Creative Thinking as a skill
Back to all Stages
Task
Prior to proceeding to specific steps of designing life scenarios, adolescents should understand the main skill of the whole toolkit – creative thinking. It is important not only to be familiar with the theory, but to feel directly , experience and understand creative thinking through practical activities. The task of adults is to create a maximally free environment for youth to express themselves, to lead less, to be present more, not to give instructions, but to answer questions or come up with guiding questions.
By completing this step, you should be able to:
Good to know
Dr. James C. Kaufman and Dr. Ronald Beghetto have identified four developmental levels of creativity: Mini C, Little C, Pro C and Big C.
Mini-C – at this stage people are driven by curiosity, playfulness and a desire to experiment. These are processes that need to be encouraged especially during adolescence, when cognitive abilities are developing intensively. Adults at this stage, in turn, can develop (learn or relearn) the skill of creative thinking, changing habits and behavior patterns. Small-C – at this stage a person envisages the deliberate generation of new ideas for the solution of existing problem situations. Critical thinking, multidisciplinary approach and the ability to evaluate multiple scenarios are important at this stage. PROF- C and BIG-C level will be achieved with dedicated work and requires a certain level of expertise. Most people use the first two levels on a daily basis, not only for generating ideas, but for more diverse expression of emotions, strengthening their positive personality traits, forming new habits, as well as to promote self-confidence in various life situations (Kaufman & Beghetto, 2009).
Tools
The first step is focused on understanding the concepts. As adolescents are encouraged to actively engage in discussions, role-plays and sharing personal experiences, various scenarios and situations can be played out where creative thinking can be shown in its practical form. Topics covered in this step:
The time spent for each activity depends on the specifics of the situation. It is strongly advised not to change the order of the tools. If you have to choose only one of the questions, we recommend N# 3 “Creative thinking in everyday life”. A brief insight into the concept of creative thinking will bring additional value.