Should have two post( one own original post(350 words, and one response post to other classmate. 150 words)

Do you think creativity can be trained/taught – or are people just naturally creative or not (and there is nothing that can be done to change this)? If you do think creativity can be trained/taught – what kind of activities or lessons might improve creativity? Or how can the workplace be structured to induce higher levels of creativity? Have you noticed at situations or times in your life when your own levels of creativity were either better than usual (enhanced) or worse than usual (stifled)? If so, what do you think was affecting your creativity (either for better or worse)?

videos:

A) An article about creative leadership written by Zacko-Smith et al. (at SUNY Buffalo): http://www.academia.edu/395725/Creative_Leadership_Welcome_to_the_21st_Century (Links to an external site.)

B) A 20-minute TED talk about creativity by Elizabeth Gilbert (the author of “Eat, Pray, Love”):Your elusive creative genius | Elizabeth Gilbert

C) An article related to the training of creativity by Birdi (2007) entitled, “A lighthouse in the desert? Evaluating the effects of creativity training on employee innovation.”

Classmate A’ s post:

This question is extremely interesting to me. While I absolutely acknowledge that some individuals are more creative than others I had never thought about “teaching” someone to be creative. The dictionary definition of creative is “relating to or involving the imagination or original ideas.” I do believe that the human brain is incredible and can be taught to do almost anything if addressed properly. This definition makes me feel that teaching creativity is however NOT POSSIBLE. In the definition, it talks about an individuals “original ideas.” In the instance that someone has to teach another to be creative means that they are introducing this person to predetermined ideas. The more that this person learns about becoming creative the less likely they are to become truly independently creative. An example of this would be if I wanted to throw a party with a really cool and unique theme. During my time brain storming I realize that I have no good ideas for this parties theme, so I decide to go onto Pinterest to look for some inspiration. While I am on there, I find this great party idea to have everyone dress up like an object that begins with the first letter of their name. I send out the invitations advertising the part and its theme as my own. After reflecting on the party I am excited at the great idea and what a success it will be. The End. This story is great but there is only one problem, it was not my idea and not an act of creativity. This is exactly what would happen in the case that a company hires a less creative individual in hopes of making them more creative.

Classmate B reply to classmate A:

Hi A,

Your thoughts in response to the question posed was really interesting to me. I agree with you that some individuals are more creative than others. There are definitely people out there that are just more naturally creative and always have great ideas somehow. However, I also feel that people can actually be “taught” to be more creative, at least to an extent. I do not necessarily believe that teaching creativity means introducing a person to predetermined ideas. Instead, I think it would involve honing the skills to “think outside the box”- teaching people to think more abstractly and giving examples. For example, telling someone that instead of thinking of this cardboard box as just a container that holds items, be creative and think of what other things this box can be used for (use it as a stepping stool, cut down the material and use it as a poster, etc).

Classmate C’ s post: ( you should reply to this one)

First of all, I think people have innate creativity, which is why some artists are called “artistic talent”. Although there is no innate condition, creativity can still be trained/taught. The research of creativity emerged in the 1950s. Guilford, the president of the American Psychological Association, called on researchers to pay attention to a very important but long-novered field-creativity. With the continuous deepening of related research, researchers have gradually discovered that creativity is not only a fixed quality, but also an ability that can be taught, learned, and improved.

From my point of view, creativity can be improved in many special environments and occasions. In the workplace, factors external to the individual can be seen as tools to promote creativity. Mainly the influence of the social environment, such as team, leadership, external motivation and rewards, organizational structure, organizational culture, social network, etc. Such factors indirectly affect creativity mainly through factors that affect the individual. At this time, creativity is no longer regarded as a personal talent. Keep under the basic rules, give employees basic autonomy, don’t have too many rigid rules, and give employees many ways to adjust and rest, these can motivate employees to do their work better, and even think of solutions to problems while chatting.

 

In my life, I have encountered changes in creativity due to the external environment. Before high school, I studied in China. Chinese education focuses on taking exams instead of letting students develop thinking skills. Therefore, creativity was suppressed in this environment. Until I came to the United States, I made many new friends and knew how to complete papers and group assignments in American academics. I discovered the importance of creativity.I think it is the democratic environment that affects my creativity. The open environment helps to activate creativity from an early age, express one’s thoughts and opinions freely and fairly, an atmosphere of self-confidence and calmness but not afraid of difficulties, easy for creativity to take root.