The Concept of Creativity

To define the term Creativity To be able to discuss the characteristics of a

creative person To understand the importance of process

over product To explain how the environment affects a

child’s willingness to express creativity To understand the difference between

convergent and divergent thinking.

Creativity—the process of bringing something new into being. The ability to produce something novel, something with the stamp of uniqueness upon it.

“capital C” creativity—The kind of creativityf that involves bringing into existence something genuinely new that receives social validation enough to be added to the culture. (Ex: Invention of the light bulb)

“Small c” creativity—This type of creativity involves ideas or products that are new to the person, but only to the person.

Convergent thinking—Thinking that results in a single solution or answer to a question or problem.

Divergent Thinking—Thinking that opens things up and results in many answers to a single problem.

A. Dog B. Cat C. Coat (Fur) D. Canary

Think of to use a brick. (You have two minutes.)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10……….. 100….10000

What, wath, waht, whta, wtha, wtah Awht, awth, athw, atwh, ahwt, ahtw Thaw, thwa, tawh, tahw, twah, twha Htaw, htwa, hatw, hawt, hwta, hwat How many of these are words?

Process over Product—Exploration and experimentation with materials are more important in the creative sense than the product, or end result.

Characteristics of creativity—Behavior that is associated with the creative personality. Some of these are stubbornness, finding faulty with things, appearing haughty and self-satisfied, and being discontented. Others are determination, curiosity, intuition, a willingness to take risks, a preference for complex ideas, a sense of humor.