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Lateral Thinking & Mind-Maps for IDEA 

LATERAL THINKING & MIND-MAPS FOR IDEA 

David Cheong Kwok Kong 

Lecturer 

Human Resource Management Section 

School of Business 

Abstract 

This paper introduces the concepts of lateral thinking and the concept fan as well as the use 

of mind-maps for the teaching of IDEA (Innovation, Design and Enterprise in Action) at the 

School of Business. Lateral thinking is about thinking out-of-the-box while mind-maps are 

about the visual representation on one page of paper the important points and the sub-points 

and the subsequent sub-points of a particular topic or issue of discussion. When these 

concepts are used properly, students could better appreciate the relationship between the 

various points and eventually make improvements to their creativity work. Lecturers could 

find their students’ work presented and discussed in such ways to be relevant and interesting 

in the teaching and assessment of IDEA. 

Keywords 

Creativity, Innovation, Lateral Thinking, Concept Fan, Mind-Maps 

Excellence in Education and Training Convention 2007


Table of Contents 

1: Designing effective and innovative learning environments 

1.1. Learning needs of targeted groups of students 3 

1.2. Methods and learning resources create novel and effective 

teaching strategies 4 

1.3 Opportunities for students to apply, practise and demonstrate their 

knowledge and skills learned through various modalities 5 

2: Using effective and innovative teaching and learning strategies 

2.1 Explaining and demonstrating to students the relevance of specific 

learning and its connections with other topics/disciplines 7 

2.2. Involving students in establishing learning plans and strategies 7 

2.3 Positive beliefs and expectations of success amongst students 8 

2.4 Analysis and evaluation of student learning and adjustment of 

learning arrangements and pedagogic strategies where necessary 8 

3: Designing assessment strategies and methods that promote understanding 

competence 

3.1 Assessment strategies for valid assessment of understanding and 

competence in cost-effective ways 7 

3.2 Evaluation of the effectiveness of assessment strategies and methods 

for understanding and competence 11 

List of references 13 

Acknowledgements 13 

Copyright statement 13 



1: DESIGNING EFFECTIVE AND INNOVATIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS 

1.1 Learning needs of targeted groups of students 

My project shall focus on the Innovation, Design and Enterprise in Action (IDEA) 

module taught at the School of Business (SB) where I am the module coordinator (MC). 

IDEA is an institutional module and it is therefore a compulsory module for all year-one 

students. The synopsis of IDEA is as follows: 

“The module develops in our students an attitude for basic creativity, design, literacy, 

innovation & enterprise, through an understanding of the design process. This experiential 

project-based learning module will enable students to question their preconceptions, see 

things from multiple perspectives, generate new ideas, make these new ideas work, develop 

visual & verbal presentation, and develop a business scenario to sell their ideas to others to 

create new uses and lifestyles. Students will be assessed through critique sessions on their 

ability to design, make, and develop visual and verbal presentations to sell their ideas and 

projects.” Ref: IDEA Centre, Singapore Polytechnic, AY2004/2005 Prospectus. 

The learning needs of this huge cohort of students are immense and diverse. Many of 

them do not have an inkling of what creativity is all about. Perhaps in some work assigned to 

students in primary and secondary school, teachers could have encouraged them to be 

creative but students in Singapore, in general, do not possess a creative culture. Hence, 

from an educator’s point of view, one could ask whether students could be instructed and 

provided with a curriculum and an environment geared towards creativity in their secondary 

and primary schools. 

In any case, when these students come to Singapore Polytechnic (SP), we are faced 

with this enormous task to get them to be creative. They need to be creative because the 

country needs such people. LG (NS) Lim Chuan Poh, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of 

Education, said at the Educational Research Association of Singapore (ERAS) Conference, 

24 November 2004: 

“Our young must be prepared for a more dynamic and unpredictable future that is fluid, 

borderless and highly competitive. They must learn to think for themselves, use their 

imagination, be prepared to try and have the resilience to bounce back when they suffer 

setbacks. These are the Innovation and Enterprise attributes that we want our students to 

have and which we know will stand them in good stead for the future.” 

IDEA is an institutional module which is developed and coordinated by the IDEA 

Centre at SP. When the IDEA module was first taught, Ontography was used to get students 

to be creative. This is about getting students to draw freely on a blank piece of paper 

according to their intuition and without thinking. Some of the instructions given by the IDEA 

Centre were: “Relax and listen to music if you want. Stop your thoughts. Do not judge. Do 

not think. Do not form mental pictures. When the tutor tells you, pick up your pen. Rest 

your pen onto the tracing paper. Let the pen move with the music. Do not control the pen. 

Let the pen move by itself. Do not judge. Do not think. Do not close your eyes. Your eyes 

must remain open. Look at the lines in front of you.” 

Subsequently, students were told to create a 3-Dmodel and some of the given 

instructions were: Look at your ontography drawing. Use white clay or plasticine to make the 

ontography 3-dimensional. Make each piece like a line or a form in your drawing and slowly 

join these parts together. Imagine as you make what is behind each line and form in the 

drawing. Soon you will have your 3-D ontographic model.” 



Such work led students to the IDEA project, which was creating a new product or 

service and to set-up a business with it. Some of the given instructions were: “Look at your 

ontography drawing and model – and ask the ‘What if?’ question and see if you could allow 

the ontography drawing and model help you develop the new product or service – use your 

imagination – develop a story if you want to. ‘What if your ontography could serve a 

purpose?’ That is, for what purpose will the group’s product or service serve ultimately?” 

The above instructions were rather abstract and many students at SB had difficulty. 

Perhaps, ontography is more suited to the architectural and engineering students. Many 

students have no idea of creativity, and this is the first time they had come into contact with 

the term. That they need to be creative for their own and Singapore’s future is undeniable 

and indisputable. But, surely something can be done to address the students’ learning 

needs in relation to creativity. As I was appointed the MC, I felt I had the responsibility to 

adapt IDEA to suit SB’s requirements. 

1.2 Methods and learning resources create novel and effective teaching strategies 

I began to read up and research on creativity. First, I read the works of Edward Be 

Bono, a Rhodes scholar at Oxford. Of all his lateral thinking tools and techniques, I found 

“The Concept Fan” to be applicable for IDEA students at SB because it is simple and useful. 

Next, I read the works of Tony Buzan, who has double honours in Psychology, English, 

Mathematics, and the General Sciences from the University of British Columbia. Of all his 

works, I found Mind Maps at Work to be applicable for IDEA students at SB because they 

give students a visual display of the development of their work. 

I read the paper written and presented by Dennis Sale at the ERAS Conference of 

November 2004 entitled, “What Creative Teachers Do and How They Do It: a Neurolinguistic 

Programming (NLP) Approach”. I found the following extracts from his paper useful and 

relevant: 

“Firstly, NLP is concerned with modelling effective abilities and transferring these abilities to 

others. Secondly, NPL places a strong emphasis on being able to understand the syntax of 

individuals’ communication strategies through careful observation, listening and questioning 

– ‘sensory acuity’ in NLP terminology. Thirdly, the concept of ‘reframing’, which refers to 

putting things in different contexts (frames or reference), thus giving them different meanings, 

is in many ways the essence of creative thinking.” 

Finally, I read the paper written and presented by Gina Wisker at the ERAS 

Conference of November 2004 entitled, “Nurturing and Harnessing Creativity: Lessons from 

the Humanities for Innovation and Enterprise”. I found the following extracts from her paper 

interesting: 

“Creativity is important for all of us and the future of our societies for three reasons: 

1. It expands the potential of the whole person emotionally, psychologically, cognitively – 

releasing it into action. 

2. Nurturing and harnessing creative thinking and practices help us to transfer these 

abilities to solve a range of problems in business and professional life as well as personal 

development. 

3. Economically it is invaluable as the source of new ideas and forms, solutions to problems. 

Creative outputs contribute to national and personal financial security. The arts and 

humanities – the home base of creativity – themselves generate a great deal of jobs and 

gross national product.” 



1.3 Opportunities for students to apply, practise and demonstrate their knowledge 

and skills learned through various modalities 

To guide SB students on the road to creativity, I provided them the following: 

Lateral thinking 

Lateral thinking is about seeking to solve problems by unorthodox methods. With 

“vertical thinking”, you take a position and then you seek to build on that basis. The next step 

depends on where you are at this moment. The next step has to be related and logically 

derived from where you are at this moment. This suggests building up from a base. With 

lateral thinking, we move “sideways” to try different perceptions, different concepts, and 

different points of entry. We can use various methods to get us out of our usual line of 

thought. There are various lateral thinking tools and techniques. 

The concept fan is one of them and it is appropriate as an introduction for students to 

lateral thinking. The purpose of the concept fan is to provide a framework for generating 

alternative ideas. The framework forces the alternatives by providing a succession of fixed 

points. At the right end of the concept fan, we have the purpose or objective of thinking. 

Moving backwards from the purpose, we have “directions”, which are very broad approaches. 

The broadest approach you can conceive becomes the direction. Next to the left is 

“concepts”, which are general methods or ways of doing something. At the extreme left, we 

have “ideas”, which are specific concrete ways of putting a concept to work. An idea must be 

specific. It must be possible to put an idea directly into practice. Students could generate a 

lot of creative ideas in this manner. 

(Adapted from: Edward De Bono, “Serious Creativity: Using the Power of Lateral Thinking to 

Create New Ideas”, 1993) 

An example of my students’ concept fan is as follows: 

Ideas 

Concepts 

Directions 

Purpose 

WW3 (World War 3)- It is an outdoor game that 

allows player to take full control just like being in 

the combat field with the help of some equipment. 

E-Games 

3D suit- Connecting the suit to television enable 

consumer to be in the television programme and it 

could projects the actions consumer perform into 

the programme. 

Entertainment 

3D headset- Able to see, hear and sense the 

presence of the person that you wish to see. 

GOT (Going Out Together)- Individuals whose 

friends did not turn up for the date can call this 

“GOT” organisation to help them arrange a “meet a 

new friend session” for tea or something. 

3D 

Devices 

Gathering 

How to 

reduce 

loneliness? 

“Individuals” Club House- An emotion detector 

will be place the main door. 

‘RRR’ (Residents Recreational Room)- It is a 

room in which residents can spend their time chit 

chatting there or having some board games. 

E-Services 

Services 



Mind maps 

A mind map is a visual form of note-taking that can be worked on by one person or a 

team of people. At its heart is a central idea or image. This is then explored by means of 

branches representing main ideas, which all connect to this central idea. From every “main 

idea” branch, there are “sub-idea” branches, which explore themes in greater depth. Just as 

the branches are all connected, so are all the ideas in relation to each other, and this gives a 

mind map a depth and breadth of scope that a simple list of ideas cannot. By working from 

the centre outwards, a mind map encourages thoughts to behave in the same way. Soon a 

student’s ideas would expand and he could radiate creative thinking. 

(Adapted from: Tony Buzan, “Mind Maps at Work: How to be the Best at your Job and still 

have Time to Play”, 2004)” 

An example of my students’ work is as follows: 

Saves cost 

Encourage energy 

conservation 

How to attract 

buyers? 

How to 

highlight 

the effectiveness 

of the product? 

An energy converter 

Converts and 

saves energy 

Act 

Think 

Environment 

How to persuade 

buyers to spend 

more for an additional 

function? 

Relate 

Sports Energy 

Stimulator 

Heaviness 

Customers 

would not 

prefer a 

bulky 

equipment 

Sight (appearance) 

Feel 

Sense 

It should be 

stylish enough to 

attract 

sportsman 

Convenience 

Touch 

No sharp points 

It serves two 

purpose at one go 

(sports and 

energy) 

It is possible that some students could have been taught lateral thinking and mind 

maps during secondary school. However, it is unlikely they have been told to use such 

techniques for creative and innovative work, and be assessed on the use of such techniques. 

Therefore, I went about redesigning IDEA at SB with confidence that students would find it 

helpful and useful. As IDEA is a year-one module, students could apply and practise what 

they have learnt about creative techniques to other year-one modules and subsequently to 

year-two and year-three modules. IDEA is also a flip-flop module at SB, i.e. half of the cohort 

of students takes IDEA in semester 1 while the other half takes IDEA in semester 2. This 

ability to apply creativity to other modules is relevant as creativity is a generic skill and is also 

needed in other fields of learning. For example, Marketing is a year-one module and 

students need to be creative in project work. Similarly, Business Law and Business 

Development are second and third-year modules respectively and they require students to 

be creative in group work. 



2: USING EFFECTIVE AND INNOVATIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING 

STRATEGIES 

2.1 Explaining and demonstrating to students the relevance of specific learning and 

its connections with other topics/disciplines 

This part could be explained with reference to the 1 st module aim of IDEA, i.e. 

“To develop an attitude for, and the literacy and skills in basic design creativity through an 

understanding of the design process.” 

The IDEA lectures, tutorials, CAs, etc. have been designed to develop in students an 

attitude for, and the literacy and skills in basic design creativity and to enable students to 

understand the design process, which is the process of creativity, innovation and enterprise. 

Basically, this is about showing and guiding students on how to be creative by following a 

process. The lectures have been full of concepts and examples, including pictures of 

creative products, etc. The tutorials reinforce the lectures and prepare students for the CAs. 

The 4 CAs have been rigorous and the assessment criteria clearly stated. 

Students learn about creativity, innovation and enterprise as well as the design 

process. Following which, students have to apply the concepts to the development of a new 

product or service, which is presented in the form of a potential new business. As they have 

to write a business proposal, SB students need to apply whatever knowledge they have 

acquired in modules such as Principles of Accounting, Fundamentals of Marketing, etc. This 

shows the interdisciplinary link between IDEA and the other modules at SB. 

2.2 Involving students in establishing learning plans and strategies 

With reference to the 3rd module aim of IDEA, i.e. “To enable students to make these 

new ideas work with consideration for humane-centred use & experience.”, students could 

plan to address this particular module aim. This aim serves to encourage students to think of 

the poor and needy in society and to develop ideas to improve their daily lives. Therefore, 

their strategy could be to look for opportunities to meet the needs of the weak, elderly, infants, 

sick, poor, etc. The IDEA CA project has produced numerous humane-centred student 

projects, e.g. MRT safety barriers, better walking stick for the blind, accessory for the elderly, 

home sensor for the aged, temperature-sensitive baby feeding spoon, automatic attendancetaking 

device for students, better lecture chair for students, better MRT seats, automatic 

window cleaners to minimise the risk of domestic maids falling off from high-rise flats while 

cleaning windows, better counselling service for the depressed, new water creating device 

and storage container, etc. 

Students could also plan for profit-making products and services which are driven by 

consumers’ needs for status, style, convenience, etc.. This means they can take another 

path, i.e. business-centred instead of humane-centred. The majority of projects have such a 

theme reflecting the entrepreneurial culture of business students. Students have the 

freedom to choose the type of products or services that they wish to develop. This freedom 

given to the students is very important and is appreciated by them. 



2.3 Positive beliefs and expectations of success amongst students 

IDEA CA4 has fulfilled the 4 th module aim of IDEA, i.e. “To enable students to develop 

a simple business proposal, visual and verbal presentation to sell and communicate their 

new ideas to others for new use, experience and enterprise.” There are business proposal 

and A1 panel templates in IDEA Blackboard for students to download and use. In CA4, 

students have to do visual and verbal presentations on their new product or service in 

relation to their business proposal and A1 panels. 

Students are told of the achievements of their seniors at the SP-wide IDEA Challenge 

competition (See Table 1) as it could serve to inspire SB-IDEA students to strive for success 

at the competition. Their seniors could be good role models for them to emulate the 

examples set. 

IDEA Challenge Competition 

Year Position Team/ Product/ 

School 

Project Service 

2004/2005 2nd PRIUS Disposable underwear SB 

2004/2005 3 rd Passion Remote home appliance SB/EEE 

device 

2005/2006 6 th Condemn Glass which does not allow SB 

Condense condensation of ice water 

2005/2006 9 th RedPod Revolutionary toilet brush SB 

Table 1: Results of Past IDEA Challenge Competitions 

2.4 Analysis and evaluation of student learning and adjustment of learning 

arrangements and pedagogic strategies where necessary 

SB IDEA tutors have to comply with the following extract from SB-DQP-122, 5.2 c): 

Module Tutors: To provide feedback to students on their performance in each CA. (DQP – 

Department Quality Procedure; an ISO requirement) 

We give feedback to each group after every CA. The feedback provides an analysis 

and evaluation of the group’s performance. Feedback could be critical but they are always 

given constructively. If the group acknowledges and responds to the feedback, in almost 

every case, there will be significant improvements to the group’s project. This will happen 

because the CAs are progressive in nature and each CA builds on the work done in the 

previous CA. Some examples of feedback are as follows: 

• Explain how your group arrived at such a huge sales projection. 

• Your idea is too far fetched to be practical. Can your group be more realistic? 

• How can your group be more effective in marketing and distribution? 

Such feedback are reliable and effective. In the real business world, the investor 

would want answers to the same questions. When the groups do research, discuss and 

attempt to answer such questions, their projects show noticeable improvements. 

After feedback is provided, the teacher and his students could make some 

adjustments to the learning arrangements and the pedagogic strategies, e.g. the teacher 

could tailor feedback according to the special efforts of each group instead of a general class 

feedback while students could do more group research on identified weaknesses of their 

work. 



3: DESIGNING ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES AND METHODS THAT PROMOTE 

UNDERSTANDING AND COMPETENCE 

3.1 Assessment strategies for valid assessment of understanding and competence in 

cost-effective ways 

In forming the assessment strategies for IDEA at SB, the following principles had to 

be considered: 

1. The 4 CAs had to address and meet the module aims of IDEA. 

2. A specific list of assessment criteria for each CA as the 4 CAs cannot use the same 

criteria; each CA is unique and has its own purpose. 

3. As I had introduced lateral thinking and the concept fan as well as mind-mapping at SB, I 

had to assess their use by students for the CAs. 

4. As IDEA is about creativity, I had to give marks for innovativeness and creativity. 

5. As IDEA is also about good teamwork, I had to give marks for teamwork and 

cohesiveness. 

6. For the presentation, it was appropriate to give marks for the group as well as for 

individual presentations. 

7. When the 3-D model is required, I would give marks for it. 

8. When Internet and/or library research is required, I would give marks for it. 

9. When peer evaluation is required, I would give marks for it. 

10. As CA1 is about ontography and we have to accept it, I did not make any change to its 

original assessment criteria. 

11. Provide space for general comments by tutor for each CA so that groups could 

understand their areas of weaknesses and work towards improving them at the next CA. 

12. Each CA is assessed by 2 tutors and the final mark is the average of the 2 tutors’ marks. 



Guided by the above principles, I planned the following schedule of IDEA CA 

assessments: 

Schedule of IDEA (SP0702 & SP0902) Assessments for AY2006/07, Sem 2 

All 4 CAs shall be assessed in combined classes unless timetables do not permit. 

Both classes are to be together in one media room for the 2 hours per session of 

combined CA assessment by 2 tutors. 

CA1 or Tut 1 “Ontography of the Land”(10%): 

Individual presentation of Ontography and 3-D model (plasticine). 

Each student has 2 minutes to present. 

Sequence of presentation may follow class register. 

Due: T3/W3 

CA2 or Tut 2A “The IDEA Project – Creating an Innovative Product/Service” (20%): 

Show one Concept Fan of the product/service. 

Group Powerpoint presentation of IDEA project. 

Each group has 12 minutes to present. 

Lots may be drawn in advance to determine sequence of presentation. 

Due: T3/W6 

CA3 or Tut 2B “The IDEA Project – Making the Innovative Product/Service work” 

(30%): 

Show two Mind Maps of the product/service. 

Show one 3-D model (any material) of product or service. 

Group Powerpoint presentation of IDEA project with interim critique session. 

Each group has 15 minutes to present and 10 – 15 minutes for interim critique session. 

Do a peer evaluation using form given. 


Due: T3/W10, T3/W11 

CA4 or Tut 2C “The IDEA Project – Presenting the Innovative Product/Service” 

(30%): 

Submit hardcopy of business proposal (use template) by T4/W1. 

Group Powerpoint presentation, which includes 2 A1 presentation boards in Powerpoint 

format, main points of business proposal, group’s replies to interim feedback in CA3 and 

final critique session. 

Do NOT print the 2 A1 panels at this stage. 

Submit CD with the flwg saved, i.e. PPT presentation, 2 A1 presentation boards (use 

template) and business proposal, by T4/W2. 

Should a group’s work be chosen for exhibition, etc., the group is then required to print 

the 2 A1 panels. 

Each group has 15 minutes to present and 10 – 15 minutes for final critique session. 

Do a peer evaluation using form given. 


Due: T4/W1, T4/W2 

Class Participation (10%) 

Total (100%) 



3.2 Evaluation of the effectiveness of assessment strategies and methods for 

understanding and competence 

Prof Alan MacGregor, DAC External Examiner, May 2006, on IDEA: 

There is an impressive degree of creativity being shown by the students and the marking 

plans provided by the staff are worthy of particular commendation. Also worthy of special 

mention in the IDEA module which also moves students beyond the comfort of rote learning 

and develops valuable creative and independence skills. The changes in this module show 

how seriously the student feedback system is taken. Perhaps because I am an accountant I 

have some difficulty conceptualising moving from a free form drawing to a business concept. 

However, I did enjoy reading the sample of final reports which showed real creativity on the 

part of the students. 

Prof KK Lam, DBIT External Examiner, June 2006, on IDEA: 

PBL (Problem-based Learning) modules: Currently, 3 modules have been selected to use a 

‘hybrid’ PBL method of teaching and learning. This is the first semester that students in the 

DBIT are exposed to this method. In PBL, every 2-3 weeks, students are asked to 

brainstorm a problem that they are supposed to solve. Then they are expected to 

summarize their discussions on a Concept Map or Mind Map. Students learn the skill in the 

IDEA module but due to the ‘flip-flop’ arrangement, not all students in year one would have 

been exposed to the mind mapping technique. 

Recommendation: find ways to ensure that all students are taught this skill since this life-long 

skill will also be useful for lecture note-taking. 

My reply to his comments in italics, is as follows: 

All DBIT students in year 1 will take IDEA module either in semester 1 or 2, i.e. they will be 

exposed to the mind-mapping technique incorporated into IDEA in year 1. As MOB and 

IDEA are taught in the same semester, students could apply the mind maps learnt in IDEA to 

MOB for problem-based learning. Students have access to IDEA in Blackboard where all the 

teaching materials on mind maps are found. Once the mind-mapping technique has been 

learnt, it will be a life-long skill for students. Therefore, it is not necessary to conduct 

separate workshops for year-one students on the mind-mapping technique. 

Prof Fred Zandpour, DMC External Examiner, November 2006, on IDEA: 

I find this particular module and its related project quite visionary. Fostering creativity and 

out-of-the-box thinking must be an essential component of any educational program. But, not 

all institutions of higher education have genuinely embraced the idea. It seems Singapore 

Polytechnic is quite serious about the issue and has found a method of doing just that. I 

think the aims of the module are quite appropriate and using project is probably the best 

method of teaching this module. However, I have a few concerns: I am not quite sure if 

students can fully benefit from this project in their first year! Perhaps, students will be better 

equipped in terms of conceptual and practical skills to complete this project during their last 

year! In addition, I believe there has to be a little focus and direction for the project. For 

example, media and communication students may be asked to come up with new business 

models in digital media, advertising, online shopping and similar services as opposed to 

heavily focusing on product design and development. 



My reply, which was approved by Director SB, to his comments in italics, was as follows: 

IDEA is a first year module poly-wide and it is an institutional module. DMC year-one 

students have benefited from IDEA although it varies from student to student and a lot 

depends on the student's attitude towards creativity in business. There are no plans by the 

SP-IDEA team at this juncture to shift IDEA to the third year. 

The IDEA project (given as a handout at the start of semester to lecturers and students) 

clearly states that "the task is to design a new experience of your product or service." The 

description of the 3 CAs, included in IDEA Project handout, clearly indicates product or 

service: 

CA2: "The IDEA Project - Creating an Innovative Product/Service" 

CA3: "The IDEA Project - Making an Innovative Product/Service Work" 

CA4: "The IDEA Project - Enterprise - Presenting an Innovative Product/Service" 

Over the past 6 semesters that IDEA had been taught to DMC, DBA, DAC, DBF, DBIT and 

DTRM, there have been various service projects done by our students. DMC students are 

free to come up with new business models in digital media, advertising, online shopping and 

similar services. In fact, I have encouraged my IDEA-DMC classes to consider applying 

IDEA to their media and communication course. So far, most of the IDEA-DMC projects 

have been about new products. Eventually with further encouragement from lecturers, some 

of the IDEA-DMC projects could revolve around media and communication services. 



References 

1. Edward De Bono, “Serious Creativity: Using the Power of Lateral Thinking to Create 

New Ideas”, 1993 

2. Tony Buzan, “Mind Maps at Work: How to be the Best at your Job and still have Time 

to Play”, 2004 

3. LG (NS) Lim Chuan Poh, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Keynote 

Address at the Educational Research Association of Singapore (ERAS) Conference, 24 

November 2004 

4. Dennis Sale’s paper at the ERAS Conference of November 2004 entitled, “What 

Creative Teachers Do and How They Do It: a Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) 

Approach” 

5. Gina Wisker’s paper at the ERAS Conference of November 2004 entitled, “Nurturing 

and Harnessing Creativity: Lessons from the Humanities for Innovation and Enterprise” 

6. IDEA synopsis: IDEA Centre, Singapore Polytechnic, AY2004/2005, Prospectus 

Acknowledgements 

I wish to acknowledge Mr Dennis Sale’s encouragement and support in this work of 

mine. When I first met him to discuss my project in his office, he was very kind and 

understanding to give me the support to introduce lateral thinking and mind-mapping to help 

students at the School of Business, Singapore Polytechnic, in coming up with creative ideas 

for new products and services. 

My Director SB’s support was also instrumental to my role as module coordinator for 

IDEA at SB where all that I have written in this report took place. I feel my work has been 

useful as the feedback from the Professors, who were the external examiners for the various 

diplomas, as well as student feedback were satisfactory. However, I must admit that there 

are still areas for improvement in the quest to teach 17-year old students in Singapore 

Polytechnic to be creative in business. 

Copyright Statement 

Copyright © 2004 David Cheong Kwok Kong: The author assigns to Singapore Polytechnic 

and educational non-profit institutions a non-exclusive licence to use this document for 

personal use and in courses of instruction provided that the article is used in full and this 

copyright statement is reproduced. Any other usage is prohibited without the express 

permission of the author.

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