Thi nk i ng

in Project Work
CEATIVE





Facilitating Cr eat i vi t y f or PW t eac her s














Contents

Introduction 1
Objectives 2
A) Principles of Creativity 4
a. 4Ps of Creativity 5
b. Creative Person 6
c. Creative Press 7
d. Creative Product 8
e. Creative Process 9

B) Process Map of Creative Thinking
Tools for PW 10

C) References 12


Introduction







his Creativity Resource Package is prepared specially for Pre-
University Project Work (PW) teachers and students. It aims to expand
teachers and students thinking skills by helping them understand the
fundamentals of Creativity, as well as empowering them with a diverse set of
problem solving, decision making and creativity tools. Besides helping
students to produce original ideas that can be transformed through
affirmative evaluation into creative solutions, the tools have also been
proven to improve group performance by fostering a learning climate that is
able to stimulate and draw maximum potential from every student (and
teacher!).

The 3 stage creative process (pg.10) has been adapted from the
Creative Problem Solving (CPS) model as a conceptual framework to help
organise the thinking process in PW. The range of tools has been specially
selected to help students in three specific areas: diagnosing the challenge,
diverging to generate more creative ideas and converging to ensure the
ideas retain both novelty and effectiveness. The selected tools in the Tools
Resource Kit should not be limiting as there are many more useful tools
available to enrich our students thinking.

As your interactions with students and your experience with PW stretch
YOUR own creativity, may we invite you to modify / adapt/ tear apart /
colour our suggested activities in this package!











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bjectives


1. Understand basic principles of Creativity;

2. Use a creative process for solving challenges and finding
opportunities in PW;

3. Learn basic facilitation tools to catalyse creative processes in
the creative process;

4. Use a variety of diagnostic thinking tools;

5. Use a variety of divergent thinking tools; and

6. Use a variety of convergent thinking tools.



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hinking is an art, with its own purposes, standards, principles,
rules, strategies, and precautions. And it is an art well worth learning,
for every important thing we do is affected by our habits of mind.
Vincent Ryan Ruggiero



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Facilitating Creativity, Creatively Facilitating






Principles of Creativity


Before you ask, SO, whats it got to do with PW? please answer the
question below.


MOE/CPDD/09 4
Have you said
these to your
students
before?

Are you a DEMOLISHER of creativity?



























Ive never heard of it before
Dont rock the boat
This is not in your GPP
No way, this sounds ridiculous
We have to be practical
Too modern / old-fashioned
an idea
It has limited possibilities
You have enough resources?
This is too childish
Stay on the safe side
Whats the use?
Youre sure you thought it
through thoroughly
This should be low in priority
What will your parents think?
Were too small for that
Its a waste of time
Others have tried that before
Too academic
Does this really matter?
No one will accept your ideas
It wont work
You need more research
Its not practical at all
Come on, get real


Some of the above are popular (or did we mean unpopular?)
ways teachers tend to squelch students creative thinking (Amabile, 1988).
Indeed, it is important to help our students understand external barriers to
creativity and help them plan ahead to anticipate the resistance that may
greet their innovative ideas and plans. Yet, it is also important to understand
our internal barriers to help us (and our students) adopt an open mind and
positive attitude towards creativity.




4Ps of Creativity

Creative thinking cannot take place in a vacuum.

The tasks present a challenge for students to THINK out of the .
The 4 facets of Creativity described by Rhodes (1961) are Creative Person-
traits or attributes of the creative individual, Creative Press (Environment)-
context in which the psychological and physical classroom influence the
expression of creative behaviour, Creative Process- iterative operations or
stages of thinking, and Creative Product- tangible and intangible
outcomes and qualities. As STs, we can encourage creativity by allowing
the interaction of these 4 facets of creativity to bring about a
transformative effect on our students thinking. We can also catalyse a
creative change by positively influencing the learning outcomes in our PW
classroom through a deliberate creative approach that is applied to the
open-ended, novel and ambiguous problems presented by the PW task.

The Creative Change Model


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Creative
Product
(e.g., theories,
solutions to
problems, ideas,
services,
inventions)
Interaction
leads to

Creative
Process
Creative
Press
(Environment)

Creative
People

Adoption
leads to
Creative Change
(e.g., social change, personal
change, innovation)
P Pu uc cc ci io o, , M Mu ur rd do oc ck k, , & & M Ma an nc ce e, , 2 20 00 03 3
Creative Person
The Creative Person
Just remember - Everyone is creative in some way!
Creativity skills can be taught & you can become more creative.
Creativity is NOT only about innovation; it can also be about
adaptation/ modification. Michael Kirton (1976, 1994) described 2
types of a Creative Person - the adaptively-creative person who
prefers to improve upon what exists and the innovatively-creative
person who prefers to create anew.




How can we inspire a Creative Person?

According to Teresa Amabiles Componential
Model of Creativity (1996, 1998), three things
determine whether someone is creative.

Component 1: Domain Knowledge
- In general, we can be creative only in domains in which we have
sufficient knowledge and experience.
Encourage students to read widely and more specifically, to conduct
literature review on the subject matter they are interested in.
Component 2: Intrinsic Motivation
- Intrinsic motivation comes from within; Pleasure or satisfaction is
derived from working on the task itself.
Encourage students to work on projects that are of interest to them.
Component 3: Creativity-related skills
- Ability to identify problems and see opportunities;
Encourage students to apply critical and evaluative judgement.


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Creative Press

The Creativity Press (Environment)
A creative learning environment is one in which students feel challenged,
yet secure with a sense of freedom to facilitate creative performance.

Carl Rogers (1962) emphasises psychological safety in the classroom to
encourage creative thinking and innovation.

How can we promote a Creative Environment?

Ask the Right Questions

A good question is one that drives the thinking forward.
When we ask our students questions in class, does it invite
imagination and some free-wheeling?
Lets try some of the following What if? and see how they change
your perceptions:
o What if animals become more intelligent than people?
o What if Singapore becomes submerged completely
tomorrow?
o What if you are selected to become the youngest
ambassador to represent Singapore in the United Nations?

Facilitate Effectively

When working with a group, the teacher facilitator is the process
expert who serves the students content needs through the
application of the creative process.
Ideally, the teacher facilitator should be completely neutral, and
work solely on the process, leaving content issues to the students
(the problem owner).


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Creative Product
The Creative Product

Products are not limited to physical products, but also include
services, programmes, models etc.
Creative products need not be novel ideas so long as there is
insightful adaptation/ modification of ideas. This counts as
creativity too.

How can we create a Creative Product?
Encourage students to bear in mind both Novelty and
Usefulness when they create a proposal. Look at the table
below. The most creative product is something that is both
novel and useful!




HIGH

Fads
(product becomes
less desirable when
novelty wears off)



Creative Products
(original products
that meet a
need)


LOW

Repeating Past
Mistakes
(unproductive
traditions or habits)



Utilitarian Products
(products that
withstand the
test of time)
LOW HIGH





Novelty
Usefulness

Source: Puccio, Murdock, and Mance (2005)


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Creative Process
The Creative Process

In PW, there are three main stages where thinking tools can be used
by students to come up with a more creative proposal.

The three stages where the Thinking Tools can be used are as follows:

Stages Why the Stages are Important in PW
Examining the
Situation
- Ensures the scope of the project is neither
too wide / too narrow
- Helps students to better identify and focus on
the root of problem
- Allows students to think through the rationale
thoroughly
- Enables students to identify and work on their
areas of interests
Brainstorming for
Ideas
- Helps students to generate a large quantity
of ideas
- Allows students to generate ideas that are
more novel
- Enables students to generate ideas that are
more substantial
Appraising the
Ideas

- Helps students to consider the feasibility and
manageability of their project more carefully
- Allows students to select and work with the
best options




How can we facilitate the PW Process creatively?

Encourage the students to use a variety of creative thinking tools
(Diagnostic, Divergent and Convergent tools) at each stage.

The next page shows you some of these tools that will be explained in
detail in the Tools Resource Kit. Although they have been categorised
according to the 3 stages for the ease of your use, they can actually
be used across the stages. Once you have become more
comfortable with them, try using them across the 3 stages!
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Examining
the
Situation



Brain-
storming
for Ideas



Appraising
the Ideas
Purpose
Generate large
quantity of ideas
Generate novel
ideas
Make new
connections
between ideas
Analyse strengths
& weaknesses of
ideas
Weigh & evaluate
different options
Arrive at group
consensus
Recommended Tool/s
Gap Analysis
Affinity Diagram
Ladder of Abstraction
Visual Connections
Idea Box
Excursions
Hits & Clusters
Evaluation Matrix
Searching for Success Zones
Praise First with PPCo

P
W

P
r
o
j
e
c
t

T
a
s
k
Diagnostic
Tools
Define the problem
Narrow / widen the
scope
Clarify the rationale
Divergent
Tools
Convergent
Tools
Stages
Brainstorming with Post-its
SWOT Analysis
Process Map of Creative Thinking Tools for PW


Notes



Convergent Thinking
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References

Amabile, T. M. (1987). The motivation to be creative. In S. G. Isaksen (Ed.),
Frontiers of creativity research: Beyond the basics (pp. 223-254).
Buffalo, NY: Bearly limited.

Amabile, T. M. (1990). Within you, without you: Towards a social
psychology of creativity. and beyond. In M. A. Runco & R. S.
Alberts (Eds.), Theories of creativity. Newbury Park, CA: Sage
Publications.

Downton, J . V. (1973). Rebel leadership: Commitment and charisma in a
revolutionary process. New York: Free Press.

Kirton, M. J . (1976). Adaptors and innovators: A description and measure.
J ournal of Applied Psychology, 61, 622-629.

Kirton, M. J . (1994). Adaptors and innovators: Styles of creativity and
problem solving (Rev. ed.). London: Routledge.

Miller, B. J ., Vehar, J . R.; Firestien, R. L. (2001). CPS facilitation: A door to
creative leadership (3rd Ed.) . Williamsville, NY: Innovation
Systems Group.

Northouse, P. G. (2004). Leadership: Theory and practice (3
rd
ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Puccio, G., Murdock, M. C., & Mance, M. (2005). Current developments
in creative problem solving for organisations: A focus on thinking
skills and styles. The Korean J ournal of Creative Behaviour, 34,
227-247.

Puccio, G. J ., Murdock, M. C., & Mance, M. (2007). Creative leadership:
Skills that drive change. Three Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Puccio, G., & Switalski, B. L. (2008). Advanced cognitive tools for creative
problem solving. Buffalo, New York: International Center for
Studies in Creativity, Buffalo State.

Rhodes, M. (1961). An analysis of creativity. Phi Delta Kapan, 42, 305-310.

Rhodes, M. (1987). An analysis of creativity. In S.G. Isaksen (Ed.), Frontiers
of creativity research: Beyond the basics. Buffalo, NY: Bearly
Limited.

Rogers, C. R. (1962). Toward a theory of creativity. In S. J . Parnes & H. F.
Hardings (Eds.), A source book for creative thinking. New York:
Scribners.




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Fac i l i t at i ng
Cr eat i ve
Thi nk i ng
i n
Pr oj ec t
Wor k
Resource Package
for PW teachers
MOE/CPDD/09 13