Get Creative!

Teaching creativity involves well~ a little creativity.

When do you find the time to teach it? Whats the best way to teach creativity? How do you assess it?
What seems to work for me in helping my gifted students develop creativity involves using the Creative Problem Solving Process developed by Donald Treffinger.( to learn more~ go to http://www.creativelearning.com/creative-problem-solving/about-cps)

CPSP entails using six steps-heres my summarized version:

1. Look for a problem or something that can be improved.
2. Collect data/evidence of the problem
3. Further refine the problem
4. Brainstorm possible solutions
5. Weigh those solutions against criteria (is this reasonable? What will be the costs~ etc.)
6. Decide upon a solution and implement it.

Rather than look at CPSP as a separate lesson or another thing to do~ it helps to approach teaching creativity as skills and thinking that you weave into existing curriculum. What Id like to share now is how I recently used CPSP with my students.
I implemented the process with several second and third-grade students enrolled in the schools gifted program. These students already possess a high degree of motivation and creativity. I incorporated the CPSP steps into an existing research project that involves the students attempting to assist older dogs at the local animal shelter in getting adopted. During the project~ students decided they want to raise the $75 adoption fee for as many dogs as possible; however~ they were not sure where to get the funds. Therefore~ I had the students use the following process:

I had the group define the problem where to raise the money for adoption fees.
I had students research the problem by e-mailing the animal shelter. They asked some of the following questions: Why is there an adoption fee? Can the fee be waived? Could outsiders (such as donors) pay the fees for someone else? Would they allow students to help raise the fees?
Armed with answers~ I had the students further define the problem. They realized they needed $75 for each dog~ and wanting to help 10 dogs~ they would need $750.00
Part of their research also included reading about creative ways to fundraise. I asked the students to brainstorm a list of possible fundraising ideas. They came up with a dog washing club~ selling art~ a bake sale~ and other ideas.
I asked the students to consider which fundraising ideas would be reasonable in terms of conducting them in school or the neighborhood?
Finally~ I had the students select a fundraiser or two to focus on (the solution).

As mentioned~ the CPSP is easy to incorporate within the existing curriculum~ such as project-based learning. In my case~ the process helped provide these already creative students with structure and guidance. It seemed almost seamless. Many positives can come from the process. For instance~ students might normally choose the first solution that comes to mind~ however~ when they are instructed to weigh the pros and cons of each solution~ they utilize more critical thinking and further refine their selection process. So why not give CPSP a try and let me know how it works for you.

Wishing you the best~
Steve