Creative Thinking

Creative Thinking

My initial expectations for this course were high. Being a part of creativity, innovation, and design course brought a lot of excitement and optimism, as I looked forward to putting my creative skills to use, work with my classmates as a team and learn how to best solve problems. I like coming up with new creative ideas to solve my everyday issues. So this course presented me with the opportunity to explore my innovative nature for the betterment of my problem-solving skills. However, as the class began, I realized it was not just about coming up with smart ways of solving problems, but dealing with issues from a  broader perspective like in an organization or in my community. I have learned to correctly define creativity, design, and innovation. Learning the factors that influence creativity from an individual perspective and from a team, has made me reflect on the things surrounding me that positively or negatively impact my creative process. As there are several external influences, I have learned to pick what is necessary and helpful, minding the ethical conduct that guides innovation, creativity, and design. Before, I did not take into consideration the ethical standards that need to be followed, but now I can efficiently work through the creative process without going against any of the ethics set. This course has helped me separate creative thinking, design thinking, and innovative thinking.

Upon reflection on these lessons, I notice my knowledge and understanding of creativity has expanded, providing me with more root and comprehension, to better solve problems in life. I am confident that now I can creatively and innovatively solve a problem in any capacity, whether individually, as a team or in an organization. Therefore, this course has expanded my skills, surpassing my expectations, and caused me to think bigger even in my personal life.

The generation of an original and useful idea is called creativity. To solve problems, creativity is often used as it usually comes with newer methods that have not been used before. Thinking creatively to solve a problem occurs in two critical ways, convergent thinking, and divergent thinking. The former involves coming up with a solid idea or solution to a problem (Dewhurst et al., 2011, pp.73-76) In contrast, the latter consists of coming up with several options to solve a particular problem, not placing bias on any of the methods (Runco, 2010, p.446). In many instances, divergent thinking is first used to come up with many ideas; then, convergent thinking follows to narrow down depending on suitability and practicality to come up with one concrete resolution. Through this, I was able to learn different approaches to solving a problem. Before, I would just think randomly, coming up with a solid answer, sometimes gauging between my options on which is the best. This course has helped me realize the effectiveness of each method and how best to apply them in life. As I was reflecting, I remembered a time when I was deciding which career path to follow. I remember having several options, with each being an exciting career choice. However, as I took my time with it, I made a list of what interested me in each course, and what did not. After a while, my list was complete and was able to narrow down what I really wanted. Now when I look back, I realize that I have combined both divergent and convergent thinking methods to come to a decision. I  know now that these can be used to find a solution to a problem that does not require urgency. I now understand that these methods allow for a more in-depth analysis of the situation (Maharani and Sukestiyarno ,2017, pp.177-184), tackling all the possible actions, and finally settling on the most suitable one. I am now confident in which approaches to take when faced with different kinds of problems in life.

The process of coming up with a creative idea as a team occurs in four stages; preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification. A team is a group of people who share the same objective and work towards achieving this objective at shared accountability of the outcome. During the process of generating ideas in a team, comprehension of the problem in question is essential. This involves doing research to find more information on the topic. The next step is taking time to reflect on the issue, not directly actively thinking about it.  The team comes up with several ideas on how to approach the problem. Then a useful purpose is born, shedding light on the possibility of finding a solution. The last step is thinking further creatively, to come up with a detailed composition of the idea and how it will be implemented (Wong and Siu, 2012, pp.437-450). This is such a helpful guide into the creative process, as I felt capable of solving any problem when working with any team. This was more exciting for me because I always thought to be a diplomat required high-end problem-solving skills. Looking back at it, I realized that this was all possible using this method. I also got to understand that several factors influence the creativity of a team. Team diversity, a supportive culture, approaches taken to solving team problems, and the creativity of the leadership are all aspects that determine the creativity of a team. Upon reflection, I realized that any capable team would be able to solve any problem and that any negative influence from these aspects is what would cause any shortcomings on the productivity of the group. This topic helped me gain more confidence in my problem-solving skills as I comprehended the tactics used to solve any problem, whether working individually or as a team.

On one summer vacation, I went to stay with my sister, who lived in a different town from where my parents lived. As the holiday was long, I sought to look for a part-time job so that I could find enough money to buy a new camera. As I began looking, one of my sister’s friends referred me to a lady that was looking for someone who could offer proofreading services. I was excited as I got to use my active reading skills and earn from it. After speaking to the lady, she said the job was only for three days, and thus did not require much training and preparation. However, the job location was in a nearby town, somewhere I had not been to before. That did not bother me as my sister had offered to take me there. Before the day I’d start working, I prepared myself accordingly and even did some proofreading exercises online, just to be extra prepared. On a Tuesday, the day before I was to go to work, my sister’s car broke down, meaning that she would have to take public transport to work, and for my dismay, would not be able to take me to work. I panicked as I did not know what to do. As I sat there contemplating what to do, I considered not going to work. However, I really wanted a new camera, so I started formulating a plan to get to work. I began researching the company and its location, the probable means of transport. On the D-day, I woke up earlier than planned, got ready, and used public means to get to work. I ended up getting lost somewhere along the way but asked directions from a security officer. I finally managed to get to work in a new city, just a few minutes late. The next two days to work were so fun that my sister wondered how I was able to navigate through living in a new town and working in a new city, even if it was just for three days!

 

 

Bibliography

Wong, Y.L. and Siu, K.W.M., 2012. A model of creative design process for fostering creativity of students in design education. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 22(4), pp.437-450.

Meinel, C. and Leifer, L., 2012. Design thinking research. In Design thinking research (pp. 1-11). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.

Runco, M.A., 2010. Divergent thinking, creativity, and ideation. The Cambridge handbook of creativity, 413, p.446.

Dewhurst, S.A., Thorley, C., Hammond, E.R. and Ormerod, T.C., 2011. Convergent, but not divergent, thinking predicts susceptibility to associative memory illusions. Personality and Individual Differences, 51(1), pp.73-76.

Maharani, H.R., Sukestiyarno, S. and Waluya, B., 2017. Creative thinking process based on wallas model in solving mathematics problem. International Journal on Emerging Mathematics Education, 1(2), pp.177-184.