Article investigated creative thought and creative ideas possessed by those with if! minds as contrasted with the but! minds possessed by those whose initial response to the invitation to think and to extend is a reaction rather than a pro-action. (Editor/RK)

In almost every classroom there is a minority of children that, regardless of effort, teachers have difficulty working with. The "Suggestion Circle" is a method for soliciting streamlined, on-focus ideas for solving classroom problems with the help of colleagues. In the Suggestion Circle there are three roles for people: the person who…

A teacher of gifted elementary students describes how her students used creative problem-solving principles to help her overcome a vocal problem caused by removal of a cyst. (CL)

The Creative Education Foundation and Buffalo State University College will sponsor a program emphasizing creative methods and approaches. (CK)

Olympics of the Mind, designed for highly creative K through 12 students, uses the basic elements (defined population, identification procedures, teacher training, student instruction, and problem evaluation) of a varsity sports model. (SB)

Intended primarily for the regular classroom teacher, the article discusses developing material for the gifted--Types I and II Creative Teaching Sequences. Type I is explained to focus on problem solving skills (specifically a positive attitude toward inquiry), while Type II builds on that attitude for advanced creative problem solving. (CL)

To make the best use of one's creativity in problem solving, it is important to first create an atmosphere in which creativity can flourish. Two methods that can be used to generate ideas are brainstorming and analogizing. After generating ideas, the best solution must be chosen and then the chosen ideas must be implemented. (MLW)

That reflectiveness was directly related to creative problem-solving was tested in two experiments with 58 college students solving induction problems by conventional or unconventional rules. Extremely reflective or extremely impulsive students on conventional problems performed worse on the unconventional problems than did those moderately…

This article describes inventions devised by 50 undergraduates, and groups them into 6 categories: personal/body, home, transportation, convenience devices/services, entertainment/recreation, and miscellaneous. Examples of inventions by national winners (ages 6-12) in the Invent America Contest are also given. (DB)

The successful communicator is expected to provide communications that are not only complete but also representative of effective thinking (i.e., original). Creating complete and creative communications begins with a disciplined process of discovery--identifying, assessing, prioritizing, and integrating the articulated and embedded purposes.…

Despite significant progress over the past six decades, a number of obstacles still exist as far as the understanding and application of inventive ideation techniques is concerned. This paper describes the development of a model aimed at simplifying the selection and application of these techniques. Analysis of a diverse range of creative thinking…