101 Activities For Teaching Creativity And Problem Solving

Employees who possess problem-solving skills are highly valued in today?s competitive business environment. The question is how can employees learn to deal in innovative ways with new data, methods, people, and technologies? In this groundbreaking book, Arthur VanGundy -- a pioneer in the field of idea generation and problem solving -- has compiled 101 group activities that combine to make a unique resource for trainers, facilitators, and human resource professionals. The book is filled with idea-generation activities that simultaneously teach the underlying problem-solving and creativity techniques involved. Each of the book?s 101 engaging and thought-provoking activities includes facilitator notes and advice on when and how to use the activity. Using 101 Activities for Teaching Creativity and Problem Solving will give you the information and tools you need to: Generate creative ideas to solve problems. Avoid patterned and negative thinking. Engage in activities that are guaranteed to spark ideas. Use proven techniques for brainstorming with groups. Order your copy today.

Educational title for gifted and advanced learners.

This book will teach your students an exciting and powerful problem-solving method from start to finish (includes 30 reproducible classroom activities). Students will learn to work together and individually to find appropriate and unique solutions to real-world problems by using this tested method. Grades 2-8

A complete guide for improving the focus and engagement of your special education students by starting the day off right Use a morning meeting to jump-start your students’ day! This simple but effective classroom technique has been proven to help students learn better, build friendships, improve behavior and gain confidence. Offering fun games, great songs and other engaging activities, this book’s 101 ready-to-use ideas are sure to help your students experience remarkable progress in: • Math and reading • Team-building • Planning and communication • Science and technology • Goal-setting • Organization • Problem-solving • Role-playing • Fulfilling a classroom job • Creative arts

Guide children to new heights with the Creative Problem Solving methods outlined in CPS for Kids. This book will teach your students an exciting and powerful problem-solving method from start to finish. Each step in the process, from finding problems to finding solutions, is outlined in detail and includes accompanying activities on reproducible pages. Designed for students in grades 2-8, these activities are challenging and interesting. Creative Problem Solving is a process that allows people to apply both creative and critical thinking to find solutions to everyday problems. CPS can eliminate the tendency to approach problems in a haphazard manner and, consequently, prevents surprises and/or disappointment with the solution. Students will learn to work together or individually to find appropriate and unique solutions to real-world problems they may face by using this tested method. Most importantly, they will be challenged to think both creatively and critically as they tackle each problem they face. CPS for Kids includes 30 reproducible classroom activities. Grades 2-8

Help children of all learning styles and strengths improve their critical thinking skills with these creative, cross-curricular activities. Each engaging activity focuses on skills such as recognizing and recalling, evaluating, and analyzing.

How cognitive psychology explains human creativity Conventional wisdom holds that creativity is a mysterious quality present in a select few individuals. The rest of us, the common view goes, can only stand in awe of great creative achievements: we could never paint Guernica or devise the structure of the DNA molecule because we lack access to the rarified thoughts and inspirations that bless geniuses like Picasso or Watson and Crick. Presented with this view, today's cognitive psychologists largely differ finding instead that "ordinary" people employ the same creative thought processes as the greats. Though used and developed differently by different people, creativity can and should be studied as a positive psychological feature shared by all humans. Creativity: Understanding Innovation in Problem Solving, Science, Invention, and the Arts presents the major psychological theories of creativity and illustrates important concepts with vibrant and detailed case studies that exemplify how to study creative acts with scientific rigor. Creativity includes: * Two in-depth case studies--Watson and Crick's modeling of the DNA structure and Picasso's painting of Guernica-- serve as examples throughout the text * Methods used by psychologists to study the multiple facets of creativity * The "ordinary thinking" or cognitive view of creativity and its challengers * How problem-solving and experience relate to creative thinking * Genius and madness and the relationship between creativity and psychopathology * The possible role of the unconscious in creativity * Psychometrics--testing for creativity and how personality factors affect creativity * Confluence theories that use cognitive, personality, environmental, and other components to describe creativity Clearly and engagingly written by noted creativity expert Robert Weisberg, Creativity: Understanding Innovation in Problem Solving, Science, Invention, and the Arts takes both students and lay readers on an in-depth journey through contemporary cognitive psychology, showing how the discipline understands one of the most fundamental and fascinating human abilities. "This book will be a hit. It fills a large gap in the literature. It is a well-written, scholarly, balanced, and engaging book that will be enjoyed by students and faculty alike." --David Goldstein, University of Toronto