What is Creativity?
Creativity and Divergent Thinking:
Perhaps the most important thing for teachers
and students to realize is that everyone
possesses a certain amount of creativity.
CREATIVITY
 the ability to produce something novel,
something with the stamp of uniqueness
upon it.
 a way of thinking and acting or making
something that is original for the
individual and valued by that person or
others.
 ‘’Torrence define creativity as a process
of becoming sensitive to problems,
deficiencies, gaps of knowledge,
missing elements, and so on, identifying
the difficulties, search for solutions,
formulating hypothesis about the
deficiencies, testing and retesting
hypothesis and possibly modifying and
retesting them and finally
communicating results.
 Ability to produce something new
through imaginative skill, whether a new
solution to a problem, a new method or
device, or a new artistic object or form.
The term generally refers to a richness
of ideas and originality of thinking.
 Creativity begins in a person’s mind. It
usually results in some form of
expression that can be seen, heard,
smelled, tasted, and felt.
Evaluation of definition of creativity
 The person who creates.
 Mental processes asserting within the
person who creates.
 Cultural and environmental factors
working on the creator.
 Products of creativity, i.e. poems,
painting, theories and inventions.
Conclusion of Definitions
Creativity is the ability or capacity of a person to
discover and explore new areas to create or
produce a new idea, theory or object including
the rearrangement or re shaping of what already
exist.
According to Guilford in 1959, creative thinking
means divergent thinking and uncreative
thinking means convergent thinking.
Creativity and Intelligence:
J.P. Gulford clearly distinguish between
intellectual operation of ‘divergent thinking’
(creative process) and convergent thinking’
(which represents intelligence). Every intelligent
person may not be creative but a very high
percentage of the creative people posses
intelligence to a high degree
Creativity and Age:
 Creativity starts from childhood. Reach
to highest peak at thirty year of age.
 Start decline slowly afterward.
 Factors that retard creativity: social,
emotional, physical.
Creativity and Mental Age:
Guilford talks of the following mental
abilities:
 Fluency, (the ability to produce large
ideas).
 Flexibility ( the ability to produce a
variety of ideas or approaches)
 Originality (the ability to produce on
common responses)
 Redefinition ( the ability to define or
perceive in a way different from the
usual)
 Sensitivity to problem (the ability to
evaluate implications).
Creativity process:
 creative process is any process which
produces something new—an object or
an idea including a new form or
arrangement of old elements.
 The new creation must contribute to be
solution of some problem.
 Torrance thinks that the process of
creativity is similar to the steps in
scientific method. The central element is
the production of something new. 
What does CREATIVITY bring us?
Students-
They enjoy creativity and benefit from it
because they are able to express themselves
openly. They also want to bring out new ideas
and have new experiences. Specifically they…
- Learn to feel good about themselves.
- Learn to seek many answers to a
problem.
- Develop their potential to think.
- Develop their individuality.
- Develop new skills.
- Experience the joy of being different.
TEACHERS-
Teachers also benefit from encouraging
creativity, in such ways as:
- Able to provide for more and greater
variety in the program.
- Learn to recognize students for their
unique skills.
- Have fewer behavior problems.
- Use a minimum of standardized
curricula and external evaluation.
- Retain creativity as part of our daily
routines.
Strategies in Teaching
- Brainstorming
- Games
- Integrating Technology
- Role Play
- Classes outside the classroom
- Music
- Storytelling
- Arts
CREATIVITY
It is something that we cannot give or not be
able to develop among our students if we,
ourselves, do not recognize our own creativity as
teachers.
Importance of Creativity
 Creativity is the freest form of self-
expression.
 There is nothing more satisfying and
fulfilling for children than to be able to
express themselves openly and without
judgment.
 The ability to be creative, to create
something from personal feelings and
experiences, can reflect and nurture
children's emotional health.
 The experiences children have during
their first years of life can significantly
enhance the development of their
creativity.
Importance of the Creative Process
 All children need to be truly creative is
the freedom to commit themselves
completely to the effort and make
whatever activity they are doing their
own. What is important in any creative
act is the process of self-expression.
 Creative experiences can help children
express and cope with their feelings.
 A child's creative activity can help
teachers to learn more about what the
child may be thinking or feeling.
Creativity also fosters mental growth in
children by providing opportunities for
trying out new ideas, and new ways of
thinking and problem-solving.
 Creative activities help acknowledge
and celebrate children's uniqueness and
diversity as well as offer excellent
opportunities to personalize our teaching
and focus on each child.
Opportunities for Creativity
 Children need plenty of opportunities for
creative play and creative thinking. Start
by providing activities that are based on
 the children's interests and ideas. This
means learning how to listen intently to
what children are saying.   their development.
 It is very helpful to tape record and
transcribe children's conversations as
well as take notes and review them with
your co-teachers.  Independence and control are important
 Be sure to offer children a wide range of
creative materials and experiences.
Being creative is more than drawing or
painting.
 There's also photography, music, field
trips, working with wire, clay, paper,
wood, water or shadows. The
possibilities are endless.
 It is important to provide children lots of
time to explore materials and pursue
their ideas.
 This includes time to think about how to
plan, design, construct, experiment and
revise project ideas. Don't forget to build
in time to talk these ideas over with
other people - both teachers and
children.
Varieties of Experience
 Look for ways to provide multi-ethnic,
multi-cultural and other community
experiences for children. Activities such
as field trips, celebrating holidays and
activities with other ethnic groups, and
encouraging children to bring visitors to
school enhances the creative process.
 The more varied experiences children
have in their lives, the wider the range of
creative expression. The more personal
experiences children have with people
and situations outside of their own
environment, the more material they can
draw on to incorporate in their play. Our
challenge is to try not to be intimidated
by the variety and diversity of artistic
expression in our classroom.
Fostering the Creative Process
 Encouraging children to make their own
choices is important. Children should be
permitted frequent opportunities - and
lots of time - to experience and explore
expressive materials. Put your emphasis
on the process of creativity and not on
the finished product. What children learn
and discover about themselves is vital to
 Show your support for the creative
process by appreciating and offering
support for children's efforts.
components in the creative process.
This is especially true when working with
children with disabilities.
Creative Play
 One of the most important types of
creative activity for young children is
creative play. Creative play is expressed
when children use familiar materials in a
new or unusual way, and when children
engage in role-playing and imaginative
play. Nothing reinforces the creative
spirit and nourishes a child's soul more
than
 providing large blocks of time to engage
in spontaneous, self-directed play
throughout the day. Play is the serious
business of young children and the
opportunity to play freely is vital to their
healthy development.
Five reasons why creativity is important
for kids
The development of children’s brains is
very important and creativity plays an essential
role in this. Here are five reasons why creativity
is so vital for children.
Create Self-Confidence
Making something with your own hands will
enhance your self-confidence. As a child, when
you see someone reacting in a positive way to
something you have made, it gives you a very
satisfying feeling, it makes you proud. If you take
the time to frame children’s work and hang it up
in a prominent place, it shows them that their
work has value and is appreciated
Problem solving abilities
Kids that draw and paint with enthusiasm often
get spontaneous ideas. As they work on their
project they learn how to make choices and
combinations. They learn how to make solutions
for problems. They learn skills like ‘thinking out
of the box’ and self-reliance.
Improving fine motor skills
By drawing and painting with different sorts of
materials, children improve their fine motor skills.
A child that has learnt how to hold a pencil at a
young age will develop his or her fine motor
skills more quickly. By practising skills like
cutting, tearing, moulding clay etc, fine motor
skills are developed from an early age. These
are skills that are also useful in everyday life, like
eating with knife and fork, tying shoe laces and
writing.
Concentration and Focus
Originality
Children develop and learn how to concentrate
and focus. When children work in a calm and
peaceful environment they can focus on the task
at hand. The more often they practice working
like this, the longer they will be able to
concentrate. It will help and train them to focus
for longer periods of time.
Fun
But most of all the fun and pleasure they have
Elaboration
drawing and painting is important. Children are
expected to perform well in society and this can
be stressful. Self-expression, experimenting and
making mistakes! That is how children learn and
discover. Being a child makes us all happy.
Four components of creativity as
described by Psychologist Ellis P. Torrance
 Theories of creativity
Fluency
VYGOTSKY THEORY OF CREATIVITY
 Fluency is the ability to produce a
number of different ideas. To promote
fluency provide children with plenty of
opportunities that stimulate the thought
process.
 Ask open ended questions and
questions that ask the child’s opinion.
Encourage the child to explore and
experiment and this will enhance
cognitive growth.
Flexibility
 Flexibility is the ability to approach
different situations and develop
solutions from a number of different
perspectives.
 Foster flexibility by allowing plenty of
opportunities to explore and experiment.
Allowing children to experiment and
make mistakes unleashes their creative
thinking and a sense of wonder.
 They feel free to imagine, invent, create,
and try out new ways to do things.
 Asking questions during an activity or
when a problem arises such as “how is
another way we could do this or solve
it?” encourages children to think outside
of the box.
 Originality is the ability to have a new
or novel idea. To promote originality,
provide a variety of supplies and
experiences in which children can use
their imagination and create.
 By painting or constructing something
out of play dough they are creating
something out of nothing.
 Elaboration is the ability to extend
ideas. Give children new ways of doing
old ideas and activities. For instance,
providing pipe cleaner and other items
to stick into play dough would allow
children to elaborate in their play.
 Lev Vygotsky believe that creativity
arises from any human activity that
produces something new.
 Creative acts could produce anything
from physical objects to a music score to
a new mental construct
 Creativity is therefore present when
major artistic, scientific and technical
discoveries are made. It is also existent
whenever an individual alters, combines,
images or makes something new
  Vygotsky believed that creativity is
something that exists in all people,
including very young children.
 Imagination was also considered to be
an integral part of creativity through its
ability to support the production of new
combinations of pre-constructed things.
 He believed that the creative process is
deeply interconnected to both lived and
imagined experience. The richer an
experience, the more likely the event is
to fuel creative acts  or method use to generate creative
 “…the more a child sees, hears, and
experiences, the more he knows and
assimilates, the more elements of reality
he will have in his experience, and the
more productive will be the operation of
his imagination” (Vygotsky, 1930:15).
GUILFORD’S THEORY OF CREATIVITY
 Originally, J.P. Guilford was trying to
create a model for intellect as a whole,
but in doing so also created a model for
creativity.
 Guilford hypothesized that every mental
task was made up of three separate
parts: an operation, a content, and a
product.  
 Guilford identified one specific operation
as "divergent production" and marked it
as being a vital component of creativity.
Guilford’s Structure of Intellect Model and
Model of Creativity
Guilford made an important assumption for
creative research; creativity isn't one abstract
concept. He explained that creativity was a
result of having:
1. Sensitivity to problems, or the ability to
recognize problems.  step in dealing with open problems is
2. Fluency, which encompasses
             a. Ideational fluency
b. Associational fluency
c. Expressional fluency
3. Flexibility, which encompasses 
           a.Spontaneous flexibility,
                         b. Adaptive flexibility
In creativity, Guilford differentiate convergent
thinking in divergent thinking:
 Convergent thinking- the ability to give
the correct answer to standard
questions that do not require significant
creativity
 Divergent thinking- a thought, process
ideas by exploring many possible
solutions.
-Spontaneous and free flowing
-Uses imagination.
UNSWORTH’S THEORY OF CREATIVITY
 Kerrie Unsworth proposed that there
was more than just raw intelligence that
influenced the creative process.  
 Unsworth argues that context was just
as important of a factor of creativity as
cognitive ability was.  
 Specifically, Unsworth looked two
aspects of context:  The problem type
and motivation.  Unsworth broke down
each of these ideas into two categories
to better explain each context affects the
creative process. 
Kerrie Unsworth's "Unpacking Creativity"
 In differentiating the type of problem,
Unsworth separated cases based on
whether or not a given problem was
known.  Where closed problems are
instances when a problem is clearly
defined, open problem must be
discovered and searched for.  The first
that one needs to discover what the
problem is before they can fix it.  
 Regarding motivation, Unsworth
differentiated types of motivation based
off of what the source of the driving
action was.  This means that the
 motivation could either be internally or
externally driven.  that the creative potentials of children
Four ARCH-TYPES OF CREATIVITY
 Responsive creativity
 Expected creativity
 Contributory creativity
 Proactive creativity
The Personality Connection
Apart from intelligence and context, there is one
other leading theory to explain the components
of creativity: The personality factor.  While being
closely related to cognitive ability, personality is
another internal factor that affects the creative
process.  This theory breaks down how
personality effects creativity into four options:
 Mini-c creativity - "discovers new
things"
 Little-C:  Creativity that can be seen in
your everyday life, but these are usually
small little opportunities to adapt and
change to fit a situation.
 
 Pro-C creativity - professional level
status, capable on working on problems,
projects and ideas that affects as a
whole.
 Big-C:  Significant change that affects
how others think, feel, and live their
lives              IN CREATIVITY
Categories of Theories in Creativity According
to:
• Aaron Kozbelt
• Ronald A. Begheuo
• Mark A. Runco
DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES
 Developmental theories of creativity are
among the most practical.
 Not only do they help us to understand
the roots of creativity, as suggested by
the background of unambiguously
creative persons, but they also often
suggest how to design environments so
will be fulfilled.
 Thus, developmental views mainly
emphasize the person, place and
potential aspects of creativity and range
from mini-c to Pro-c.
PSYCHOMETRIC THEORIES
• Psychometric theories are not
constructed to describe the
developmental background of creative
individuals, nor their thinking patterns or
traits or motives.
• Emphasize product over the other P’s
and they range from little-c to Big-C
Creativity.
• Concerned among other things, with the
reliability and validity of assessment,
which are issues in all scientific work on
creativity.
STAGE AND COMPONENTIAL PROCESS
THEORIES
• Creativity is purposeful, not accidental
• Creativity is a process, not an event
• Creative expression proceeds through a
series of stages or components
GRAHAM WALLA’S STAGES OF THEORIES
• It begins with a preparation stage-
where the individual gathers information
and defines a problem
• Incubation- the conscious and the
unconscious mind manipulate the
problem
• Illumination - At this point, a solution or
idea suddenly makes itself known.
Importantly, although the insight may
seem like an "a-hal" moment and may
feel like a very sudden inspiration
• Verification- the final stage which at
this point, the individual tests the idea or
applies the solution.
COGNITIVE THEORIES
• Cognitive theories emphasize the
creative process and person: process, in
emphasizing the role of cognitive
mechanisms as a basis for creative
thought; and person in considering
individual differences in such
mechanisms
• Cognitive theories of creativity are quite
varied.
• Some focus on universal capacities like
attention or memory; others focus on
individual differences
• Some focus on conscious operation
• Some suggest that creativity is a kind of
problem solving
THEORIES BASED ON PROBLEM SOLVING
AND EXPERTISE
• This perspective is largely a theory of
the creative person and the creative
process:
• Person, in emphasizing domain specific
expertise as a necessary condition for
significant creative achievements; and
• Process, in emphasizing how traditional
cognitive psychological concepts like
problem representations and heuristic
search through problem spaces explain
how people generate creative solutions
to problems.
• Like the creative cognition approach, the
problem-solving/expertise view explicitly
argues that creative thought ultimately
stems from mundane cognitive
processes
PROBLEM-FINDING THEORIES
• Problem finding is another influential
view of creativity
• The problem-finding view holds that the
traditional problem-solving view is
inadequate to explain how creators
come to realize that a problem exists in
the first place, and how they are
motivated to proactively bring their
subjective experience to understand the
problem.
• Problem finding is widely regarded as
independent of problem solving, and it is
mainly a theory of the creative process;
it can also be seen as a theory of the
creative person, assuming that
something like the propensity for
identifying interesting problems
represents a stable personality variable.
ARTS
Etymology
 The term Art is related to the Latin word
“ars” meaning, art, skill, or craft.
 The definition of art is open, subjective
and debatable
What is ART According to Famous thinkers
through History:
Plato
 Art as “mimesis” which means, in greek,
means copying or imitation.
19th Century and the rise of Romanticism
 The expression of the artist’s emotions.
 Tolstoy’s ‘Art is a human activity,
consisting in this, that one person
consciously, by certain external signs,
conveys to other’s feelings he has
experienced and other people are
affected by these feelings and live them
over in themselves.’
 Art is a powerful means of
communicating.
Leonardo da Vinci “Art is the queen of all
sciences communicating knowledge to all
generations of the world.”
Martin Heidegger “Art is capable of revealing
someone else’s world and producing a shared
understanding.”
Nietzsche “ Art is essentially the affirmation, the
blessing, and the deification of existence.”
Meaning of ARTS according to:
Cambridge Dictionary
 The making, showing or performance of
painting, acting, dancing, music, etc
Collins
• The creation of works of beauty or other
special significance.
• The product of humankind’s creative
activities.
Oxford
• The expression or application of human
creative skill and imagination, typically
in a visual form such as painting or
sculpture, producing works to be
appreciated primarily their beauty or
emotional power.
Merriam – Webster
• Skill acquired by experience, study or
observation.
What’s Art for Young Children?
 Their artwork is just one of many ways
in which they conjure with their fears,
their aspirations, and their imaginings.
Young children have a strong need to
tell their stories. The urge to narrate that
is so evident in our children’s
conversation—yes, they are a talkative
bunch—will be expressed in their written
work in the coming years.
 Children’s artwork flows forth from and
gives form to the emerging sense of self.
That is to say, the children’s work is
deeply personal.
 Art is a sensory exploration activity.
They enjoy the feeling of a crayon
moving across paper and seeing a blob
of colored paint grow larger.
 It is a needed outlet for children whose
vocabulary, written or verbal, may be
limited (de la Roche, 1996). This early
use of symbols in artwork is very
important because it provides a
foundation for children's later use of
words to symbolize objects and actions
in formal writing.
 Remember, it’s the process of creating
art that young children learn from, not
the end product. So no matter how
tempting, never criticize or judge your
toddler’s artwork.
The Importance of Art in Child
Development
Developmental Benefits of Art
Motor Skills
 Language Development
 Decision Making
 Visual Learning
 Inventiveness
 Cultural Awareness
 Improved Academic
In the Philippines, arts is often regarded as
something that is unproductive. Something that
is not a priority, right? Especially when you are
an artist who is pursuing art as a profession. We
need to know that art is not just painting,
sculpture, calligraphy– it is not about the tangible
things. Because art is something that is
subjective. And that is why it is important to be
introduced to children as young as they are. For
it does not only cultivate someone’s imagination,
but also their flexibility, their inventiveness, and
their cognitive, emotional physical capabilities.
As future teachers, we should always give the
children a chance to engage in the creative arts,
and support them for it will provide the
foundation for their later success in life.
Early Childhood and Middle
Childhood/Art Standards Statements
Standard I: Goals of Art Education
• Accomplished art teachers know,
understand, and implement ambitious
goals of art education for themselves
and their students.
Standard II: Knowledge of Students as
Learners
• Accomplished art teachers demonstrate
an understanding of the development of
 students in relationship to their art • Accomplished art teachers understand
learning. the design, principles, and purposes of
assessment; they regularly monitor,
Standard III: Equity and Diversity analyze, and evaluate student progress,
• Accomplished art teachers are their own teaching, and their programs.
committed to the celebration of diversity,
practice equity and fairness, and use the
multicultural content of art to promote
opportunities to learn tolerance and
acceptance of others.

Standard IV: Content of Art

Accomplished art teachers demonstrate a

comprehensive understanding of the essential
knowledge, concepts, skills, and processes that
compose the content of art

Standard V: Curriculum and Instruction

• Accomplished visual arts teachers use

their knowledge of art and students to
organize, design, and deliver curriculum
and instruction to help students make,
study, and respond to works of art.

Standard VI: Instructional Resources and

Technology

• Accomplished art teachers create,

select, and adapt a variety of resources,
materials, and technologies that support
students as they learn in and through
the visual arts.

Standard VII: Learning Environments

• Accomplished art teachers establish

environments where individuals, art
content, and inquiry are held in high
regard and where students can actively
learn and create.

Standard VIII: Collaboration with Families,

Schools, and Communities

• Accomplished art teachers work with

colleagues, families, and community
groups to achieve common goals for the
education of students, to improve
schools, and to advance the knowledge
and practice of art education.

Standard IX: Assessment, Evaluation, and

Reflection on Teaching and Learning