The articles in this issue of "New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development" nicely summarize recent findings about creativity and development. This commentary underscores some of the key ideas and puts them into a larger context (i.e., the corpus of creativity research). It pinpoints areas of agreement (e.g., the need to take…

This article attempts to address the question of how to make gifted education more equitable and productive by shifting priorities to talent development for all rather than confining itself to the "gifted." I first present an overview of political and ethical considerations in selecting a few for talent or creativity development. I then…

Mitchel Resnick is a researcher, inventor, and professor at MIT's Media Laboratory in Cambridge, MA, and the founder of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at MIT. He is the lead innovator behind many cutting-edge learning technologies and projects for children, including the Computer Clubhouse, PicoCrickets, and the wildly successful consumer…

The authors' recent theoretical work has focused on developing the construct of mini-c creativity and illustrating how all levels of creative performance follow a trajectory that starts with novel and personally meaningful interpretations (mini-c), which can then progress to intrapersonally judged novel and meaningful contributions (little-c) and…

The article suggests that creativity is the interaction of external and internal input, resulting in a unique, purposive, and communicable product. Facilitation of creativity is considered. (CL)

The article examines the concept of creativity from a philosophical point of view and discusses how to teach creativity through humor and metaphor. (Author/DLS)

Discusses the goals of creativity training and provides a number of introductory exercises to develop student potential. (SK)

Suggestions are given to parents for encouraging creativity in children such as: respecting "wild and wacky" questions and responses, helping children understand the difference between making up tales and telling harmful lies, creating environments in which mistakes are not only valued but encouraged, and avoiding making comparisons in direct or…

Argues against the view that creativity must sometimes be realized at the expense of the quality of the work produced, perceiving this dichotomy between creativity and quality as a false one based upon an erroneous theory of creative process. Sees creativity and quality as intimately connected. (DMM)

The article focuses on the relationship between the primary process and the creative process, especially as it relates to the fields of wit and poetry. Examples of identification based on similarity in schizophrenics are presented. (CL)

This paper describes an evolving systems approach for use in exploring aspects of creativity, including: measurement of creativity; uniqueness; processes which amplify deviation; novelty and progress; chance and purpose; networks of enterprise; self-concept; difficulty, duration, and purpose; sudden insight; and sequential stage theories. (JDD)

Several commentaries on Howard Gruber's paper, "The Evolving Systems Approach to Creative Work," are offered: "How High Should One Climb to Find Common Ground?" (Robert Albert); "Where is the Evolving Milieu?" (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi); "Creativity: The Individual, The Systems, The Approach" (Todd Lubart and Robert Sternberg); and "Quality and…

Although creativity courses in the academic community often are not taken seriously, they can and should be a transformational journey for the student, involving exciting but sometimes painful unlearning of old structures and development of new conceptual systems. (DB)

The author discusses the role of the visual arts in helping people deal creatively with their struggles while enhancing their creative abilities. Lists of media, materials, techniques, events, names of artists, art careers, and modes of expression are included. (CL)

Uses Darwin's evolution theory as put forth in "The Descent of Man" as an analogy to explain the relationship between creativity in childhood and adulthood, concentrating on source and continuity. Also discusses creativity in childhood and differences between children's and adults' creativity. (DR)