/idea could be expanded/extended to develop this further?

Put to other uses (P): Students think about modifying, varying, transforming, reworking parts or components of the object, product, service, plan, idea or process to create something better.

• Key Questions: What could be added to this? What can be removed? What approach could be adopted to make this work? How has this been altered by others? What material/plan/idea could be expanded/extended to develop this further?

Eliminate (E): Students think about eliminating, removing, disregarding, excluding parts or components of the object, product, service, plan, idea or process and how this will create something better.

• Key Questions: What could be remove? What needs to be retained? What aspects could be excluded? How can this be reduced? What are the implications of eliminating this part?

Rearrange/Reverse (R): Students think about rearranging, reversing, reorganising, reordering parts or components of the object, product, service, plan, idea or process and consider how this might change the outcome.

• Key Questions: What would happen if we changed the order? What it we tried to do this first? Could the action / parts be reversed?

Follow-up after the session:

After the session, reflect on results and consider what the students have learned from it.

Tools needed

Research tools – research articles, newspapers, online tools…

Classroom resources – paper, pens, flipchart, markers…

Exemplars of projects using SCAMPER

Resources

SCAMPER template

Key Questions

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