creativity
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PrinciplesofCPSWeeks1and22.pptxPrinciples of Creative Problem Solving
Important Course Structure and Expectations
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Week 1
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Today’s Plan
PART I: Overview of the Course
Getting to know each other
Course structure and expectations
Part II: Lecture
Defining creativity
Demystifying creativity
Importance of studying creativity
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Creative Thinking: Theory and Practice Part I
TOPICS
Getting to know each other
Course structure and expectations
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Textbooks (no need to purchase)
Title: Creativity Rising
Authors: Gerard Puccio, Marie Mance, Laura Barbero Switalkski and Paul Reali
Cost: <$20 New
Title: Creativity Unbound
Authors: Blair Miller, Jonathan Vehar, Roger Firestien, Sarah Thurber and Dorte Nielsen
Cost: $34.25
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About the Class
Creativity Assignment (20% of final grade)
Assignment instructions are posted on SLATE
3. Final FourSight Team Project (30% of final grade)
- Assignment instructions are posted on SLATE
Test 1 (25% of final grade)
GRADING
Test 2 (25% of final grade)
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About this Class
Show up
Be on time
Participate
Read ahead of time
Check Slate
Print notes & Activities
TAKE NOTES!
STUDY!
EXPECTATIONS
Why should you come to class?
I explain things better than the book and I talk about things that are NOT in your book
We have class activities that help you master important tools and concepts.
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Principles of Creative Problem Solving Part II
TOPICS
Defining Creativity
Demystifying creativity
Importance of studying creative thinking
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WHAT SHOULD I READ?
Chapters 1 to 4
In Creativity Rising (Your Text Book)
Pages 8 - 20
Creativity Unbound (Your Text Book)
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Psychological Conceptualizations of Creativity
The scientific study of creativity is fairly new
1950s in psychology
Hay Day of Behaviourism and Psychoanalysis
Exceptional creativity a by product of high intelligence
The talk that changed it all
Sept 5, 1950- J. P. Guilford APA Conference
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What is Creativity?
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There is no standard definition of creativity.
There are many definitions.
Creativity is notoriously difficult to define and measure.
This is because it is complex, has various forms of express and it has many potential influences.
It is not necessarily the same thing as intelligence or giftedness,
Just as predicting weather is not an exact science understanding creativity and coming up with a good definition for it can be just as elusive.
The is “No one thing that is truly creativity, but rather multiple things are”
In fact some people believe creativity is something that cannot be defined.
Creativity can be defined on a spectrum.
It is unfixed its dynamic. The minute we define it we kill it. There is a certain dynamic nature to it.
But because of how it is we need to pin it down.
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Popular Western Views of Creativity
The essence of creativity is the moment of insight- the aha moment.
Creative ideas emerge mysteriously from the unconscious
Creativity is more likely to occur when you reject convention- creative people often go against the grain
Creative contributions are more likely to come from an outsider rather than an expert
People are more creative when they are alone
Creative ideas are ahead of their time
Creativity is a personality trait
Creativity is based in the right brain
Creativity and mental illness are connected (Creative people are more likely to be mentally ill and it allows an outlet for the illness)
Creativity is a healing life affirming activity
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One Definition
“The ability to modify self-imposed constraints”
Ackoff & Vergara (1988)
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Some Other Definitions
“The tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others” (Franken)
“Any act, idea, or product that changes an existing domain, or that transforms an existing domain into a new one” (Csikszentmihalyi)
The process of bringing something new into existence (Rollo May)
Turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. It involves two processes: thinking, then producing (Linda Naiman)
Seeing what everyone else has seen, and thinking what no one else has thought. (Einstein)
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Defining Creativity
Most Popular Modern Psychological Definition
“Creativity is the ability to produce work that is both novel and appropriate”
~ Sternberg & Lubart
It is an ability
It is an attitude
It is a process
Ken Robinson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfjqIJiOlHI
Ability implies…
All people are creative
People vary in regard to their creative ability
Whatever your level of creative ability it can be enhanced
It is an attitude: A willingness to accept change and newness to play with ideas and possibilities. A flexibility of outlook
It is a process: Creative people work hard and continually to improve ideas and solutions. Contrary to the mythology surrounding creativity, very few creative works of excellence are produced with a single stroke of brilliance or in a frenzy of rapid activity. Creative people may understand and conscious utilize the stages of the creative process.
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Commonalities Across the Definitions
1.
Creativity produces something
2.
Creativity leads to change
3.
Creativity involves originality
NOTE:
None of these things by itself is sufficient to be called Creativity.
4.
Creativity has value
6.
Creativity is complex
5.
Creativity
Is useful/ adaptive/functional
Source: Everyone has creative potential – Mark Runco
Creativity produces something- it may be tangible and tactile or it may be a thought or an idea. It may be useful or it may not be.
It changes with world the person the environment
It involves originality – Original things are uncommon, they might be unique- sometimes originality is used interchangeably with novelty,
NOT common: having value, useful
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Little C and Big C
Little c - Creativity
Day-to-day processing, decision making, problem solving
Automatic
Essential for daily functioning
Big C- Creativity
Genius or expert-level achievement
Far-reaching social/cultural impact
Day-to-day processing, decision making, problem solving
Automatic, unselfconscious
Essential for daily functioning
Relevant at the personal level
Examples…
Writing a letter
Playing a musical instrument or drawing (not professionally)
Deciding what to wear or make for dinner
What we would associate with genius or expert-level achievement.
Far-reaching social/cultural impact with their creativity
Examples:
Nobel Prize winners
Innovators in the arts and sciences
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Types of Creativity
Personal Creativity
Your life as art
Artistic Creativity
Expressive Style
Creative Problem Solving
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“The genuinely creative accomplishment is almost never the result of a sudden insight, a light bulb flashing on in the dark, but comes after years of hard work.”
From Creativity, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
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What is Creative Thinking?
Why is it important ?
Personally? Professionally? Institutionally? Nationally? Globally?
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Creative Thinking
This century is marked my rapid change
Change is essential and inevitable
BUT….
Change makes us uncomfortable
Creativity helps us be prepared for change and respond better to change
Welcome to the 21st Century!
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Creative Thinking
Jobs and Job Market
Where are we seeing the most changes?
Affluence of developed nations and automation + Out sourcing of jobs
Rise of the “creative class”
Frequent changes in jobs.
Jobs becoming obsolete
Asia automation abundance- Pink
Florida’s creative class
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Creative Thinking
Goods and Services
Where are we seeing the most changes?
Shorter product life cycles
More technology in smaller sizes
Consumer has a voice
We can make our own videos, publish our own books. Things are not are controlled as they used to be.
The bottoms line is in the face of change we have a few options
We can ignore it
We can grow with it
Or drive it.
To live a health and productive life in the 21century you have to have an attitude and skills et that opens you up to change.
The 21century is a call to action. It calls for us to participate.
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Creative Thinking
Problems can be sorted into two categories
Algorithmic problems
Heuristic problems
We can approach these problems in two ways
Proactive
Reactive
What’s Your Problem?
Algorithmic: “Problems with a known solution, or an established process that leads to a single right answer.”
Heuristic: “Problems without a known solution.”
Examples?
Algorithmic and heuristic problems can be approached in two ways…
Proactive: before a problem arises
Reactive: after a problem arises
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Creative Thinking
Predicament
What’s Your Problem?
Opportunity
Formulaic
Maintenance
Approach to the Problem
Reactive
Proactive
Nature of the Problem
Heuristic
(open ended)
Algorithmic
(close- ended)
All creative thinking efforts start as a response to a situation
Two of these can be resolved with known solutions and therefore might be seen as straight forward. While two are more complex and therefore require creative thinking and creative problem solving
Formulaic problems (Algorithmic, Reactive): Has a known solution we simply implement it. No need to think creatively. No need to invent something new when the current solution works perfectly well
Maintenance issues (Algorithmic, Proactive): The solution is known and we need only to implement it. We anticipate the appropriate time to implement known procedures that have proven effective in the past….e.g. oil changes
Predicaments (Heuristic, Reactive): Sometimes change happens and we don’t have a ready answer. The solutions we have don’t seem to fit. The newness of the situation render old approaches useless. You need to apply creative thinking here which helps you creative a new solution path.
Opportunities (Heuristic, Proactive)Change comes with opportunity. It is not always about a problem…post it notes. Some opportunities are forthcoming. Others are not. You might need to seek out opportunities
When facing a predicament or an opportunity it is an awareness of the situation that serves as a catalyst to creative thinking.
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Finally the Definition!
Creative Problem Solving (CPS)
The stages people go through when they attempt to solve a problem for which they do not have the solution
It is an intentional form of creativity
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Why is Creative Thinking Important?
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Creativity as a 21st Century Skill
Need for change and adaptability
Response to technology
A tolerance for ambiguity and complexity
Active citizenry
Working with others
The ability to shift perspective (think outside the box)
Generate novel and useful ideas
Creative and critical thinking
Problem solving
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Other Job Related Research
Conference Board of Canada Innovation Skills
http://www.conferenceboard.ca/cbi/innovationskills.aspx
IBM CEO Study
World Economic Forum
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Innovation skills Profile from Conference Board of Canada
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Creativity: Fact vs. Fiction?
A. “Creativity is the result of innate talent”
OR
B. “Creativity is the result of hard work”
A. “Creativity is mainly associated with arts”
OR
B. “Creativity cuts across all areas of life”
A. “Children are more creative than adults”
OR
B. “True creative achievement requires years of life experience”
A. “Creativity is the same thing as originality”
OR
B. “Creativity is the intersection of novelty and usefulness”
A. “Creativity cannot be taught”
OR
B. “Creativity can be enhanced through teaching or training”
Source Chapter 3. Creativity Rising by Gerrard Puccio
Yes innate talent plays a role but the dedication to one’s craft is needed to develop that talent. Think about it. How many of us can sing well? Why aren’t we singers?
Green: Answer. creativity has played a role in many of our technological advances, the design of buildings etc. Its not just in the arts
Purple: Sure children colour and many of us saw things differently they might even show creative tendencies. But research shows that life experiences play an inmportant role in our being creative. In fact, Ruth Noller says that creativie is a function of attitude that is applied to knowledge, imagination and evaluation– creativity only emerges when these things interact and these things are complex mental process that come as we get older and have more experiences
Knowldege is necessary for understanding but it is limited. So you need imagination to produce new ideas…with out it we get stuck at our current level of knowledge. But you also need to be able evaluate which ideas have the best promise. Attitude is what drives it all!- Its your motivation, its your vision its your choice a deliberate practice to use creative strategies.
BLACK: the belief is that orginiality must be accompanied by usefulness
Why do we need to explain creativity?
Partly because what the world says in common sense ways does not necessarily match with what the research in human behaviour says. So we need to take a step back and objectively assess what we know and how it works.
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There are MANY Models
There are some consistent themes
It’s a balance
It takes effort
It’s a process (Conscious and/or unconscious)
Creative Thinking
Models of Creative Thinking
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Models of Creative Thinking
1926- Wallas Social psychologist one of first models of creative process.
Preparation (definition of issue, observation, and study)
Incubation (laying the issue aside for a time)
Illumination (the moment when a new idea finally emerges)
Verification (checking it out)
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Alex Osborn: Father of brainstorming
Guidelines for brainstorming
Defer Judgment
Go for quantity
Encourage wild ideas
Build on ideas
Models of Creative Thinking
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Sidney Parnes
Worked with Osborn
Developed CPS
Has been refined over the years
Models of Creative Thinking
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J.P. Guilford
Distinguish between divergent and convergent thinking
Divergent Thinking
Spontaneous, free flowing, generation of many ideas
Convergent Thinking
Analyzing and synthesizing ideas to find the best ideas
Models of Creative Thinking
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Vertical Thinking
Looks for the RIGHT Approach
Is sequential
Excludes the Irrelevant
Lateral Thinking
Looks for as many approaches as possible
Richness
Makes jumps
Doesn‘t have to be correct
Welcomes intrusions
Models of Creative Thinking
Edward de Bono’s Vertical and Lateral Thinking
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Ned Hermmann’s Whole Brain Model
Facts
Futures
Form
Feelings
Models of Creative Thinking
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IDEO’s design thinking
Define
Research
Ideate
Prototype
Implement
Learn
Puccio’s et al.’s Foursight Model
Clarify
Ideate
Develop
Implement
Models of Creative Thinking
Modern Model:
Implies conscious, purposeful and deliberate creativity.
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Creative Change Model: A Systems Approach
Person(s)
Process
Environment
Product
(theories,
solutions to problems, ideas, services, inventions)
Creative
Change
(social change,
personal change,
innovation)
Adoption
leads to
Interaction
leads to
Source: © 2011 Puccio, Mance & Murdock.
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The review of the myths tell us what creativity is and isnt. It does not tellus how creativity works
For that we use the systems approach
Many people as a result of research by Mel Rhodes believe that 4 things make up creativity the 4 Ps. They influence each other create a system for how things work to lead to creative change.
Tells us how creativity operates.
The four Ps.
Theses four a discrete but they influence each other. They interact.
Creative change does not automatically occure because some one has developed a creative product.
Process is the thinking stages thorugh which individuals and teams progress as they develop.
We define creative change as the adoption of a creative product that can come in many forms.
Creative Change Model The 4 Ps
Person
How creative someone is
personality, skills, knowledge, experience motivation
Characteristics we associate with creativity
Mel Rhodes
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Creative Change Model The 4 Ps
Product
Outcome of a creative endeavour
How do we tell if a product is creative?
Three dimensions help determine if it is creative
Novelty
Resolution
Elaboration and Synthesis
Discuss the different types of products.
Class activity.
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Creative Change Model The 4 Ps
Process
How we create
How we apply our creativity
Stages we go through in responses to problems or opportunities
Mel Rhodes
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Creative Change Model The 4 Ps
Press
The environment surrounding the other three Ps
Where creativity is encouraged or inhibited
Can be physical or psychological
Mel Rhodes
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