CAMP

A new tool for your thinking arsenal

The modern thinker must always be prepared. This device is effectively four different ways of exploring a topic. Provide a short, ambiguous or controversial statement pertaining to your subject. Useful for setting the big picture or as a review. It can really help students make sense of something for themselves, and helps them to identify research for independent learning.

Chance – What are the chances of that? Consider the likelihood hood of the statement. Place your feeling on a continuum line of agree / disagree. Justify your answer.

And? – Put ‘and…..’ after the statement and see what ideas flow.

Mix it up – Rearrange the words or adjust the statement to amend the meaning. This might throw up some other perspectives and points of view which will enrich the thinking. Perhaps substitute Mix it up for Maybe, but…..

Proof – Don’t take the statement as fact. What evidence would you need to confirm the statement? Where would you get this from? Who could be of assistance in helping you decide? Do you know where the statement came from and the bias with which it was written?

The highly versatile CAMP thinking tool is not just for bringing students’ thinking up the ladder to a higher plain – it might well be used to think around new ideas when planning new modules.

Try it out; new ideas, balanced perspectives and reasoned argument await all who dare CAMP!

Fergus Hegarty