Many researchers and educators believe that although creativity may come more naturally to some, it also a skill that can and should be taught. This project focuses on the importance of fostering creative thinking skills in college students and offers strategies that educators can use to promote creative thinking in their classes.

1. FOSTERING CREATIVE
THINKING SKILLS IN
COLLEGE STUDENTS
prepared by Leila Palis
English Faculty, Paradise Valley Community College, Phoenix, AZ
supported by a grant from the Maricopa Community Colleges, 2015

2. DEFINING CREATIVE
THINKING
• the ability to create new ideas or products, to
think “outside-of-the-box,” and to engage in
divergent thinking (Croisile, 2010; Hardiman, 2010;
Torrance, 1972)
• the ability “to see problems in a new
way…escape the bounds of conventional
thinking…recognize which of one’s ideas are
worth pursuing” (Sternberg, 2008, p. 8)
• “a process that leads to products or ideas that
are novel, appropriate, and valuable to society
(Baker & Baker, 2012)

3. DEFINING CREATIVE
THINKING
• how does creative thinking relate to critical
thinking?
• “Critical and creative thought are both achievements
of thought. Creativity masters a process of making or
producing, criticality a process of assessing or judging.
The very definition of the word ‘creative’ implies a
critical component (e.g., ‘having or showing
imagination and artistic or intellectual inventiveness’).
When engaged in high-quality thought, the mind must
simultaneously produce and assess, both generate and
judge the products it fabricates. In short, sound
thinking requires both imagination and intellectual
standards”(Paul & Elder, 2008).

4. CREATIVE THINKING CAN
BE MEASURED
• although a person’s creativity might only be
expressed in a specific area or areas, his or
her creativity is measureable as a an overall
way of thinking (Kim, 2011; Torrance 1972)

5. MEASUREMENT TOOLS
FOR ASSESSING
CREATIVE THINKING
SKILLS
• several tests exist for measuring creativity
• Guilford’s Alternative Uses Task
• Wallas and Kogan Creativity Test
• Baron-Welsh Art Scale
• Khatena-Torrance Creative Perception Inventory
• The Creativity Behavior Inventory
• Creative Attitude Survey
• NEO-PI-R
• Gough Personality Scale
• Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (most commonly used)

6. CREATED BY
PAUL E.
TORRANCE IN
1962
Torrance Test
of Creativity
• assesses divergent thinking and other problem-solving skills
based on fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration
(Bronson & Merryman, 2010)
• most commonly used measure of creativity world-wide;
has been translated into more than 30 languages (Kim, 2011)
• has the highest measure of predictive validity of all
measures of creativity (Kim, 2011)
• high scores on the Torrance Test of Creativity consistently
predict higher levels of creative achievement later in life
(Bronson & Merryman, 2010)
• 3 times stronger predictor of future creative achievements
than IQ score (Bronson & Merryman, 2010)
• appropriate for all ages
• scored against national norms, standard scores, and
national percentiles for each age group (Torrance Center for
Creativity and Talent Development, 2015 )

7. CREATIVE THINKING
SKILLS CAN BE
DEVELOPED
• while it was once thought that creativity
was a rare gift bestowed upon only great
thinkers and artists, this is no longer
believed to be true
• many researchers and educators believe that
although creativity may come more naturally to
some, it is a skill that can and should be taught
(Baker & Baker, 2010; Clifford, 2012; Hardiman,
2010; Kim 2011; Ornaheim & Friis-Olivarius;
Torrance, 1972)

8. IMPORTANCE OF FOSTERING
CREATIVE THINKING SKILLS IN
SCHOOLS
impact of
creative
thinking on
the brain
• creative thinking requires skills related to
frontal-lobe processing, like working
memory and continued attention
(Hardiman, 2010)
• a 2007 study found that people who had
high creativity scores on the Torrance
Test had greater activity in brain regions
involved in novelty response, cognition,
working memory, and emotions
(Hardiman, 2010)

9. IMPORTANCE OF FOSTERING
CREATIVE THINKING SKILLS IN
SCHOOLS
impact of
creative
thinking on
the brain
• brain research shows that creative
thinking engages more complex neural
networks than conventional thinking,
enhancing cognition and learning
(Hardiman, 2010)
• research has found that during tasks
considered to be highly creative, more
brain areas are activated than during
tasks that require conventional thinking
(Fink, et al., 2010)

10. IMPORTANCE OF FOSTERING
CREATIVE THINKING SKILLS IN
SCHOOLS
impact of
creative
thinking on
academic
achievement
• creative thinking has been associated
with higher levels of cognition and
attention than tradition thinking
(Hardiman, 2010)
• creative thinking scores have been shown
to be better predictors of academic
success than IQ or SAT scores
(Palaniappan, 2007; Runco, Millar, Acar, &
Cramond, 2010; Torrance, 1972 )

11. IMPORTANCE OF FOSTERING
CREATIVE THINKING SKILLS IN
SCHOOLS
impact of
creative
thinking on
academic
achievement
• fostering creative thinking skills in
students results in an increase in
students’ abilities to continue on a task
over a sustained period of time, express
their personal voices, connect their
school work to the real world, innovate
by exploring, and self-evaluate (Winner &
Hetland, 2008).
• creative thinking requires skills known to
positively impact academic achievement:
divergent thinking, problem,
identification, problem-solving skills,
motivation, intellectual risk-taking, self-
efficacy, and openness to new ideas
(Lubart & Jaques, Henri, 2004)

12. IMPORTANCE OF FOSTERING
CREATIVE THINKING SKILLS IN
SCHOOLS
creative
thinking skills
are desired
by employers
• “Cliché as it sounds, employers want to hire
people who can ‘think outside the box.’ The
ability to creatively use existing resources in
order to efficiently complete tasks is valued.
Successful employees are flexible, able to
evaluate options to determine the best
approach for a given situation and adapt
accordingly” (Kuther, 2013).
• “IBM surveyed 1,500 chief executives in 33
industries around the world in 2010 to gauge
how much they valued characteristics like
creativity, integrity, management, discipline,
rigor, and vision in an increasingly volatile,
complex, and interconnected world. Creativity
topped the list” (Berrett, 2013).

13. IMPORTANCE OF FOSTERING
CREATIVE THINKING SKILLS IN
SCHOOLS
creative
thinking skills
are vital for
innovation
• “Every grand American accomplishment,
every innovation that has benefited and
enriched our lives, every social
transformation… has been the fruit of
the creative imagination, of the ability to
reach beyond received ideas and ready-
made answers to some new place…”
(Michael Chabon of the Obama Art Policy
Committee, 2009).

14. IMPORTANCE OF FOSTERING
CREATIVE THINKING SKILLS IN
SCHOOLS
creative
thinking skills
are vital for
innovation
• results of a 50- year longitudinal study
revealed that children who scored higher
in creativity had more creative
accomplishments later in life; they
became inventors, college presidents,
diplomats, authors, and software
developers (Bronson & Merryman, 2010)

15. IMPORTANCE OF FOSTERING
CREATIVE THINKING SKILLS IN
SCHOOLS
creative
thinking skills
are vital skills
for innovation
• both China and Japan (even though their
educational systems are top-ranked) have
undertaken major reforms to de-
emphasize rote memorization and high-
stakes testing and to adopt curricula that
foster more creative thinking. Both
nations claim that a focus on creative
thinking will produce free-thinkers who
are able to innovate (“Education’s
Pendulum,”2012).

16. • a 2011 analysis of almost 300,000 Torrance Test
scores found that creative thinking skills have
significantly decreased since the 1990’s even though
IQ scores have risen (Kim, 2011)
• one of the major contributing factors to this decline
is the education system in America, which focuses on
high-stakes testing rather than applying knowledge
in novel ways (Hardiman, 2010; Bronson &
Merryman, 2010; Kim, 2011)
FEWER STUDENTS ARE LEAVING
SCHOOL WITH THE ESSENTIAL
SKILLS FOR INNOVATION TODAY
THAN TWENTY YEARS AGO

17. • a 2011 study of 2,300 college students found that
many students are not being challenged to think
creatively (Baker & Baker, 2012)
• students enter college already preconditioned to
think in a standardized way, and most faculty are
trained only within their own discipline and not in
fostering creative thinking (Segesten, 2013)
• “the enhancement of critical and creative thinking
[at the post-secondary level] is still more of a
desirable vision than an empirical outcome”
(Halpern, 2010, p. 381)
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ARE
NOT ADEQUATELY FOSTERING
CREATIVE THINKING SKILLS

18. TECHNIQUES TO FOSTER
CREATIVE THINKING
SKILLS IN THE COLLEGE
CLASSROOM
• infuse the arts into all disciplines
• have students draw pictures or use nonverbal
representations of information that needs to be
remembered
• have students write stories which integrate information
that needs to be remembered
• encourage students to relate subject matter to themselves
through first-person narratives or visual art
• encourage students to generate information (rather than
to simply receive it) through story writing or visual art
• allow students to perform scenarios and historical events
(Rinne, Gregory, Yarmolinskaya, & Hardiman, 2011)

19. TECHNIQUES TO FOSTER
CREATIVE THINKING
SKILLS IN THE COLLEGE
CLASSROOM
• help students understand the neuroscience
underlying creative thinking
• teach students how the brain makes associations
• teach students how differences in the way information
is processed can impact creative thinking
• teach students that creative thinking is not about
genetics or innate abilities
• teach students that creative thinking skills can be
developed
(Onarheim & Friis-Olivarius, 2013)

20. TECHNIQUES TO FOSTER
CREATIVE THINKING
SKILLS IN THE COLLEGE
CLASSROOM
• implement creativity training courses
• training in creative thinking should be based on a solid
understanding of the cognitive processes underlying
creative thinking
• training should be extended and challenging
• concepts related to creative thinking should be
illustrated using examples that are contextualized
• concepts related to creative thinking should be
followed by practice exercises that allow students to
apply strategies in realistic ways
(Scott, 2010)

21. TECHNIQUES TO FOSTER
CREATIVE THINKING
SKILLS IN THE COLLEGE
CLASSROOM
• foster creativity in the classroom
• create assignments that connect to the emotions of the
learner
• create assignments that consider both convergent and
divergent thinking skills
• create assignments in which students must consider
multiple ways of approaching and solving problems
• reward students for thinking about problems and issues
in diverse ways, not just for giving the correct
responses
• create a classroom environment in which students feel
safe to explore new and diverse ideas
(Clifford, 2012)

22. TECHNIQUES TO FOSTER
CREATIVE THINKING
SKILLS IN THE COLLEGE
CLASSROOM
• adopt the Brain-Targeted Teaching Model
• 1) set the emotional climate for learning
• reduce stress, establish a positive learning
environment, design assignments that are
emotionally engaging to students
• 2) create a physical learning environment
• use natural full-spectrum lighting, have an ordered
and organized learning space, display student-
generated work
• 3) design the learning experience
• help students relate new information to existing
information or experiences; give students a holistic
view of information in a visual way so that they
understand the relationships between ideas
(Hardiman, 2010)

23. TECHNIQUES TO FOSTER
CREATIVE THINKING
SKILLS IN THE COLLEGE
CLASSROOM
• adopt the Brain-Targeted Teaching Model
• 4) teach mastery of skills, content, and concept
• teach content and skills using a variety of arts-based
activities
• 5) teach for extension and application of knowledge
• allow students to apply knowledge to problem-
solving tasks (divergent thinking); create assignments
that encourage students to use content knowledge to
solve real-world problems
• 6) evaluate learning
• provide relevant and timely feedback using a variety
of measures; allow students the opportunity to make
adjustments
(Hardiman, 2010)

24. TECHNIQUES TO FOSTER
CREATIVE THINKING
SKILLS IN THE COLLEGE
CLASSROOM
• adopt pedagogical strategies found in art
schools
• focus on process, not just on outcome
• create assignments that result in something valuable in
terms of offering new insights or novel ways of thinking
about topics
• creative an environment that supports risk-taking
• give students time to practice and experiment with
content in multiple ways
• allow students to create their own assignments
(Baker & Baker, 2012)

25. There has remained an enduring tension between
academic rigor and fostering creativity. However,
one does not need to replace the other. A curriculum
that develops students’ creative thinking skills can
also be academically rigorous. Many brain processes
involved in creative thinking, such as memory,
cognition, and attention, are essential to academic
success. The importance of creative thinking must be
acknowledged, and the curricula of American
schools must be redesigned so that creativity is
infused into all disciplines.

26. REFERENCESBaker, D.F., & Baker, S.J. (2010). To “catch the sparkling glow:” a canvas for creativity in the management classroom.
Academy of Management Learning and Education, 11(4), 704-721. doi: 10.5465/amle.2010.0003
Barrett, D. (2013). Creativity: a cure for the common curriculum. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from
http://abraham.cs.uml.edu/~heines/91.212/Resources/TheCreativityCure-ChronicleHigherEd.pdf
Bronson, P.O., & Merryman, A. (2010, July 10). The creativity crisis. Newsweek. Retrieved from
http://www.newsweek.com/creativity-crisis-74665
Clifford, M. (2010). 30 things you can do to promote creativity. Open colleges. Retrieved from
http://www.opencolleges.edu
Croisile, B. (2010). Intelligence and creativity. Retrieved from http://www.brainfitnessforlife.com/executive-
functions/intelligence-and-creativity/
“Education’s pendulum: thinkers or test takers?” (2015). Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/15/opinion/la-ed-
school-creativity-20120715
Fink, et al. (2010). Enhancing creativity by means of cognitive stimulation: Evidence from an fMRI study, NeuroImage, 52,
1687-1695. Retrieved from www.elsevier.com/locate/ynimg
Halpern, D.F. (2010). Creativity in college classrooms. In R.A. Beghetto & J.C. Kaufman (EDS)., Nurturing creativity in the
classroom: 380-393. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Hardiman, M.M. (2010). The creative-artistic brain. In D.A. Sousa (Ed.)., Mind Brain Education: Neuroscience Implications
for the Classroom (227-248). Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press
Kim, K.H. (2011). The APA 2009 division 8 debate: are the Torrance tests of creative thinking still relevant in the 21st
Century? American Psychological Journal, 5(4), 302-308. doi: 10.1037/a0021917
Kuther, T.L. (2013). What employers seek in job applicants: You’ve got the skills they want. American Psychological
Association. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/psn/2013/09/job-applicants.aspx

27. REFERENCES
Lubart, T., & Jaques-Henri, G. (2004). The generality-specific of creativity: a multivariate approach. Creativity:
from potential to realization. Robert Sternberg, Elena Grigorenko, & Jerome, Singer (Eds.). American
Psychological Association. 226
Ornaheim, B., & Friis-Olivarius, M. (2013). Applying the neuroscience of creativity to creativity training. Frontiers
in Human Neuroscience, 7, 656. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24137120
Palaniappan, A.K. (2007). The 13th Annual International Conference on Thinking Norrkoping, Sweden, 1(21), 145-
151. Retrieved from http://www.ep.liu.se/ecp/021/vol1/020/exp2107020.pdf
Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2008). The thinker’s guide to the nature and functions of critical & creative thinking. The
Tomales, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking.
Rinne, L., Gregory, E., Yarmolinskaya, J., & Hardiman, M. (2011). Why arts integration improves long-term
retention of content. Mind, Brain, & Education, 5(2), 89-96.
Runco, M.A., Millar, G., Acar, S., & Cramond, B. (2010). Torrance tests of creative thinking as predictors of public
achievement: a fifty-year follow-up. Creativity Research Journal, 22(4), 1-8. Retrieved from
http://creativitytestingservices.com/satchel/pdfs/2010%20proof%2050%20year%20longitudinal%20TTCT.pdf
Scott, G., Leritz, L.E., & Mumford, M.D. (2004). The effectiveness of creativity training: quantitative review.
Creativity Research Journal, 19, 361-388. doi: 10.1080/10400410409534549
Segeston, A.D. (2013). Creativity in education. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/university-venus/creativity-education
Stein, M.I. (1953). Creativity and culture. Journal of Psychology, 36, 31-322 www.elsevier.com/locate/ynimg
Sternberg, R. J. (2000). Identifying and developing creative giftedness. Roeper Review, 23(2), 60. Retrieved from
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA69698018&v=2.1&u=mcc_pv&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w

28. REFERENCESTorrance, P. E. (1972) Teaching for creativity. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 6, 114-143. Retrieved from
http://www.cpsb.com/research/articles/creative-problem-solving/Teaching-for-Creative-Torrance.pdf
Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development . (2015). University of Georgia College of Education. Retrieved
from http://coe.uga.edu/directory/units/torrance-center
Winner, E., & Hetland, L. (2008). Arts for our sake: school arts classes matter more now than ever- but not for the
reasons you think. Arts Education Policy Review, 109( 5),29-32. ISSN-1063-2913