Creative Problem Solving 6.1 Novice Level Office of Gifted Education Virginia Beach City Public Schools

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING? What is your background/understanding of Creative Problem Solving? – a) I am an expert at all the stages of CPS and can effectively coach students through the entire process – b) I can effectively use a couple of the generating and focusing tools with my students but would feel more comfortable having someone else co-teach the lesson – c) I think I have heard of this before, but I need a detailed refresher course – d) I have absolutely NO idea what you are talking about

INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING: Session Goals: To understand an overview of Creative Problem Solving Model 6.1 and several tool components To understand the value and interrelationship of critical and creative thinking To practice using generating and focusing tools To reflect on current educational practice.

When do you need CPS? Complex- contains many elements, requiring imagination, analysis, and extended effort Important- significant to you/your student, warrants the investment of time and effort that will be required Open-ended- need to generate solutions; might be possible to come up with many possibilities; not a task to which a pre-determined “correct” solution is already known to others In need of novelty- searching for fresh or original options or possibilities Within your scope of action- you have the authority and ability to take action

UNDERSTANDING THE CHALLENGE Constructing Opportunities Framing Problems Exploring Data PREPARING FOR ACTION Developing Solutions Building Acceptance GENERATING IDEAS Generating Ideas Designing Process PLANNING YOUR APPROACH Appraising Tasks CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING— CPS Version 6.1™

THE “HEARTBEAT” OF CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING Generating Many, Varied, and Unusual Options Focusing By Identifying a Promising Direction or Theme

CREATIVE THINKING Many, varied possibilities Unusual or original possibilities Details to expand or enrich possibilities Encountering gaps, paradoxes, opportunities, challenges, or concerns; then searching for meaningful new connections by generating—

GENERATING GUIDELINES

Brainstorming SCAMPER Morphological Matrix Attribute Listing Force-Fitting GENERATING TOOLS

CRITICAL THINKING Organizing and analyzing possibilities Refining and developing promising possibilities Ranking or prioritizing options Choosing or deciding on certain options Examining possibilities carefully, fairly, and constructively; then focusing your thoughts and actions by—

FOCUSING GUIDELINES

THE FOCUSING PHASE After you have generated many ideas, you need to sort them out and decide which one you want to carry forward. – Which of the ideas are most intriguing to me? – Which ones are the most promising possibilities? – Which ones might be best to refine and develop in ways that will help us move forward to a solution and a plan of action?

FOCUSING TOOLS Hits and Hot Spots ALoU Paired Comparisons Evaluation Matrix Sequencing (S-M-L)

Try it Out! Access the wikispace Click on Look for today’s lesson. Download the hand- out. Save it to your desktop.

Attribute Listing generating tool systematic approach to generating possibilities by first identifying the main characteristics of an option, problem, or task and then exploring new, interesting, or unusual variations of those attributes applicable to any task, challenge, or problem that can be readily analyzed or broken down into several principal dimensions, elements, or parts

Morphological Matrix generating tool a structured way to generate a large number of possibilities involves identifying three to five major dimensions of a task, identifying possible attributes each parameter might have, and then exploring random combinations of attributes

Evaluation Matrix Focusing option Evaluates many options against a number of specific criteria Involves making a matrix listing your options on one axis and identifying key criteria on the other Sometimes used to obtain numerical evaluations or scores to select one “best” option from many possibilities Can examine promising options such as locating potential areas of concern in otherwise promising options, discovering opportunities to combine options and to use the strengths of one option to offset the limitations of another

When do I finish? The ebb-and-flow nature of problem-solving determines when one moves into the next stage of CPS. It might be that a plan of action needs to be formulated and-- – more data needs to be explored; – ideas need to be fleshed out further; – acceptance of ideas by the powers-that-be need to be earned

Where can I find more information? 21 Creative Problem Solving: An Introduction, 4 th Edition by Donald J. Treffinger, Ph.D., et.al. (2006) Practice Problems for Creative Problem Solving by Donald J. Treffinger, Ph.D. (2000) Check with your building’s GRT for these resources.

Reflection: Creative Problem Solving—The Rest of the ToolsApril, 2015 Teacher Name_______________________ Teaching Assignment___________________ 1.In what ways are students able to explore problem-solving through creative and critical thinking in your classroom? Give an example of an open-ended problem your students have had to wrestle with to solve. 2.What real-world connections can you make with Creative Problem Solving and your curriculum? 3.In what ways can the GRT assist you in planning an activity using Creative Problem Solving?