1. ©2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 1 The Concept of Creativity What Is Creativity Importance of Creativity Characteristics of Creativity Helping Children Express Creativity

2. ©2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. What Is Creativity? Definitions of creativity-process of bringing something new into being. o Creativity is the ability to produce something novel, something with the stamp of uniqueness upon it. o Also has been defined as a combination of abilities, skills, motivations, and attitudes. Capital “C” Creativity-involves bringing into existence something genuinely new that receives social validation enough to be added to the culture. An example of Capital C creativity is the invention of the light bulb. Small “c” creativity-involves ideas or products that are new to the person but only to the person. An example of small c creativity is a child’s new use of blending finger-paint colors. Torrance’s definition-https://youtu.be/zDZFcDGpL4U

3. ©2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. What Is Creativity? The creative process –Originality-can be seen in a kindergarten classroom where children are making collages from pieces of torn tissue paper. –Production-process over product philosophy. –Thought processes and creativity –Creativity and older children THE LITTLE BOY STORY

4. ©2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Importance of Creativity Children want to express themselves openly. They want to bring out new ideas and have new experiences. They enjoy creativity and benefit from it in many ways, including: –Learning to feel good about themselves –Learning to seek many answers to a problem. –Developing their potential to think –Developing new skills –Experiencing the joy of being different. To teachers benefit from encouraging creativity in such ways as: Being able to provide for more and greater variety in the program Learning to recognize children for their unique skills Being able to develop closer relationships with children. Having fewer behavior problems Using a minimum of standardized curricula and external evaluation.

5. ©2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Helping Children Express Creativity Emphasize process not product Help children accept change Help children with problem solving Help children accept personal feelings Reward creativity Encourage perseverance Help children feel joy in their creative work

6. ©2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Activity Just suppose you could be any person in the world for one hour. Who would you be? What would you do? Compare responses with classmates. https://youtu.be/iG9CE55wbtY