Bonnie Cramond, Ph.D. Department of Educational Psychology Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development University of Georgia
Creativity is the generation of novel, useful ideas.
According to Torrance, “ When a person has no learned or practiced solution to a problem, some degree of creativity is required”
Four Components of Creativity* Person ProcessProduct Press or Place *Rhodes 4
1. Create an Environment Conducive to Creativity (Press) psychologically safe intrinsic rewards opportunities to learn about interests pursue them with some autonomy balance of stimulation and quiet time challenges are matched to the abilities of the learners. 5
Ekvall’s Innovative Environment RESOURCES 1. Idea Time 2. Idea Support 3. Challenge and Involvement PERSONAL MOTIVATION 1. Trust and Openness 2. Playfulness and Humor 3. Absence of Interpersonal Conflicts EXPLORATION 1. Risk-Taking 2. Debates About the Issues 3. Freedom 6
2. Recognize and understand the creative person EmotionalIntellectualPhysical Openness Curiosity Risk taking-- Type T (Farley) Strong self concept Persistence Courage Problem solving Fluency Flexibility Originality Elaboration Abstractness of Thought Transfer Perfect Pitch or other keen sense Eye hand coordination Visual memory High energy Body type Looks Size 7
8 The very qualities that cause creative individuals to have problems Hyperactivity?
may also facilitate their creative accomplishments 9 High Energy?
Creative People Original or bizarre? Independent or stubborn? High energy or hyperactive? Spontaneous or impulsive? Emotionally sensitive or emotionally unstable? have many characteristics that can be viewed as positive or negative 10
3. Teach Students About the Process and Strategies preparation, incubation, illumination, verification 11 Wallas
Incubation requires relaxation 12
For Illumination to Occur milliseconds before person communicates answer EEG shows a burst of gamma activity fMRI shows activation of the superior temporal gyrus on the right hemisphere
Cramond UGA 4. Learn to Evaluate Creative Products Novelty Surprising Originality Resolution Logicalness Usefulness Value Understandability Elaboration and Synthesis Organic qualities Well-craftedness Elegance Besemer & O’Quin: Creative Product Analysis Matrix
Reis & Renzulli: Student Product Assessment Form 15
Some Programs and Competitions Future Problem Solving Odyssey of the Mind Invent America Destination Imagination 16
Warmup—Spin a Yarn One member of the group picks up the ball of yarn and begins a story. Keep telling the story until you get to the knot. Pass it on. Repeat until everyone has had a turn. If you get to the end of the yarn before everyone has had a turn, start again. 17