Curriculum & Instruction Faculty Publications

Document Type

Article

Keywords

Problem Solving; Creativity; Invention; Creative Process; Product Evaluation

Journal/Book/Conference Title Title

Creative Education

Volume

4

Issue

9

First Page

592

Last Page

604

Abstract

Detailed documentations of creative invention are scarce in the professional literature, but could be useful to those engaging in or studying the problem solving process. This investigation describes the creative process of graduate students (7 female, 4 male) in a problem-solving theory and practice course grappling with the task of creating products from four identical recyclable items that were circular, star-impressed bottoms of plastic juice bottles. Several popular models of the problem-solving process are compared to the participants’ steps in this invention problem. Participants first provided emotional reactions to the given ill-defined problem of making a product from the specified items. They used several techniques to generate ideas and to restrict or define the problem, choosing an optimal product that fits their require-ments. An analysis of participants’ reflections concerning their creative process showed that although participants first found the problem challenging and could not conceptualize effective products, the idea-generating activities assisted them in making a wide variety of useful products. Participants’ knowledge and skill areas were highlighted by their choices of products. After completing and presenting a first product, participants engaged in additional activities to generate ideas for a second product. The second product was either an improvement of the first product, a new but related product, or a product inspired by the work of others in the class. Products of this loosely defined problem included: maracas, dish, spin top, candy suckers, closet organizers, party decorations, yoyo, ladybug, wall décor, flowers, catch game, party hat, candle holders, moth life cycle, catapult game, toy clock, goblets, castanets, accessory organizer, and spice shaker.

Department

Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Comments

First published in Creative Education, v. 4 n. 9 (2013), pp. 592-604,10.4236/ce.2013.49085, published by Scientific Research Publishing.

Original Publication Date

2013

DOI of published version

10.4236/ce.2013.49085

Repository

UNI ScholarWorks, University of Northern Iowa, Rod Library

Copyright

© 2013 Caralee K. Doak, Stacey M. Jambura, Jason A. Knittel, and Audrey C. Rule. The copyright holder has granted permission for posting.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Date Digital

2013

Language

EN

File Format

application/pdf

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