Creative Thinking

Before you read chapter 10 on creative thinking, answer these questions true or false

1. The creative process appears to be fundamentally different from the everyday thinking processes that most people use. T or F
2. Most great creative acts involve serendipity, a "happy accident" in which the creative individual is lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time. T or F.
3. Thinking analogically requires the application of information that was learned in one context to a very different context. T or F
4. All of the strategies for enhancing creative thinking involve the "spread of activation" through the knowledge base that an individual has stored in memory. T or F
5. People who have many ideas are more likely to come up with good ideas than people who have few ideas. T or F
6. An environment that is supportive of the creative process is one in which individuals receive continuous rewards for their work. T or F.
7. Because creative acts are, by definition, unusual, creative people tend to be less concerned about conformity than less creative people. T or F
8. Research has shown that it is not possible to increase creativity with training because the creative process does not follow rules. T or F
9. Creative people tend to be good at finding problems that most of us fail to recognize, in addition to being good problem solvers. T or F
10. The most important component of the creative process is a large, interconnected knowledge net. T or F


Answers to the quiz:

1. False
2. False
3. True
4. True
5. True
6. False
7. True
8. False
9. True
10. True

Choose one of the following to elaborate on.

1. Apply your problem solving skills to an educational issue, such as the lack of motivation in schools, bullying, etc. Go through the various strategies that are listed and see how the use of each one changes the nature of the problem and the response.
2. What kind of environment will foster creativity in the classroom? How can we foster creativity in light of all the external constraints on teachers?
3. You have been commissioned to revise the class Educational Psychology II so that students learn the material rather than memorize the material. Moreover, the class should be designed with a learner centered approach. Suggest ways to improve on this class.



The God’s Must Be Crazy: Concerning Creative Problem Solving

In attempting to practically apply the theories I have been introduced to in Chapter 10 on Creative thinking, and while reflecting upon my readings regarding these two topics, I began to brainstorm a particular item that I could use as a subject of which to attempt to find a plethora of creative uses for. I thought of a bottle cap. This led me to think of an old fashioned coca-cola bottle. And finally, this train of thought led me to remember the opening of the well-known and loved film “The God’s Must Be Crazy.” This film is an excellent example of how culture plays a key role in both problem solving and developing creative solutions. The linking of my thoughts from bottle cap to “The God’s Must Be Crazy” also demonstrates how memories are linked together and stored in an associative manner.

In the opening scene of this film, a pilot, flying over the African bush plains, throws a coke bottle out of his cockpit. A native walking by discovers the coke bottle believing it to be from the heavens, sent by the gods. Because this discovered item is seen to be important and divine, it is given special recognition and becomes the focus of the entire village. Because this coke bottle falls midst a tribe of hunter/gatherers who utilize tools for their daily existence, what once was litter item surprisingly becomes a tool and the prized possession of the community. It is subsequently used for a plethora of daily needs around the village: crushing, softening out crops, making prints, and is ultimately used as a weapon. This film clearly demonstrates the creative and novel use of an inanimate object.

It is also made clear that cultural schemata regarding the use of everyday objects is a likely cause of an over-familiarity that hinders creative thinking and problem solving. The pilot, who, after finishing his coke, decided to through his glass bottle out the window. To him, it held no value and was thus discarded. However, the same object, when removed from its initial context and history, provided new and unbridled applications.

This scene in this movie can demonstrate creative problem solving in a few ways. I have taken the cultural elements of this opening scene in the film and applied the theories found in chapter ten to formulate a creative idea checklist.


The God’s Must Be Crazy’s guide to creative problems solving:

1) Chose and everyday item, preferably one that is commonly discarded, such as a coke bottle
2) Finish using the coke bottle for its intended use
3) Remove the coke bottle from its cultural schema by throwing it out an airplane window
4) Isolate the coke bottle in thin air
5) Place the coke bottle in an unfamiliar setting (the African brush)
6) Rediscover the coke bottle without its cultural framework (librating the coke bottle from its preconceived notion of usefulness)
7) Consider the physical properties of the coke bottle (hard, shiny, transparent, round, cylindrical, able to hold liquid or solids, makes noise when blown or struck, fits in your hand)
8) Consider how these properties may be applied to problems in your culture (use the coke bottle to smash, mash, tenderize, or open items that you need readjusted)


The climax of the problem surrounding the coke bottle erupts when the utility of the object becomes a matter of inter-tribal conflict; then, the problem solving beings. For the good of the people it is decided that the coke bottle must be destroyed, on account of the village being unable to rectify to argument. The bottle must be taken and destroyed.


1. Apply your problem solving skills to an educational issue, such as the lack of motivation in schools, bullying, etc. Go through the various strategies that are listed and see how the use of each one changes the nature of the problem and the response.

The practice of re-framing a problem or decision allows for one working to find a solution the ability to see beyond and past blind spots and fixations upon one particular solution. When considering the question “Why are students bored in school?” It is important that we as educators look at all of the factors that are affecting the current issue as well as the values and goals that will helps shape the solution.
All to often teachers assume that students are bored, disengaged because they choose to be. How many times have we heard the response “That is just the way that they are!” As a future educator, I refuse to accept that students just don’t want to learn. There are reasons why. And it is our job to unearth the reasons why.
It is likely that a teacher “writes off” as student because of prior negative behavior. And in these cases, it may be a great challenge to figure out the cause of the problem. However, it would be wise for the teacher to question their bias and make an attempt to discover why as student is checking out.
Using and analogy, a teacher might ponder how to motivate an individual in another learning environment. Perhaps learning about what motivates others will assist that teacher in motivating the class as well as a few particular students. Another important factor would be for the teacher to discover what intrinsically motivates the student(s) in question. Are they passionate about other things? Why? Is there a solution to be found in making a link between this passion and studies?
Often, schools kill creativity because they leave no room for creative thought. The message is clear: Either do exactly or we say or perform the given tasks as required, or you will be punished. For any creative person, it is quickly discovered that their strength of bisociative thinking and problem solving in not welcomed here. This message is like death to a creative person. Perhaps the way we structure assignments and learning environments, un-allowing elements of choice and independent thinking is causing the very lack of motivation that we are trying to solve. Perhaps the question needs to be re-framed: Is the way I am teaching my content un-motivating? Why? What could I as a teacher do differently? Do I allow for choice in my lessons and assessment?
There are a plethora of factors that affect a students motivation to learn, and many of them may be out of the jurisdiction of the teacher, but that does not mean that the teacher can do nothing. Often teachers are the last line of defense for students and as advocates for learning and development, we must be wiling to go the extra mile to find the best solutions to the problems that face our students today.
A simple re-framing of the question may not lead to an immediate solution, but it will provide a different point-of-view and reshape how the problem is being approached. Often, this action combined with feedback will lead to a more possible and positive change in direction.