CREATIVITY Helping children to develop creativity

Definitions of Creativity “Creativity is the process of individual experience which enhances self. It’s the expression of one’s uniqueness”. Michael Andrews “The creative person is both more primitive and more cultured, more destructive and more constructive, crazier and saner, than the average”. Frank Barron

Definitions of Creativity “Creative learners learn by questioning, inquiring, searching, manipulating, even playing around, but always trying to find the truth”.J.P. Guilford Creativity is an instinct which ALL PEOPLE POSSESS, an instinct with which we are born. Creativity, the ability to explore and investigate, belongs to one’s basic drives, a drive without which man could not exist. Viktor Lowenfeld

ONE FROM TWO 1. Write down something that is battery operated: ______________ 2. Write down a kitchen item: ____________ 3. Force fit the two items to make one item and add some wheels. Draw a picture and name your new invention.

Creative Characteristics SENSORY AWARENESS HIGH: Sensory awareness Aesthetic sensitivity, sense of beauty Openness to total sensing (synaesthesia) Subjective reality Imagination, uses imagery C.B. Bruch, 1981 UG LOW: Atrophy of sensory awareness concrete, functional Closedness, or minimal, single sense awareness Objective reality Absence of, or limited fantasy, imagery

Creative Characteristics INDEPENDENCE HIGH: Assertive, influence others Independent Non-conforming Sense of creative (self) destiny (masculine) LOW: Passive, fears expression of aggression Dependent Conforming Gregarious, seeks socialization, prefers group problem solving Low self-concept as creative

Creative Characteristics COGNITIVE OPENNESS HIGH: Sensitivity to problems, gaps Risks new experiences Tolerance for ambiguity, less structured Tolerance for disorder flexible LOW: Traditional; prefers status quo Prefers known; avoids, fears unknown Prefers structure; seeks early closure Requires order, balance, symmetry; sequential, linear, not holistic Rigid; stereotyped

The Right Answer Is it A, B, C, D, or E?

Eight Basic Characteristics of Creativity (LOWENFELD) Sensitivity – experience and express Fluency – verbal and non-verbal Flexibility – adjust quickly and change rapidly Originality – new and novel ideas Redefinition/reorganization – rearrange, shift, known to unknown Abstraction – analyze parts, see relationships Synthesizing – combine into a new whole Organization – put parts together

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QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?