The digest explores the nature of the creative process. It begins with background information which notes the importance of seeing the familiar in a new light and the possibility on non-acceptance of the creative act. Four basic abilities necessary for creativity and problem solving are identified: (1) fluency, (2) flexibility, (3) elaboration,…

This book explores creativity in the context of education, focusing on what creativity is, how it works, and how it can be fostered. The book sets forth general principles for encouraging creativity in schools, higher education, and the family. The chapters are: (1) "Creativity: Basic Concepts"; (2) "The Role of Thinking in Creativity"; (3)…

Defining creativity as a process that draws upon talents, education, skills, thinking and working styles, and inherent intelligence, and pinpointing motivation as the single most important ingredient in the creativity recipe, this book provides dozens of concrete, hands-on exercises and techniques that can help a parent or teacher keep creativity…

The use of sign language is suggested as a way to stimulate and educate the right brain, thereby cultivating student creativity. Sign language's benefits are that it forces the hearing person to think differently, can add clarity to oral communication, and could be applied to help children with learning disabilities. (JDD)

Three pamphlets (Practitioner's Guides) present guidelines from the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented at the University of Connecticut. The guidelines are based on theory-driven quality research that is problem-based, practice-relevant, and consumer-oriented. Each pamphlet has a section summarizing research from the literature or…

Educators need to develop teaching strategies that allow children to explore creative musical processes that will nurture musical skills, self-awareness, and imagination. A sequence of five lessons encompassing language arts and music demonstrates how students can develop creativity by writing haiku and then composing music to accompany the poems.…

This article describes a process for increasing the quality of students' thinking through alternating from a quiet intuitive state to rational logical processing. The article provides specific teaching suggestions using guided imagery for students in grades K-2, grades 3-4, and grades 5 through college. (DB)

The pamphlet reviews research on creativity and applies it to the learning process. After discussing the definition and measurement of creativity, the components of creative performance are outlined, including domain-relevant skills, creativity-relevant skills, and intrinsic task motivation. Factors which destroy students' creativity are noted,…

Children are born artists, and artistic talent emerges from the interplay of proclivity, cultural enrichment, and nurturance. Intended to demystify art for parents and teachers and to help them understand what the art experience is like for the child or adolescent, this book discusses visual art concepts in simple terms and presents art as a…

This article describes one poet/teacher's program to explore and cultivate student creativity, intuition, and imagination through a series of visual, verbal, and psychological exercises. Visualization, free-writing, association, variations on other poets' work, and memory mapping are among the creativity exercises employed prior to actual writing…

This Pennsylvania state curriculum guide provides a rationale and plan for the inclusion and role of arts education in a K-12 curriculum. Part 1, "Actions of the Arts Process," describes concepts related to the terms art, artists, and the arts process and suggests that students need to experience perceiving, responding, understanding, creating,…

The 25 strategies described in this book can be used to develop personal creativity, student creativity, and creativity in colleagues and staff members. The strategies are based on investment theory, a psychological theory of creativity, but any one strategy is consistent with many other theories. The investment theory of creativity asserts that…

To enable college students to grapple with their own process of creating, students complete a project that involves collecting a variety of small objects, dividing the objects into two categories, telling a story using all the objects, describing their feelings about the categorization and story-telling activities, and writing about their creative…

This book identifies strategies for use by classroom teachers in grades K-8 to nurture the development of creativity. Section 1 offers general strategies to stimulate productive thinking. Section 2 examines personality, creative thinking, and appropriate teaching strategies. Section 3 is dedicated to teaching special groups. Section 4 focuses on…

The computer can provide students with opportunities for creativity, if good software is selected and students are provided instruction in its use. Software that promotes creativity includes word processing programs, programs that permit students to write and use their own personal programs, and programs that teach and encourage thinking skills.…