1. Understanding Children’s Creative Thought and Expression
Chapter 1
Understanding Children’s Creative
Thought and Expression

2. Defining Creative Thought
Creativity as a form of intelligence (Steinberg’s (2008) triarchic theory of intelligence)
Creative thought – create, design, imagine, suppose
Analytical thought – analyze, compare, contrast, evaluate, explain
Practical thought – use, apply, implement

3. Defining Creative Thought
Creativity as a Thinking Process
Fluency – generate many responses, build related ideas
Flexibility – approach in a new way, view problem from different perspective
Originality – produce unusual and novel ideas, combine the known into a new form
Elaboration – fill out ideas, add details

4. Defining Creative Thought
Creativity as a Feeling Process
Curiosity – wonder, play with ideas
Complexity – seek alternatives, see missing pieces
Risk-Taking – express ideas to others, expose self to criticism, follow a hunch
Imagination and Fantasy – form mental images, put self in another place or time

5. Stages in the Creative Process
Preparation/Brainstorming – apply knowledge, skill, understanding to materials, objects, or problems
Incubation – work on the problem mentally
Illumination/Inspiration – select some ideas, reject others
Verification/Communication – test product, communicate to others

6. Observable Characteristics of Creative Thought Process
Playful, Persistent, and Intrinsically Motivated
Intensely absorbed
Persists at work or play
Concentrates on a task for a long time
Explores, experiments, manipulates
Plays
Asks questions, makes guesses, discusses findings

7. Observable Characteristics of Creative Thought Process
Curious, Intuitive, and Resourceful
Asks many questions
Tolerates ambiguity while exploring options
Strongly intuitive and perceptive
Enjoys thinking and working independently

8. Observable Characteristics of Creative Thought Process
Nonconforming and Adventuresome
Challenges assumptions or authorities with differences of opinion
Formulates hypotheses
Tests ideas
Organizes environment (order out of chaos)
Does something new with the old
Interest in new ideas
Uses repetition to learn more

9. Decline of Creativity Common mistakes made by teachers
Confuse measures of intelligence with measures of creativity
Be overly influenced by socially desirable behavior
Be overly influenced by child’s rate of development
Associate creativity with socioeconomic privilege

10. Promoting Children’s Creativity
Teachers promote creativity when they:
Understand what it means to be a creative teacher
Offer support for possibility (“what if”) thinking
Value the process as well as the product
Provide the right amount of structure

11. Promoting Children’s Creativity
Teachers promote creativity when they:
Establish mechanisms for peer support
Minimize competition and external rewards
Encourage rather than praise

12. Appropriate Responses to Children’s Work
How did you get the idea for this work?
This makes me feel…
I like the way you…because…
This reminds me of…
What were you trying to do?
Maybe you could combine…
This interests me because…
How does this work compare with other work you have created?

13. Appropriate Responses to Children’s Work
I wonder what would happen if…
I like the part where…
I’d like to know more about…
You used some powerful ideas, such as…
The part where you explained…
This is like your…
You are really good at…

14. Creativity in the Inclusive Classroom
Tips to Support Creativity in an Inclusive Classroom
Support possibility (“what if”) thinking
Provide models to stimulate thinking
Use cooperative groups
Provide a variety of tools and demonstrate how to use them

15. Creativity in the Inclusive Classroom
Tips to Support Creativity in an Inclusive Classroom
Anticipate boredom
Encourage students to take initiative during unscheduled time
Seek professional development in creativity
Partner with outside agencies (museums) and individuals (artists)

16. Meeting Standards through Creative Activities
For a behavior to be creative, it must meet 4 criteria:
Original (has low probability of occurrence).
Appropriate or relevant
Fluent (results in new, meaningful forms)
Flexible (explores and uses nontraditional approaches to problem solving)

17. Stimulate “out of the box” thinking using SCAMPER
Substitute – use person or thing to act in place of another
Combine – bring together or unite
Adapt – adjust for the purpose of suiting a condition or purpose
Modify – alter, change in form or quality
Magnify – make greater
Minify – make smaller, lighter, slower

18. Stimulate “out of the box” thinking using SCAMPER
Put to other uses – use for purposes other than originally intended
Eliminate – remove or omit a quality, part or whole
Reverse – place opposite or contrary
Rearrange – change the order, plan, layout