What is creativity, and how can you tap into it?

A hip pocket definition: creativity is putting two things together that you haven’t put together before.  

How about garlic mustard ice cream? Not the tastiest snack in the world—at least, to Americans—but the idea might make a kid laugh! That’s an example of creativity. In the world of snacks, this idea may be useless or counterproductive.

But in the world of children’s entertainment, putting two polar opposite foods together is fun and may turn out to be profitable for someone, someday.  Try lemon ice silicone spray. Or pillbugs soaked in perfume, rinsed in a rusty bucket and coated with chicken soup glaze. Eeewwww….but that’s the point.

One of the best explanations of creative thinking I’ve ever read:

Introduction to Creative Thinking by Robert Harris. Read it to find out how creativity = an ability + an attitude + a process.

 

Business needs creativity

One of the most vital needs in business, in nonprofits and in education is creativity. Reports in the New York Times, business publications and books all speak about the need to help everyone learn to tap their creative potential.

 

 Resources on the need for creativity

 Click for 21^st century creativity and innovation skills resources.

 Click for 21st century communication and collaboration resources.

 Click for critical thinking and creativity resources, on Bloom’s taxonomy:  

Benjamin Bloom (1956) developed a classification of levels of intellectual behavior in learning. This taxonomy contained three overlapping domains: the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective. Within the cognitive domain, he identified six levels: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. These domains and levels are still useful today as you develop the critical thinking skills of your students.                                         #                  #                  #