Developing Creativity Skills
Beejal Shah
Senior Lecturer in Marketing
The Business School
(b.7.shah@herts.ac.uk)
Discussion Questions
 Why should HE help to develop the creative
potential of students and advance understanding
about the role of creativity in HE?
 How can interest / curiosity in creativity be
stimulated beyond the disciplinary fields that
have traditionally embraced the idea?
 How can tutors examine their own
understandings of creativity in their disciplinary
and curriculum contexts and develop their
practise in ways that will enable students to
experience and develop their own creativity?
LTI Project – Creative Skills Survey
Business School
Department of Marketing & Enterprise
Jan 2012 - present
Project Lead – Beejal Shah
Project Team – Sofie Mallick
Creativity Skills Survey
Objectives
To develop business students’ individual creative
capacity for problem solving, creativity and innovation
skills in teaching and learning
Creativity Skills Survey
Method
Linked with PPP skills sessions for UG Level 4
Marketing degree Students
On-line Questionnaire pre and post survey
 Creativity Guide
 Developing Creativity Skills Lecture – 1 hour
 Interactive Creative Techniques Workshop – 1 hour
Creativity Skills Survey
Questionnaire
Sample Questions
How creative are you?
What is your current level of confidence in your
creative ability?
Do you think you have greater potential to be
creative?
How important do you think it is to be creative in
your studies?
How enthusiastic do you feel about the opportunity
to develop your creative potential?
What opportunities would you like to develop your
creative potential in your studies?
Creativity Skills Survey
Four Creative Thinking Techniques
Mind Mapping
Random Word Association
De Bono’s Six Hats
Visualisation
Creativity Skills Survey
Creativity Guide
Mind Mapping
www.buzan.com.au
Creativity Skills Survey
Creativity Guide
Mind Mapping
1. Set your purpose/goal.
2. Start in the CENTRE of blank paper turned sideways.
3. Quickly sketch an IMAGE of your focus in the centre.
4. Use at least 3 COLOURS, for
emphasis, structure, texture, creativity
5. Draw curved lines, radiating from centre (thick to
thin) CONNECTING main branches to central image & at
each level.
6. Use 1 key word or image per line for more power and
flexibility in thinking.
7. Use images throughout as a picture paints a 1,000
words.
Creativity Skills Survey
Developing Creativity Skills Lecture
“Creativity – Involving the use of the imagination or original
ideas in order to create something”
Oxford English Dictionary
Creativity Skills Survey
Developing Creativity Skills Lecture
Maximise the Power of Your Brain –
Tony Buzan MIND MAPPING
Youtube.com
Creativity Skills Survey
Creative Skills Workshop
Mind Mapping
Write creativity in the middle of the paper and mind
map what it means to you
Creativity Skills Survey
Evaluation
Currently
Data collection and analysis
Preliminary findings reveal improved appreciation of
individual creative potential
Creativity Skills Survey
How creative are you?
50
45
42.9
40.7
40.7
40
35
32.7
30
Pre
% 25
Post
20
15
10
12.2
12.2
9.9
7.7
5
1.1
0
0
Extremely creative
Very creative
Moderately creative
Slightly creative
Not at all creative
Sample: 91pre; 49 post
Creativity Skills Survey
Confidence in creative ability
60
54.9
50
42.9
40
32.7
Pre
% 30
Post
19.8
20
16.5
14.3
8.2
10
5.5
3.3
2
0
Extremely high
Very high
Moderately high
Slightly high
Not at all high
Sample: 91pre; 49 post
Creativity Skills Survey
Do you think you have greater
potential to be creative?
120
100
100
95.6
80
Yes
% 60
No
40
20
0
Pre
Post
Sample: 91pre; 49 post
Creativity Skills Survey
Evaluation
What opportunities would you like to develop your
creative potential in your studies?
To put my
ideas into
action
Having fun games,
listening to music,
drawing pictures
To have more
workshops on
creative
techniques
More
lectures on
creativity
Studies being
more involved
in creativity
To have
more
creative
assignments
Creativity Skills Survey
Next Steps
Complete data collection
Complete evaluation
Future
Proposed longitudinal study - level 5 and level 6
students over next 2 years
Interactive creativity guides in collaboration with ASU
Discussion group with academics on developing an
imaginative curriculum
Discussion Questions
 Why should HE help to develop the creative
potential of students and advance understanding
about the role of creativity in HE?
 How can interest / curiosity in creativity be
stimulated beyond the disciplinary fields that
have traditionally embraced the idea
 How can tutors examine their own
understandings of creativity in their disciplinary
and curriculum contexts and develop their
practise in ways that will enable students to
experience and develop their own creativity?
Discussion
Convergent  Divergent Thinking
Sciences -----------> Social Sciences ----------------->Arts
Analytical Mode
Associative Mode
Adapted from Furnham et al, 2011 and Williamson, 2011
Quote
Discussion
“The formulation of a problem is far more often
essential than it’s solution, which may merely be a
matter of mathematical or experimental skills. To raise
new questions, new possibilities, to regard old
problems from a new angle requires creative
imagination and marks real advances in science”
Albert Einstein in Jackson et al, 2006
Adams. D.J, Hugh-Jones. S, Sutherland. E, 2010, ‘Raising Awareness of Individual
Adams. D.J, Grimshaw.P and Paxton.S, 2006, Creativity in Biosciences.
www.fbs.leeds.ac.uk/creativity (accessed 1 March 2012)
Creative Potential Bioscientists Using a Web-site Based Approach’,
http://www.bioscience.heaacademy.ac.uk/journal/vol15/beej-15-5.pdf
References
Burleson. W, 2005, ‘Developing Creativity, motivation and self actualization with
learning systems’, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 63 ,436-451
Furnham. A, Batey.M, Booth.T.W, Patel.V, Lozinskaya.D, 2011, ‘Individual different
predictors of creativity in Art and Science’, Thinking Skills and Creativity, 6, 114-121
Jackson. N, 2005, ‘Making higher education a more creative place’ 2005, Journal
for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching 2, 1, 14-25
Jackson.N, Oliver.M, Shaw.M and Wisdom.J, 2006, Developing Creativity in Higher
Education: An imaginative curriculum, Routledge
Sawyer. K.R, 2012, Second Edition, The Science of Human Innovation - Explaining
Creativity, Oxford
Williamson.P.K, 2011, ‘The creative problem solving skills of arts and science
students – The two cultures revisited’, Thinking Skills and Creativity, 6, 31-43
On-line Resources
References
www.buzan.com.au
www.commarts.com
www.creatingminds.org
www.mindtools.com
www.youtube.com