"Creativity is the ability to see relationships where none exist." Thomas Disch
Real problems confronting our world today require creative minds, a flow of ideas, and many varied alternative solutions. Gifted students are capable of the higher-level thought processes - the planning, forecasting and problem solving involved in thinking creatively. Creative thinking skills can be developed with opportunity and practice in the normal classroom setting.
| CREATIVE THINKING Creative thinking can be developed using the skills listed below |
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| Fluency | Generating ideas. The more ideas generated, the more likely original ideas will surface. |
| Flexibility | Taking a different approach |
| Originality | Thinking in an original way |
| Elaboration | Adding to an idea to make something more complex or more useful |
| Curiosity | Encouraging inquisitiveness and investigation |
| Complexity | Emphasising different or difficult alternatives and allowing the sorting and ordering of information. |
| Risk Taking | Encouraging risk taking in warm, supportive environment |
| Imagination | Allowing time and opportunity for mental imagery |
As outlined in Dalton J (1990). "Adventures in Thinking". Melbourne: Thomas Nelson.
Ideas in this section can be modified or adjusted to suit the age level, learning area, group or class and the learning needs of the students.
Ask Jeeves
A fantastic search engine for students and adults to find out the answer to those burning questions, includes the kid-friendly Ask Jeeves for Kids link.
Creativity web
The Creativity Web is the creation of Charles Cave in Sydney, Australia, and its aim is to be the most up-to-date resource centre for creativity and innovation on the Internet. You will find details on books, software, people, organisations, quotations, techniques, the brain, and much more!
Mind Tools
Follow the links to the Practical Creativity section for a wide range of Creativity tools and techniques.
Odyssey of the Mind®
Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college.