Recent nursing literature has repeatedly proclaimed the need for creativity in nursing. The complexity of contemporary nursing practice as a result of the explosion of knowledge and technology, changing human values and diverse health care systems, requires an innovative and creative nurse who can adapt to change and provide holistic, individualised, context-specific patient care. Higher levels of cognitive thought, creative thinking and problem-solving skills have been stressed as desirable qualities of student nurses. It is suggested in the literature that the evolution of innovative strategies and the ways to implement them into nursing curricula be explored in order to assist and encourage students to develop these higher cognitive skills. From an analytical study of the literature which was undertaken with the aim of exploring the nature of creativity and the processes involved in creative thinking and learning, and of identifying innovative strategies particularly relevant to the teaching of nursing, it became apparent that the most significant determinants in teaching for creativity, are the learning enviromnent, the educator-student relationship, and the provision of a variety of teaching strategies, which are student-centred with a problem-solving focus. It was established that stimulation of both the left and right hemispheres of the brain is essential for the development of creative thinking skills. Based on the insights and knowledge gained in the study, a nursing education model for the fostering of creativity was developed. This model encompasses a wide variety of didactic considerations and is designed to stimulate whole brain learning. It is hoped that its use will be of value in the production of innovative and courageous nurse practitioners who will be better equipped to cope with the changes and challenges of their working environment and be able to provide context-specific nursing care. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Nursing Science)

Social learning has given us insight into how children learn actions from others across different domains (e.g., actions on objects, pretend play, and tool use). However, little research exists to confirm whether young children can generate their own novel actions. Three different settings were chosen to offer a varied investigation of children’s ability to generate novel actions: generating multiple actions with novel objects; generating iconic gestures in order to communicate; and generating pretend actions using object substitution. Generating multiple actions with novel objects: The Unusual Box test was developed to investigate children’s ability to generate multiple actions with novel objects (Chapter 2). The Unusual Box test involves children playing with a wooden box that contains many different features (e.g., rings, stairs, strings), and five novel objects. The number of different actions performed on the box and with the objects (i.e., fluency) was used as a measure of their individual learning. Positive correlations between the fluency scores of 24 3- and 4-year-olds on the Unusual Box test and two existing measures of divergent thinking were found. Divergent thinking relates to the ability to think of multiple answers based on one premise. Furthermore, a large range of fluency scores indicated individual differences in children’s ability to generate multiple actions with novel objects. In addition, 16 2-year-olds were assessed on the Unusual Box test, twice two weeks apart, to investigate test-retest reliability and the possibility that the Unusual Box test could be used with children younger than 3 years. A strong positive correlation between the scores on the two assessments showed high test-retest reliability, while individual differences in fluency scores and the absence of a floor effect indicated that the Unusual Box test was usable in children from 2 years of age. Generating iconic gestures in order to communicate: Children’s ability to generate iconic gestures in order to communicate was assessed using a game to request stickers from an experimenter (N = 20, Chapter 3). In order to get a sticker children had to communicate to the experimenter which out of two objects they wanted (only one object had a sticker attached to it). Children’s use of speech or pointing was ineffective; therefore only generating an iconic gesture was sufficient to retrieve the sticker. Children generated a correct iconic gesture on 71% of the trials. These findings indicate that children generate their own iconic gestures in order to communicate; and that they understand the representational nature of iconic gestures, and use this in their own generation of iconic gestures. Generating pretend actions using object substitution: In order to determine whether children are able to generate their own object substitution actions and understand the representational nature of these actions, 45 3- and 4-year-olds were familiarized with the goal of a task through modelling actions. Children distinguished between the intentions of an experimenter to pretend, or try and perform a correct action. Children mainly imitated the pretend actions, while correcting the trying actions. Next, children were presented with objects for which they had to generate their own object substitution actions without being shown a model. When children had previously been shown pretend actions, children generated their own object substitution actions. This indicates that children generate their own object substitution actions, and that they understand the representational nature of these actions. An additional study with 34 3-year-olds, revealed no significant correlations between divergent thinking, inhibitory control, or children’s object substitution in a free play setting, and children’s ability to generate object substitution actions in the experimental setting.

<p>The aim of this study was to investigate the use of the &quot / Stories for thinking&quot / learning materials in one intermediate phase classroom in the Western Cape. The &quot / Stories for thinking&quot / project resulted from the Western Cape Education Department project, Cognition in Curriculum 2005. This project explored the potential role the cognitive education movement could play in accomplishing the goals of the Curriculum, especially the critical outcomes. The aim of the project was to investigate a range of strategies primary school educators could use to develop cognitive abilities.</p>

This thesis deals with the so called "positive aspects" of dyslexia, specifically enhanced creativity in dyslexics. It has recently become common to associate dyslexia not only with its symptoms and deficits, but also to emphasize its possible gains. Anecdotal evidence refers to enhanced creativity and more specific abilities of individuals with dyslexia. Based on the results of foreign studies that suggest a relationship between dyslexia and increased creativity, this research study was carried out in the environment of Czech secondary schools. The research group consisted of 67 adolescents with dyslexia and 67 intact counterparts at the age range from 17 to 20 years (including 108 boys and 26 girls). The data were obtained via figural Torrance Test of Creative Thinking. We then compared levels obtained within experimental and comparison groups in three specific fields - originality, elaboration and provision of non-standard and unusual responses. This was to lead to confirmation (or refusal) of a presumption that dyslexics show significantly higher scores in all three areas. Although the overall results of the research did not demonstrate a significant difference between the groups, we observed a trend indicating a higher score in dyslexics in all the defined areas. Results of our research study...

This qualitative case study examined the impact of an arts integrated international collaboration on elementary school students’ creativity when the students were communicating and creating exclusively through a technological third space. Two organizations, one in the U.S. and one in Mexico, served as the sites for the case study. Five findings emerged from the study relating to the nature of creativity and two findings related to the impact on students’ creativity when engaged in arts-integrated international collaboration. The findings for the first question were: 1. Students and teaching artists view creativity as a process that is reflexive and engaging, 2. When reflecting on their work, students and teaching artists see creativity as an interplay of ideas and are open to and capable of modifying their ideas to achieve creative results, 3. Creative work is relative to the individual and is directly correlated to both originality and effort, 4. Students and teaching artists value creativity as a means for both self-expression and communication, 5. A collaborative environment sets the stage for creative behavior in terms of inviting feedback, providing constructive criticism, and sharing ideas. For the second question relating to impact, the two findings were: 1. Teaching and learning in the third space becomes a recursive process, and 2. Students work in new modes of communication in order to bridge cultures. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Previous research suggests that writer’s block can have multiple causes and occur at any part of the writing process (Boice, 1985; Flaherty, 2015; Kaufman & Kaufman, 2013). A survey was distributed to a sample of 146 writers with experience in a variety of fiction and nonfiction genres. Research objectives concerning the causes and characteristics of writer’s block were investigated using mixed-method, qualitative and quantitative analyses. Effective solutions provided by writers were presented and described. Blocks with physiological and motivational components were the most frequently reported in general and were found to interfere with the composition process more than the creative process. Writers who wrote daily reported shorter periods of writer’s block than those with less consistent writing habits. These findings suggest that there may be an association between components of blocking and cognitive processes associated with specific parts of the writing process.

為落實「善用資訊科技、共享數位資源、激發創意思考」之教育理念，本研究分別以採用具備社群互動與資源傳遞功能之社群平台PasteWall的實驗組，以及採用一般實體面對面學習互動模式的對照組，進行創造思考學習活動，以探究社群平台是否有助於提昇學習者創造思考與聚斂評估能力，也進一步分析在電腦中介溝通的學習環境中，同儕資源分享與想法回應情形，是否優於傳統體面對面學習互動。研究結果歸納如下： 一、實體面對面互動的對照組同儕互動程度高於使用PasteWall社群平台之實驗組，但兩者的資源分享量無顯著差異；實驗組訊息回應量顯著高於互動密切的對照組，顯示應用社群平台有助於促進學習資源的傳遞與分享。 二、使用PasteWall社群平台進行互動的實驗組學習者，分享互動後的流暢力與獨創力表現顯著高於對照組學習者；實驗組低創造傾向的學習者在變通力與獨創力表現上顯著優於對照組低創造傾向學習者；研究結果支持PasteWall社群平台有助於提升實驗組與低創造傾向學習者部分擴散思考表現。 三、實驗組獲得正向評價的想法被發表之百分比明顯高於獲得中間評價想法；對 照組獲得正向評價的想法被發表的百分比明顯高於獲得中間及負向評價的 想法；顯示同儕評價向度與學習者的想法發表具有部分關聯。 四、實驗組學習者在創造思考學習任務的成效表現，顯著優於對照組學習者。 此外，根據本研究教學實驗結果，提出以下教學實務建議： 一、教師可應用學習社群平台規劃團體腦力激盪的合作式學習，激發學習者的擴散思考能力。 二、教師應適當應用電腦中介溝通的特點，協助不同特質的學生發展其創造思考關鍵能力。 三、同儕回饋對學習者分享學習成果的意願有一定程度影響，教師可適時應用學 習社群平台提供虛擬互動的學習環境，提升學習者向同儕分享想法的動機。 / In order to fulfill the educational philosophy of Using Information Technology Optimally, Sharing Digital Resources and Activating Creative Thinking, this study used two groups to implement creative thinking and learning activities, including a experimental group, which adopted the community platform of PasteWall with the function of community interaction and resource transfer, and a control group respectively, which adopted usual learning mode of physical face-to-face interaction. If the community platform is helpful to upgrade the learners’ creative thinking and convergent evaluation abilities was explored. Furthermore, if the resources sharing and thought responding among peers in the learning environment with computer-mediated communication are better than that with traditional face-to-face learning interaction was analyzed. The results of the study are summarized as below: 1. The interactive level among peers in the control group with physical face-to-face interaction is higher than that in the experimental group adopting the community platform of PasteWall. However, the volumes of resources sharing between two groups have no significant difference. The volume of response to thought in the experimental group is significantly higher than that in the control group with closer interaction, which indicates that the community platform benefits the improvement of resources transfer and share. 2. For the learners in the experimental group utilizing the community platform of PasteWall to interact, the performance of fluency and originality after interaction is significantly higher than that in the control group. Learners with low creative tendency in the experimental group perform significantly better in flexibility and originality than the learners in the control group with low creative tendency. The results of the study indicated that the community platform of PasteWall was helpful to upgrade the performance of divergent thinking for learners with low creative tendency in the experimental group. 3. The percentage of thought with positive evaluation which is posted in the experimental group is obviously higher than that with intermediate evaluation. For the control group, the percentage of thought with positive evaluation which is posted is also obviously higher than that with intermediate and negative evaluation. It indicates that the evaluation dimension of peers has some correlation with the posting of the learners’ thought. 4. Learners in the experimental group have achieved better performance in the learning tasks with creative thinking than those in the control group. In addition, suggestions are put forward for teaching practice on the basis of the results of the study: 1. Teachers should utilize learning community platform to plan group brainstorming cooperative learning and activate learners’ divergent thinking ability. 2. Teachers should properly utilize the characteristics of computer-mediated communication to assist students with different personalities to develop the critical ability of creative thinking. 3. The responses from peers have some impact on learners’ willingness to share the achivements of learning. Teachers can timely apply learning community platform to provide virtual interactive learning environment and upgrade the motivation of learners to share their thoughts with peers.

<p>The aim of this study was to investigate the use of the &quot / Stories for thinking&quot / learning materials in one intermediate phase classroom in the Western Cape. The &quot / Stories for thinking&quot / project resulted from the Western Cape Education Department project, Cognition in Curriculum 2005. This project explored the potential role the cognitive education movement could play in accomplishing the goals of the Curriculum, especially the critical outcomes. The aim of the project was to investigate a range of strategies primary school educators could use to develop cognitive abilities.</p>

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The thesis presents the critical analysis of the work Thinking in Education by M. Lipman It deals with the problemc of fostering thinking through education. It explains the reasons of the relevance of the dialoque ability, critical thinking and also use of the creative and caring thinking. Also it explains that the thinking skills should be the effect of the education not only as a preparation for a life in the democratic society. The thesis summarize the views of it's critics.