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Outside of the Box: Cultivating Creativity in Gifted Learners Copyright © 2026 Education Service Center Region 11

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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English - 2024Texas State Plan for the Education of Gifted/Talented Students

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English - 2024Texas State Plan for the Education of Gifted/Talented Students

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Spanish - 2024 Texas State Plan for the Eduction of Gifted/Talented Students

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Spanish - 2024 Texas State Plan for the Eduction of Gifted/Talented Students

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Texas G/T Program Implementation Resource

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Texas G/T Program Implementation Resource

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Creativity Update - Creativity Definition Posters

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The Significant Benefits Of Creativity In The Classroom

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Creativity in the classroom is another form of play, and play is universally important to each individual’s sense of joy and well-being.

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RAFTs- Differentiated for Learner Success

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RAFTs- Differentiated for Learner Success

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RAFTs – Differentiated for Learner Success - https://openingpaths.org

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In the previous two articles, we explored RAFTs (Role, Audience, Format, and Topic + Strong Verb) as an instructional strategy, and how to use RAFTs for coaching writers on writing. RAFTs can ignite engagement and context for learning. Planned with forethought, students can explore a need or problem that exists in the world beyond the

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Subscribe to the ESC Region 11 G/T & Advanced Academics Monthly Newsletter

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Subscribe to the ESC Region 11 G/T & Advanced Academics Monthly Newsletter

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Education Service Center Region 11 sent this bulletin at 03/03/2025 08:00 AM CST

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ESC Region 11 GT and Advanced Academics Newsletter - March 2025

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The Father of Creativity: Dr. E. Paul Torrance

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The Father of Creativity: Dr. E. Paul Torrance

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The Father of Creativity: The Life, Legacy, and Lessons of Dr. E. Paul Torrance (1915 - 2003) - National Association for Gifted Children

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Discover the inspiring life and legacy of Dr. E. Paul Torrance, the Father of Creativity, whose groundbreaking work shaped gifted education and creative thinking.

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Creative problem solving: process, techniques, examples

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Why is creative problem-solving so important? You will find out the 7-steps creative problem-solving process and five easy, innovative thinking techniques to use at work.

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CPS is a proven method for approaching a problem or a challenge in an imaginative and innovative way. It helps you redefine the problems and opportunities you face, come up with new, innovative responses and solutions, and then take action.

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This article delves into the interplay between creativity and problem-solving, exploring how educators can nurture creative thinking in students. It examines various characteristics of creatively gifted children and introduces frameworks like the Creative Problem-Solving process.

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Future-Ready Students Gain Lifelong Learning Skills

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Each year 30,000+ K-12 students in 34+ U.S. states and 14 countries participate in a variety of Future Problem Solving challenges.

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Invention Convention

Invention Convention Worldwide Expands Impact in Five New States

Invention Convention

The Henry Ford's Invention Convention Americas Awards Ceremony Spotlights Young Inventors Taking on the World's Greatest Challenges

Invention Convention

Student Inventors Take Home Top Honors at The Henry Ford's Invention Convention U.S. Nationals 2020, Presented by Raytheon Technologies

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Invention Convention | STEM + Invention Education

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Invention Convention introduces students to problem solving and 21st-century skills through hands-on learning activities and exciting events. Learn more.

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Students, parents, and teachers have experienced and remarked on the many benefits of Odyssey of the Mind.

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The official website of Science Olympiad, one of the largest K-12 STEM organizations in the US. Find the latest info on events + competitive tournaments here.

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In DI, teams of students solve open-ended, STEAM-focused challenges and present their solutions at tournaments.

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I believe that the common association of creativity with artistic expression contributes to an undervaluing of creativity in the minds of many parents. When I talk with parents about creativity, they often assume that I'm talking about artistic expression. Because most parents don't put a high priority on how well their children can express themselves artistically, they say that it would be "nice" for their children to be creative, but they don't see it as essential. To sidestep this line of thinking, I often use the phrase "creative thinking" rather than "creativity." When parents hear "creative thinking," they're less likely to focus on artistic expression and more likely to see it as something essential for their children's future.

Myth 2: Only a Small Segment of the Population Is Creative

Some people feel that the words "creative" and "creativity" should be used only when referring to inventions and ideas that are totally new to the world. In this view, winners of Nobel Prizes are creative, and artists whose works are on display at major museums are creative, but not the rest of us.

Researchers who study creativity sometimes refer to this type of creativity as Big-C Creativity. I'm more interested in what researchers call little-c creativity. When you come up with an idea that's useful to you in your everyday life, that's little-c creativity. It doesn't matter if thousands-or millions-of people came up with similar ideas in the past. If the idea is new and useful to you, it's little-c creativity.

The invention of the paper clip was Big-C Creativity; every time someone comes up with a new way to use a paper clip in everyday life, that's little-c creativity.

Sometimes, educators focus too much attention on Big-C Creativity and not enough on little-c creativity. A few years ago, I made a presentation about creativity to a group of educators. In the Q&A session at the end, one educator said that it was very important for us to develop better methods for assessing creativity so that we could identify those students with the greatest capacity to be creative. In my mind, that's exactly the wrong view. Everyone can be (little-c) creative, and we need to help everyone reach their full creative potential.

Myth 3: Creativity Comes in a Flash of Insight

Popular stories about creativity often revolve around an Aha! moment. Archimedes shouted "Eureka!" in the bathtub when he realized that he could calculate the volume of irregularly shaped objects by submerging them in water (and measuring the amount of water displaced). Isaac Newton recognized the universal nature of gravitational force when he was sitting beneath an apple tree-and was hit on the head by a falling apple. August Kekule realized the structure of the benzene ring after daydreaming about a snake eating its tail.

But such Aha! moments, if they exist at all, are just a small part of the creative process. Most scientists, inventors, and artists recognize that creativity is a long-term process. Constantin Brancusi, one of the pioneers of modernist art, wrote: "Being creative is not being hit by a lightning bolt from God. It's having clear intent and passion." Thomas Edison famously said that creativity is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.

But what is the person doing while perspiring? What type of activity precedes the Aha! moment? It's not just a matter of hard work. Creativity grows out of a certain type of hard work, combining curious exploration with playful experimentation and systematic investigation. New ideas and insights might seem like they come in a flash, but they usually happen after many cycles of imagining, creating, playing, sharing, and reflecting-that is, after many iterations through the Creative Learning Spiral.

Myth 4: You Can't Teach Creativity

There's no doubt that babies come into the world full of curiosity. They want to touch, to interact, to explore, to understand. As they grow older, they want to express themselves: to talk, to sing, to draw, to build, to dance.

Some people think that the best way to support children's creativity is to get out of their way: You shouldn't try to teach creativity; just stand back and let children's natural curiosity take over. I have some sympathy with this point of view. It's true that the rigid structures of some schools and some homes can squelch children's curiosity and creativity. I also agree that you can't teach creativity, if teach means giving children a clear set of rules and instructions on how to be creative.

But you can nurture creativity. All children are born with the capacity to be creative, but their creativity won't necessarily develop on its own. It needs to be nurtured, encouraged, supported. The process is like that of a farmer or gardener taking care of plants by creating an environment in which the plants will flourish. Similarly, you can create a learning environment in which creativity will flourish.

So, yes, you can teach creativity, so long as you think about teaching as an organic, interactive process.

This excerpt is adapted from Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating Creativity through Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play by Mitch Resnick, Professor of Learning Research at the MIT Media Lab and the leader of the research group responsible for the Scratch programming platform. Read the whole book for his ideas on preparing students to be "creative learners" in a world that increasingly demands creative problem solving.

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I believe that the common association of creativity with artistic expression contributes to an undervaluing of creativity in the minds of many parents. When I talk with parents about creativity, they often assume that I'm talking about artistic expression.

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RAFT Over ecology and organisms roles in their environment.