The Creative Person Creative Process and Creative Dramatics

“The Creative Person, Creative Process, and Creative Dramatics” Presented by Patricia Mulcahy

Two interrelated purposes of gifted education: v to help these children and adolescents become more self-actualized, creative individuals, and v To better enable them to make creative contributions to society.

“Modern research on creativity, intelligence, and achievement showed that although students with high IQs obtained good grades both at school and university, they were consistently outstripped by those with not only a high IQ but also high creativity. ” Cropley and Urban (2000)

� Attainable by all who are motivated: �Intuitive expressive �Academic and technical �Inventive � Within reach of only the highly gifted: �Innovative �Genius

� Intuitive � This expressive creator expresses primitively, intuitively, and directly for the intrinsic joy of creativity � Academic and technical � This creator learns the techniques and skills and adds power to the creative expression because he or she has mastered the academic and technical skills related to the creative work.

� Inventive � The inventor who has learned the academic or technical skills goes beyond skills and challenges the boundaries to experiment beyond tradition. � Innovative � Originality and out-ofthe-ordinary production or ideas are the hallmarks of this stage. � Genius � The ideas and accomplishments of these creators are unique, defying explanation.

Positive: � Self-confident � Independent � Risk-taking � Energetic � Curious � Witty � Idealistic � Artistic � Attracted to the mysterious and complex � Self-disciplined Negative: � Stubbornness � Resistance to domination � Uncooperativeness � Cynicism � Tendencies to question rules � Uncommunicativeness � Too much assertiveness � Low interest in details � Forgetfulness � Overactivity

� � � � Albert Einstein was 4 years old before he could speak and 7 before he could read. Thomas Edison was told by his teachers that he was too stupid to learn. Winston Churchill was at the bottom of his class in one school and twice failed the entrance exam to another. Pablo Picasso could barely read and write by age 10. His father hired a tutor who gave up and quit. Louis Pasteur was rated mediocre in chemistry at the Royal College. Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because he had no good ideas. Charles Dickens, Claude Monet, Isadora Duncan, and Mark Twain never finished grade school.

� Four abilities from the endless list that are measured by the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking are: �Fluency �Flexibility �Originality �Elaboration

Problem sensitivity � Visualization � Ability to regress � Analogical thinking � Evaluation � Analysis � Synthesis � Transformation � See structure in chaos � Avoid mental and perceptual sets � Understand complex issues � Extend boundaries � Intuition � Predict outcomes � Resist premature closure � Concentration � Logical thinking � Aesthetic thinking � Anticipate consequences � Good decision-making � Adapt present knowledge to new problems �

� One approach to viewing the creative process is to describe a sequence of stages through which one might proceed in solving a problem creatively. Different models of steps and stages in the creative process are: �The Wallas Model �The Systems Model of Creativity �Creative Problem Solving �Piirto’s Creative Process

� � Preparation � Clarifying and defining the problem � Gathering relevant information � Reviewing available materials � Examining solution requirements � Being aware of previous unsuccessful solutions Incubation � Takes � place during reflection, a pause in action Illumination � The “Eureka” or “Aha” experience; the solution usually appears suddenly � Verifications � Checking the workability, feasibility, and/or acceptability of the illumination

� Csikszentmihalyi’s �Domain three part system: – including rules and procedures (e. g. , math, art, music, physical science) �Field – includes the professionals who determine what creations will be accepted within the domain (critics, directors, other writers, other scientists) �Individual – person who creates within the domain Creativity happens when the individual invents, discovers, or creates within the domain and the creations are accepted by others established in the field.

� The seven “I’s” : �Inspiration �Imagery �Imagination �Intuition �Insight �Incubation �Improvisation The authors added another “I” stage – Implementation – to include carrying out creative ideas or products to closure.

The creative process also may be viewed as “a change in perception” and seeing v New v New idea combinations relationships meanings implications applications

� Creative dramatics seeks to strengthen: �Divergent thinking �Imagination �Problem solving �Sensory awareness �Discovery and control of emotions and of the physical self �Humor �Self-confidence �Empathic understanding

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Warm-up Exercises– “Holding Up the Ceiling”, “Biggest Thing, Smallest Thing”, stretching, warm up at different speeds Movement exercises – “Circles”, “Mirrors”, “Circus”, “People Machines”, “Obstacles”, “Making Letters” Sensory and body awareness – “Trust Walk”, “Exploring an Orange”, “Listening”, “Smelling” Pantomime – “Invisible Trunk”, “Creating an Environment”, “Animal Pantomimes” Playmaking – acting out stories without a script These activities can be used with any age group, from elementary school to college creativity class.

“…creativity does not happen inside people’s head, but in the interaction between a person’s thoughts and a socio cultural context. It is systemic rather than an individual phenomenon. " Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1996)

How can this help me? � Chapter 8, Creativity I, is filled with ideas for stimulating creative growth not only in the gifted and talented, but in every student. It is my belief that each child is “gifted” in some way. As teachers, it is our responsibility to know each student and find ways to engage their creativity. The creative process models outline stages that are basically the same as the critical thinking processes my students are learning and using in core subjects and Language Explorers. The creative dramatics are fun and unique ways to encourage imagination and problem solving activities, and I would like to introduce some of them to my students. This would strengthen both individual performance and group collaboration.

References Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). Creativity: Flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. New York: Harper Collins. Cropley, A. J. and Urban, K. K. (2000). Programs and strategies for nurturing creativity. International handbook of giftedness and talent (2 nd ed. ). New York: Elsevier. Davis, G. A. , Rimm, S. B. and Siegle, D. (2010). Education of the gifted and talented (6 th ed. ). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Parnes, S. J. (1981). Magic of your mind. Buffalo, NY: Creative Education Foundation. Piirto, J. (2004). Understanding creativity. Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press. Wilson, L. O. (2004). Levels of creativity. Retrieved from www. uwsp. edu/education/lwilson/creativ/levels. htm.