Growing Little Colleagues: Reflections and Experiences from a Creativity Professional in the Classroom

By Susan Keller-Mathers

Originally appeared in the International Creativity Network Newsletter, volume 2, number 3, 1992, pages 4-5.

Even though it was nearly five years ago, it seems like only yesterday when my new colleagues and I completed our graduate degree in creative studies. From the beginning, we were an unusual group: a collection of independent, strong-willed optimists who shared common goals and high expectations. We all entered with the enthusiasm of adult learners. We worked, learned, and "aha'd" until we began to feel confident and truly good about what we were doing.

These people have remained a strong influence in my life. We went through the usual stages of group development-initially forming as a group, storming until it hurt, eventually norming (more or less!) and performing together. So many actions were both memorable and influential in our lives. Our collegial interaction became so much a part of how I live and operate. I continue to wonder what it was that made so great an impact.

Colleagues to Be: Creativity in the Classroom

It occurred to me one day that the seven-year-old students I taught provided a source of insight into why my own colleagues were so competent, caring, and productive. Let me tell you a little about these seven-year-olds.

Learning Creative Thinking Techniques

When the need arose to generate ideas, possible questions, or answers in my second grade classroom, I could visibly see these seven year old students preparing for the exciting task ahead. "Where's your hat?" "Put on your generating hat," they would chant. Once those hats were in place I could barely get my marker to the flipchart before they would be off and running. The students had been trained in the guidelines for generating options (Defer judgment; Seek quantity; Freewheel; and, Seek combinations). There was no need to remind them of the guidelines. They knew them well and were quick to refresh each others' memory should one forget. "You're not supposed to judge," or "You can say anything," they would remind each other.

At seven they were very fluent in their idea generation. Original or statistically infrequent ideas popped up more frequently than among most adults I know. They weren't too bad at elaboration or flexibility either. Simply put, they were a pretty creative group.

They were also aware of the fact that how they treated other students affected the group's learning. This understanding led to the biggest mind shift I saw upon the introduction of creative thinking techniques. Absent were the words, "He copied me!" Instead, I heard comments such as, "Oh, that made me think of ..." or "I have a hitchhike on ___'s idea. " It became a habit they carried over into all their learning activities, not just when the "generation" hats were on. What a difference it made when students had the common understanding that it is permissible, even encouraged, to build on each other's ideas. The principle of hitchhiking or seeking combinations opened up a whole new avenue of working together, allowing students to feed upon each other's initial ideas and collaborate more effectively.

Just suppose all adults had these second graders' wisdom. We will not judge while we generate ideas. We give ideas as fast as we can. We can think of wild ideas, and say them too. Thinking of an idea that starts from another person's idea is a productive thing to do! Although these were significant learnings, they were just the beginning.

An Enthusiasm for Evaluation

When the need arose to evaluate ideas or possible solutions in the classroom, the students deliberately switched to their evaluation hats. Once again, the students were trained in specific guidelines (Use Affirmative Judgment; Be Deliberate; Consider Novelty; and, Stay on Course. ) Unlike many adults I know, these seven-year-olds took to the task of evaluation with as much enthusiasm as generating. They knew they could judge, and they went about picking their "hits" and explaining them to each other. They loved sharing their favorite ideas and narrowing them down to a few. They were surprisingly good at listing some real advantages, limitations, and looking into the future potential of the ideas. Not bad, considering this is a technique I've had to spend a lot of time teaching college students and working professionals to do.

At other times, a student would come to me with a really "far out" idea. The adult inside me secretly said, "We (adults) have tried that; It won't work," or "It's impossible. " Then I remind myself about how often those idea killers seem pretty foolish later. Remember Grover Cleveland's observation (1905) "Sensible and responsible women do not want to vote?" Or Charles Duell, the director of the U. S. Patent office in 1899 justifying why he wanted to close the patent office, saying, "Everything that can be invented has been invented?" I reminded myself that my students deserve guidance, not just answers. I can't be there to give them answers throughout their lives, but the techniques and processes I teach them will be there. So I asked them to explore the data, to devise questions, to look at many options, and to plan for success. In other words, we used Creative Problem Solving (Isaksen & Treffinger, 1985) together.

Creative Problem Solving in the Classroom

In addition to learning creative and criteria thinking techniques, my second graders learned Creative Problem Solving (CPS). CPS enabled my students to tackle academic and personal problems independently. The students were able to deal with many situations, including unexpected and newly encountered situations, to recognize opportunities, analyze situations, develop criteria for evaluating solutions, and formulate a plan of action. They learned and used the six CPS stages (Mess-Finding, Data-Finding, Problem-Finding, Idea-Finding, Solution-Finding and Acceptance-Finding; Isaksen & Treffinger, 1985).

It was amazing to me to watch the students when I asked if they had a clear idea of the problem. Eventually their eyes began to look over the CPS charts. The students understood that I was asking them to determine the CPS component on which they needed to focus their efforts. Their understanding of the process was limited, but they were eager to learn and use it.

A Lifetime of Viewing Problems as Opportunities

I see the power of their learning and the potential for this enthusiasm and creative tendencies to continue throughout their lives. I often sat back and watched them, their openness, and their willingness to explore their insights into concerns in their lives and the lives of adults around them. They felt it was important to help others and make things better. They felt they could make a difference. I gave them a number of tools to accompany and support their attitudes.

Imagine if these little people continue down their creative path. No doubt they will encounter other people who will encourage their creativity, but will it be the norm? Let's imagine for a minute that they do encounter many more people who appreciate their creative potential, nurture them and build their problem solving skills. Let's imagine that they do grow up to view problems as opportunities to explore. They, too, would then resemble that group of productive, creative people I knew as my graduate program colleagues. With a large enough number of students (like those second graders), becoming adults (like those productive colleagues), the world just might take to the task of tackling its problems with the enthusiasm that is needed!

References

Isaksen, S. & Treffinger, D. (1985) Creative problem solving: The basic course. Buffalo, NY: Bearly Limited.