an essay on creative thinking and problem solving

• Business Essentials
• Leadership & Management
• Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business (CLIMB)
• Entrepreneurship & Innovation
• Digital Transformation
• Finance & Accounting
• Business in Society
• For Organizations
• Support Portal
• Media Coverage
• Founding Donors
• Leadership Team

• Harvard Business School →
• HBS Online →
• Business Insights →

Business Insights

Harvard Business School Online's Business Insights Blog provides the career insights you need to achieve your goals and gain confidence in your business skills.

• Career Development
• Communication
• Decision-Making
• Earning Your MBA
• Negotiation
• News & Events
• Productivity
• Staff Spotlight
• Student Profiles
• Work-Life Balance
• AI Essentials for Business
• Alternative Investments
• Business Analytics
• Business Strategy
• Business and Climate Change
• Design Thinking and Innovation
• Digital Marketing Strategy
• Disruptive Strategy
• Economics for Managers
• Entrepreneurship Essentials
• Financial Accounting
• Global Business
• Launching Tech Ventures
• Leadership Principles
• Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability
• Leading Change and Organizational Renewal
• Leading with Finance
• Management Essentials
• Negotiation Mastery
• Organizational Leadership
• Power and Influence for Positive Impact
• Strategy Execution
• Sustainable Business Strategy
• Sustainable Investing
• Winning with Digital Platforms

What Is Creative Problem-Solving & Why Is It Important?

• 01 Feb 2022

One of the biggest hindrances to innovation is complacency—it can be more comfortable to do what you know than venture into the unknown. Business leaders can overcome this barrier by mobilizing creative team members and providing space to innovate.

There are several tools you can use to encourage creativity in the workplace. Creative problem-solving is one of them, which facilitates the development of innovative solutions to difficult problems.

Here’s an overview of creative problem-solving and why it’s important in business.

Access your free e-book today.

What Is Creative Problem-Solving?

Research is necessary when solving a problem. But there are situations where a problem’s specific cause is difficult to pinpoint. This can occur when there’s not enough time to narrow down the problem’s source or there are differing opinions about its root cause.

In such cases, you can use creative problem-solving , which allows you to explore potential solutions regardless of whether a problem has been defined.

Creative problem-solving is less structured than other innovation processes and encourages exploring open-ended solutions. It also focuses on developing new perspectives and fostering creativity in the workplace . Its benefits include:

• Finding creative solutions to complex problems : User research can insufficiently illustrate a situation’s complexity. While other innovation processes rely on this information, creative problem-solving can yield solutions without it.
• Adapting to change : Business is constantly changing, and business leaders need to adapt. Creative problem-solving helps overcome unforeseen challenges and find solutions to unconventional problems.
• Fueling innovation and growth : In addition to solutions, creative problem-solving can spark innovative ideas that drive company growth. These ideas can lead to new product lines, services, or a modified operations structure that improves efficiency.

Creative problem-solving is traditionally based on the following key principles :

1. Balance Divergent and Convergent Thinking

Creative problem-solving uses two primary tools to find solutions: divergence and convergence. Divergence generates ideas in response to a problem, while convergence narrows them down to a shortlist. It balances these two practices and turns ideas into concrete solutions.

2. Reframe Problems as Questions

By framing problems as questions, you shift from focusing on obstacles to solutions. This provides the freedom to brainstorm potential ideas.

3. Defer Judgment of Ideas

When brainstorming, it can be natural to reject or accept ideas right away. Yet, immediate judgments interfere with the idea generation process. Even ideas that seem implausible can turn into outstanding innovations upon further exploration and development.

4. Focus on "Yes, And" Instead of "No, But"

Using negative words like "no" discourages creative thinking. Instead, use positive language to build and maintain an environment that fosters the development of creative and innovative ideas.

Creative Problem-Solving and Design Thinking

Whereas creative problem-solving facilitates developing innovative ideas through a less structured workflow, design thinking takes a far more organized approach.

Design thinking is a human-centered, solutions-based process that fosters the ideation and development of solutions. In the online course Design Thinking and Innovation , Harvard Business School Dean Srikant Datar leverages a four-phase framework to explain design thinking.

The four stages are:

• Clarify: The clarification stage allows you to empathize with the user and identify problems. Observations and insights are informed by thorough research. Findings are then reframed as problem statements or questions.
• Ideate: Ideation is the process of coming up with innovative ideas. The divergence of ideas involved with creative problem-solving is a major focus.
• Develop: In the development stage, ideas evolve into experiments and tests. Ideas converge and are explored through prototyping and open critique.
• Implement: Implementation involves continuing to test and experiment to refine the solution and encourage its adoption.

Creative problem-solving primarily operates in the ideate phase of design thinking but can be applied to others. This is because design thinking is an iterative process that moves between the stages as ideas are generated and pursued. This is normal and encouraged, as innovation requires exploring multiple ideas.

Creative Problem-Solving Tools

While there are many useful tools in the creative problem-solving process, here are three you should know:

Creating a Problem Story

One way to innovate is by creating a story about a problem to understand how it affects users and what solutions best fit their needs. Here are the steps you need to take to use this tool properly.

1. Identify a UDP

Create a problem story to identify the undesired phenomena (UDP). For example, consider a company that produces printers that overheat. In this case, the UDP is "our printers overheat."

2. Move Forward in Time

To move forward in time, ask: “Why is this a problem?” For example, minor damage could be one result of the machines overheating. In more extreme cases, printers may catch fire. Don't be afraid to create multiple problem stories if you think of more than one UDP.

3. Move Backward in Time

To move backward in time, ask: “What caused this UDP?” If you can't identify the root problem, think about what typically causes the UDP to occur. For the overheating printers, overuse could be a cause.

Following the three-step framework above helps illustrate a clear problem story:

• The printer is overused.
• The printer overheats.
• The printer breaks down.

You can extend the problem story in either direction if you think of additional cause-and-effect relationships.

4. Break the Chains

By this point, you’ll have multiple UDP storylines. Take two that are similar and focus on breaking the chains connecting them. This can be accomplished through inversion or neutralization.

• Inversion: Inversion changes the relationship between two UDPs so the cause is the same but the effect is the opposite. For example, if the UDP is "the more X happens, the more likely Y is to happen," inversion changes the equation to "the more X happens, the less likely Y is to happen." Using the printer example, inversion would consider: "What if the more a printer is used, the less likely it’s going to overheat?" Innovation requires an open mind. Just because a solution initially seems unlikely doesn't mean it can't be pursued further or spark additional ideas.
• Neutralization: Neutralization completely eliminates the cause-and-effect relationship between X and Y. This changes the above equation to "the more or less X happens has no effect on Y." In the case of the printers, neutralization would rephrase the relationship to "the more or less a printer is used has no effect on whether it overheats."

Even if creating a problem story doesn't provide a solution, it can offer useful context to users’ problems and additional ideas to be explored. Given that divergence is one of the fundamental practices of creative problem-solving, it’s a good idea to incorporate it into each tool you use.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a tool that can be highly effective when guided by the iterative qualities of the design thinking process. It involves openly discussing and debating ideas and topics in a group setting. This facilitates idea generation and exploration as different team members consider the same concept from multiple perspectives.

Hosting brainstorming sessions can result in problems, such as groupthink or social loafing. To combat this, leverage a three-step brainstorming method involving divergence and convergence :

• Have each group member come up with as many ideas as possible and write them down to ensure the brainstorming session is productive.
• Continue the divergence of ideas by collectively sharing and exploring each idea as a group. The goal is to create a setting where new ideas are inspired by open discussion.
• Begin the convergence of ideas by narrowing them down to a few explorable options. There’s no "right number of ideas." Don't be afraid to consider exploring all of them, as long as you have the resources to do so.

Alternate Worlds

The alternate worlds tool is an empathetic approach to creative problem-solving. It encourages you to consider how someone in another world would approach your situation.

For example, if you’re concerned that the printers you produce overheat and catch fire, consider how a different industry would approach the problem. How would an automotive expert solve it? How would a firefighter?

Be creative as you consider and research alternate worlds. The purpose is not to nail down a solution right away but to continue the ideation process through diverging and exploring ideas.

Continue Developing Your Skills

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, marketer, or business leader, learning the ropes of design thinking can be an effective way to build your skills and foster creativity and innovation in any setting.

If you're ready to develop your design thinking and creative problem-solving skills, explore Design Thinking and Innovation , one of our online entrepreneurship and innovation courses. If you aren't sure which course is the right fit, download our free course flowchart to determine which best aligns with your goals.

About the Author

What are your chances of acceptance?

Calculate for all schools, your chance of acceptance.

Your chancing factors

Extracurriculars.

How to Write the “Creative Side” UC Essay

This article was written based on the information and opinions presented by Vinay Bhaskara in a CollegeVine livestream. You can watch the full livestream for more info. 

What’s Covered:

Creativity in a non-creative pursuit, innovation in context, avoiding a cliche essay.

The second University of California system essay prompt asks: 

Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem-solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.

A lot of students can be scared away from this prompt. Many people, when seeing the word “creative,” automatically think of something artistic, such as theater, visual arts, or music. If those pursuits don’t apply to you, you may be intimidated by this prompt.

However, almost everyone should be able to write a response to this essay prompt, because everyone has something about them that is unique and interesting – something they do or think that makes them different from everyone around them. This prompt gives you the opportunity to talk about what makes you unique in a completely random context. 

One of the most powerful ways to approach this essay is to write about how you’ve used creativity in a non-creative pursuit. This is an opportunity to think a little outside the box with how you define creativity. 

You can write about a creative pursuit as something that you find yourself getting lost in. This doesn’t necessarily have to be an artistic pursuit; it can be any subject you enjoy, such as economics, science, or physics. Writing about getting into a creative flow when you’re doing something you love can make for a powerful narrative essay. You can also examine creativity in the context of problem-solving, taking the reader through how your brain works.

In writing a college essay, you are usually telling an admissions officer some combination of three things: what matters to you, how you think about the world, and how you approach situations, both mentally and emotionally. This essay prompt is a great way to open up about how your mind works.

Something about this prompt that often trips people up is the phrase “innovative thinking.” What exactly are they asking for? The best way to define this is innovation in the specific context in which you’re operating. 

Nobody’s expecting you to have come up with a new economics theorem or engineering postulate. Rather, this essay asks how you might approach a problem or idea differently than the people around you. You don’t need to be innovative on a global scale. You can absolutely be innovative in the context of a class, a club, or your family, to name a few examples.

Talking about family is actually an underrated response to this prompt. If you have a difference in mindset from your parents, siblings, or extended family, that can become a great essay. If you decide to write about this, make sure you’re drawing the contrast between what you’d consider a conventional approach compared to an unconventional approach. 

Another powerful version of this essay is one that subverts the expectations of the admissions officers. They expect to read about creativity in a positive context: an innovative idea leads to a positive outcome, such as a sports team working better together or a family changing their behavior. But a very powerful essay can also come from writing about an experience where you took a creative approach and it didn’t work out.

This is a great way to avoid a cliche essay. Consider the story you’re telling in your essay. Pretend you’re describing it to someone, and that when you’re 80% through, they ask, “What happens next?” Whatever the expected answer is, write the opposite. Writing about a creative approach that failed breaks the cliche and makes for a compelling read.

Where to Get Your UC “Creative Side” Essay Edited

Do you want feedback on your UC “Creative Side” essay? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

Finally, if you want  more information on how to write responses for the other UC essays, consider reading this breakdown of each personal insight question on CollegeVine’s blog !

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

Part Two: You are the President and CEO of You

Thinking Critically and Creatively

Dr. andrew robert baker.

Critical and creative thinking skills are perhaps the most fundamental skills involved in making judgments and solving problems. They are some of the most important skills I have ever developed. I use them everyday and continue to work to improve them both.

The ability to think critically about a matter—to analyze a question, situation, or problem down to its most basic parts—is what helps us evaluate the accuracy and truthfulness of statements, claims, and information we read and hear. It is the sharp knife that, when honed, separates fact from fiction, honesty from lies, and the accurate from the misleading. We all use this skill to one degree or another almost every day. For example, we use critical thinking every day as we consider the latest consumer products and why one particular product is the best among its peers. Is it a quality product because a celebrity endorses it? Because a lot of other people may have used it? Because it is made by one company versus another? Or perhaps because it is made in one country or another? These are questions representative of critical thinking.

The academic setting demands more of us in terms of critical thinking than everyday life. It demands that we evaluate information and analyze a myriad of issues. It is the environment where our critical thinking skills can be the difference between success and failure. In this environment we must consider information in an analytical, critical manner. We must ask questions—What is the source of this information? Is this source an expert one and what makes it so? Are there multiple perspectives to consider on an issue? Do multiple sources agree or disagree on an issue? Does quality research substantiate information or opinion? Do I have any personal biases that may affect my consideration of this information? It is only through purposeful, frequent, intentional questioning such as this that we can sharpen our critical thinking skills and improve as students, learners, and researchers. Developing my critical thinking skills over a twenty year period as a student in higher education enabled me to complete a quantitative dissertation, including analyzing research and completing statistical analysis, and earning my Ph.D. in 2014.

While critical thinking analyzes information and roots out the true nature and facets of problems, it is creative thinking that drives progress forward when it comes to solving these problems. Exceptional creative thinkers are people that invent new solutions to existing problems that do not rely on past or current solutions. They are the ones who invent solution C when everyone else is still arguing between A and B. Creative thinking skills involve using strategies to clear the mind so that our thoughts and ideas can transcend the current limitations of a problem and allow us to see beyond barriers that prevent new solutions from being found.

Brainstorming is the simplest example of intentional creative thinking that most people have tried at least once. With the quick generation of many ideas at once we can block-out our brain’s natural tendency to limit our solution-generating abilities so we can access and combine many possible solutions/thoughts and invent new ones. It is sort of like sprinting through a race’s finish line only to find there is new track on the other side and we can keep going, if we choose. As with critical thinking, higher education both demands creative thinking from us and is the perfect place to practice and develop the skill. Everything from word problems in a math class, to opinion or persuasive speeches and papers, call upon our creative thinking skills to generate new solutions and perspectives in response to our professor’s demands. Creative thinking skills ask questions such as—What if? Why not? What else is out there? Can I combine perspectives/solutions? What is something no one else has brought-up? What is being forgotten/ignored? What about ______? It is the opening of doors and options that follows problem-identification.

Consider an assignment that required you to compare two different authors on the topic of education and select and defend one as better. Now add to this scenario that your professor clearly prefers one author over the other. While critical thinking can get you as far as identifying the similarities and differences between these authors and evaluating their merits, it is creative thinking that you must use if you wish to challenge your professor’s opinion and invent new perspectives on the authors that have not previously been considered.

So, what can we do to develop our critical and creative thinking skills? Although many students may dislike it, group work is an excellent way to develop our thinking skills. Many times I have heard from students their disdain for working in groups based on scheduling, varied levels of commitment to the group or project, and personality conflicts too, of course. True—it’s not always easy, but that is why it is so effective. When we work collaboratively on a project or problem we bring many brains to bear on a subject. These different brains will naturally develop varied ways of solving or explaining problems and examining information. To the observant individual we see that this places us in a constant state of back and forth critical/creative thinking modes.

For example, in group work we are simultaneously analyzing information and generating solutions on our own, while challenging other’s analyses/ideas and responding to challenges to our own analyses/ideas. This is part of why students tend to avoid group work—it challenges us as thinkers and forces us to analyze others while defending ourselves, which is not something we are used to or comfortable with as most of our educational experiences involve solo work. Your professors know this—that’s why we assign it—to help you grow as students, learners, and thinkers!

Foundations of Academic Success: Words of Wisdom Copyright © 2015 by Thomas Priester is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

How it works

For Business

Join Mind Tools

Article • 10 min read

Creative Problem Solving

Finding innovative solutions to challenges.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

Imagine that you're vacuuming your house in a hurry because you've got friends coming over. Frustratingly, you're working hard but you're not getting very far. You kneel down, open up the vacuum cleaner, and pull out the bag. In a cloud of dust, you realize that it's full... again. Coughing, you empty it and wonder why vacuum cleaners with bags still exist!

James Dyson, inventor and founder of Dyson® vacuum cleaners, had exactly the same problem, and he used creative problem solving to find the answer. While many companies focused on developing a better vacuum cleaner filter, he realized that he had to think differently and find a more creative solution. So, he devised a revolutionary way to separate the dirt from the air, and invented the world's first bagless vacuum cleaner. [1]

Creative problem solving (CPS) is a way of solving problems or identifying opportunities when conventional thinking has failed. It encourages you to find fresh perspectives and come up with innovative solutions, so that you can formulate a plan to overcome obstacles and reach your goals.

In this article, we'll explore what CPS is, and we'll look at its key principles. We'll also provide a model that you can use to generate creative solutions.

About Creative Problem Solving

Alex Osborn, founder of the Creative Education Foundation, first developed creative problem solving in the 1940s, along with the term "brainstorming." And, together with Sid Parnes, he developed the Osborn-Parnes Creative Problem Solving Process. Despite its age, this model remains a valuable approach to problem solving. [2]

The early Osborn-Parnes model inspired a number of other tools. One of these is the 2011 CPS Learner's Model, also from the Creative Education Foundation, developed by Dr Gerard J. Puccio, Marie Mance, and co-workers. In this article, we'll use this modern four-step model to explore how you can use CPS to generate innovative, effective solutions.

Why Use Creative Problem Solving?

Dealing with obstacles and challenges is a regular part of working life, and overcoming them isn't always easy. To improve your products, services, communications, and interpersonal skills, and for you and your organization to excel, you need to encourage creative thinking and find innovative solutions that work.

CPS asks you to separate your "divergent" and "convergent" thinking as a way to do this. Divergent thinking is the process of generating lots of potential solutions and possibilities, otherwise known as brainstorming. And convergent thinking involves evaluating those options and choosing the most promising one. Often, we use a combination of the two to develop new ideas or solutions. However, using them simultaneously can result in unbalanced or biased decisions, and can stifle idea generation.

For more on divergent and convergent thinking, and for a useful diagram, see the book "Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making." [3]

Core Principles of Creative Problem Solving

CPS has four core principles. Let's explore each one in more detail:

• Divergent and convergent thinking must be balanced. The key to creativity is learning how to identify and balance divergent and convergent thinking (done separately), and knowing when to practice each one.
• Ask problems as questions. When you rephrase problems and challenges as open-ended questions with multiple possibilities, it's easier to come up with solutions. Asking these types of questions generates lots of rich information, while asking closed questions tends to elicit short answers, such as confirmations or disagreements. Problem statements tend to generate limited responses, or none at all.
• Defer or suspend judgment. As Alex Osborn learned from his work on brainstorming, judging solutions early on tends to shut down idea generation. Instead, there's an appropriate and necessary time to judge ideas during the convergence stage.
• Focus on "Yes, and," rather than "No, but." Language matters when you're generating information and ideas. "Yes, and" encourages people to expand their thoughts, which is necessary during certain stages of CPS. Using the word "but" – preceded by "yes" or "no" – ends conversation, and often negates what's come before it.

How to Use the Tool

Let's explore how you can use each of the four steps of the CPS Learner's Model (shown in figure 1, below) to generate innovative ideas and solutions.

Figure 1 – CPS Learner's Model

Explore the Vision

Identify your goal, desire or challenge. This is a crucial first step because it's easy to assume, incorrectly, that you know what the problem is. However, you may have missed something or have failed to understand the issue fully, and defining your objective can provide clarity. Read our article, 5 Whys , for more on getting to the root of a problem quickly.

Gather Data

Once you've identified and understood the problem, you can collect information about it and develop a clear understanding of it. Make a note of details such as who and what is involved, all the relevant facts, and everyone's feelings and opinions.

Formulate Questions

When you've increased your awareness of the challenge or problem you've identified, ask questions that will generate solutions. Think about the obstacles you might face and the opportunities they could present.

Explore Ideas

Generate ideas that answer the challenge questions you identified in step 1. It can be tempting to consider solutions that you've tried before, as our minds tend to return to habitual thinking patterns that stop us from producing new ideas. However, this is a chance to use your creativity .

Brainstorming and Mind Maps are great ways to explore ideas during this divergent stage of CPS. And our articles, Encouraging Team Creativity , Problem Solving , Rolestorming , Hurson's Productive Thinking Model , and The Four-Step Innovation Process , can also help boost your creativity.

See our Brainstorming resources within our Creativity section for more on this.

Formulate Solutions

This is the convergent stage of CPS, where you begin to focus on evaluating all of your possible options and come up with solutions. Analyze whether potential solutions meet your needs and criteria, and decide whether you can implement them successfully. Next, consider how you can strengthen them and determine which ones are the best "fit." Our articles, Critical Thinking and ORAPAPA , are useful here.

4. Implement

Formulate a plan.

Once you've chosen the best solution, it's time to develop a plan of action. Start by identifying resources and actions that will allow you to implement your chosen solution. Next, communicate your plan and make sure that everyone involved understands and accepts it.

There have been many adaptations of CPS since its inception, because nobody owns the idea.

For example, Scott Isaksen and Donald Treffinger formed The Creative Problem Solving Group Inc . and the Center for Creative Learning , and their model has evolved over many versions. Blair Miller, Jonathan Vehar and Roger L. Firestien also created their own version, and Dr Gerard J. Puccio, Mary C. Murdock, and Marie Mance developed CPS: The Thinking Skills Model. [4] Tim Hurson created The Productive Thinking Model , and Paul Reali developed CPS: Competencies Model. [5]

Sid Parnes continued to adapt the CPS model by adding concepts such as imagery and visualization , and he founded the Creative Studies Project to teach CPS. For more information on the evolution and development of the CPS process, see Creative Problem Solving Version 6.1 by Donald J. Treffinger, Scott G. Isaksen, and K. Brian Dorval. [6]

Creative Problem Solving (CPS) Infographic

See our infographic on Creative Problem Solving .

Creative problem solving (CPS) is a way of using your creativity to develop new ideas and solutions to problems. The process is based on separating divergent and convergent thinking styles, so that you can focus your mind on creating at the first stage, and then evaluating at the second stage.

There have been many adaptations of the original Osborn-Parnes model, but they all involve a clear structure of identifying the problem, generating new ideas, evaluating the options, and then formulating a plan for successful implementation.

[1] Entrepreneur (2012). James Dyson on Using Failure to Drive Success [online]. Available here . [Accessed May 27, 2022.]

[2] Creative Education Foundation (2015). The CPS Process [online]. Available here . [Accessed May 26, 2022.]

[3] Kaner, S. et al. (2014). 'Facilitator′s Guide to Participatory Decision–Making,' San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

[4] Puccio, G., Mance, M., and Murdock, M. (2011). 'Creative Leadership: Skils That Drive Change' (2nd Ed.), Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

[5] OmniSkills (2013). Creative Problem Solving [online]. Available here . [Accessed May 26, 2022].

[6] Treffinger, G., Isaksen, S., and Dorval, B. (2010). Creative Problem Solving (CPS Version 6.1). Center for Creative Learning, Inc. & Creative Problem Solving Group, Inc. Available here .

You've accessed 1 of your 2 free resources.

Get unlimited access

Discover more content

4 logical fallacies.

Avoid Common Types of Faulty Reasoning

Everyday Cybersecurity

Keep Your Data Safe

Add comment

Comments (0)

Be the first to comment!

Sign-up to our newsletter

Subscribing to the Mind Tools newsletter will keep you up-to-date with our latest updates and newest resources.

Subscribe now

Business Skills

Personal Development

Leadership and Management

Member Extras

Most Popular

Latest Updates

Pain Points Podcast - Presentations Pt 2

NEW! Pain Points - How Do I Decide?

Mind Tools Store

About Mind Tools Content

Discover something new today

Finding the Best Mix in Training Methods

Using Mediation To Resolve Conflict

Resolving conflicts peacefully with mediation

How Emotionally Intelligent Are You?

Boosting Your People Skills

Self-Assessment

What's Your Leadership Style?

Learn About the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Way You Like to Lead

Recommended for you

What are the halt risk states.

Understanding the Risks of Working on Empty

Business Operations and Process Management

Strategy Tools

Customer Service

Business Ethics and Values

Handling Information and Data

Project Management

Knowledge Management

Self-Development and Goal Setting

Time Management

Presentation Skills

Learning Skills

Career Skills

Communication Skills

Negotiation, Persuasion and Influence

Working With Others

Difficult Conversations

Creativity Tools

Self-Management

Work-Life Balance

Stress Management and Wellbeing

Coaching and Mentoring

Change Management

Team Management

Managing Conflict

Delegation and Empowerment

Performance Management

Leadership Skills

Developing Your Team

Talent Management

Problem Solving

Decision Making

Member Podcast

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

Problem Solving Essays: Overview

Questions to consider:

• How can determining the best approach to solve a problem help you generate solutions?
• Why do thinkers create multiple solutions to problems?
• How do writers translate these approaches and solutions into writing?

When we’re solving a problem, whether at work, school, or home, we are being asked to perform multiple, often complex, tasks. The most effective problem-solving approach includes some variation of the following steps:

• Determine the issue(s)
• Recognize other perspectives
• Think of multiple possible results
• Research and evaluate the possibilities
• Select the best result(s)
• Communicate your findings
• Establish logical action items based on your analysis

Determining the best approach to any given problem and generating more than one possible solution to the problem constitutes the complicated process of problem-solving. People who are good at these skills are highly marketable because many jobs consist of a series of problems that need to be solved for production, services, goods, and sales to continue smoothly.

Think about what happens when a worker at your favorite coffee shop slips on a wet spot behind the counter, dropping several drinks she just prepared. One problem is the employee may be hurt, in need of attention, and probably embarrassed; another problem is that several customers do not have the drinks they were waiting for; and another problem is that stopping production of drinks (to care for the hurt worker, to clean up her spilled drinks, to make new drinks) causes the line at the cash register to back up. A good manager has to juggle all of these elements to resolve the situation as quickly and efficiently as possible. That resolution and return to standard operations doesn’t happen without a great deal of thinking: prioritizing needs, shifting other workers off one station onto another temporarily, and dealing with all the people involved, from the injured worker to the impatient patrons.

DETERMINING THE BEST APPROACH

Faced with a problem-solving opportunity, you must assess the skills you will need to create solutions. Problem-solving can involve many different types of thinking.

• You may have to call on your creative, analytical, or critical thinking skills—or more frequently, a combination of several different types of thinking—to solve a problem satisfactorily.
• When you approach a situation, how can you decide what is the best type of thinking to employ? Sometimes the answer is obvious; if you are working a scientific challenge, you likely will use analytical thinking; if you are a design student considering the atmosphere of a home, you may need to tap into creative thinking skills; and if you are an early childhood education major outlining the logistics involved in establishing a summer day camp for children, you may need a combination of critical, analytical, and creative thinking to solve this challenge.

What sort of thinking do you imagine initially helped in the following scenarios? How would the other types of thinking come into resolving these problems? Write a one- to two-sentence rationale on scrap paper or notepad that explains why you chose the answers to the questions below.

• Analytical thinking
• Creative thinking
• Critical thinking

GENERATING MULTIPLE SOLUTIONS

Why do you think it is important to provide multiple solutions when you’re going through the steps to solve problems? Typically, you’ll end up only using one solution at a time, so why expend the extra energy to create alternatives? If you planned a wonderful trip to Europe and had all the sites you want to see planned out and reservations made, you would think that your problem-solving and organizational skills had quite a workout. But what if when you arrived, the country you’re visiting is enmeshed in a public transportation strike experts predict will last several weeks if not longer? A back-up plan would have helped you contemplate alternatives you could substitute for the original plans. You certainly cannot predict every possible contingency—sick children, weather delays, economic downfalls—but you can be prepared for unexpected issues to come up and adapt more easily if you plan for multiple solutions.Write out at least two possible solutions to these dilemmas:

• Your significant other wants a birthday present—you have no cash.
• You have three exams scheduled on a day when you also need to work.
• Your car breaks down and requires an expensive repair and you need bus fare home—your cell phone is dead and you only have an ATM card with a max withdrawal limit of $200.
• You have to pass a running test for your physical education class, but you’re out of shape.

Providing more than one solution to a problem gives people options. You may not need several options, but having more than one solution will allow you to feel more in control and part of the problem-solving process.

Writing Effective Problem Solving Essays

When someone’s purpose is to describe a problem and evaluate possible solutions, they will write a problem solving essay.  In academic writing, the problem solving essay is very common and useful. For example, students would use it in a ecological class if they were asked to discuss solutions to the problem of endangered species. Students also can write this type of essay in an computer science class if they needed to suggest some ways to solve the inefficient performance of a system.

Once someone has decided to write a problem solving essay, there are several techniques should be pay attention. First, he/she should carefully investigate if a problem exists and describe the problem clearly. While describing a statement of problem, he/she should mentions  why it is serious . Second, the solutions recommended for the problem should be convincing and effective. They must prove his viewpoint by  supporting it with persuasive facts and evidences . Finally, the essay must be able to influence the readers that the proposed solutions are practical and valuable.

Introduction

• Describe the problem and state why it is serious.
• Write a thesis statement that identifies possible solutions.

Supporting Paragraphs

• Discuss one solution in each supporting paragraph.
• Provide details to support each solution.
• Organize the paragraphs according to order of importance.
• Summarize the solutions.
• Draw a conclusion or make a prediction based on your suggestions.

Sources Used to Create this Chapter

The majority of the content for this section has been adapted from the following OER Material:

• Strategic Information Literacy: Targeted Knowledge with Broad Application by Kristin Conlin and Allison Jennings-Roche, which was published under a CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

A Guide to Problem Solving Essays by Ken Lang, which was published under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 International License.

Starting the Journey: An Intro to College Writing Copyright © by Leonard Owens III; Tim Bishop; and Scott Ortolano is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

The Mars Generation®

BUILDING A STRONGER TOMORROW

How Creativity Saved the Crew of Apollo 13

April 11, 2021 By Abigail Harrison 4 Comments

This month, we celebrate the 51st anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission. This mission was supposed to make history as the third to land on the Moon, but instead, it left a much greater impact. When an oxygen tank failed, it was up to NASA and Apollo’s three-person crew to improvise a solution to get everyone home safe. This mission demonstrated that even in the face of danger, when people work together, they can accomplish incredible things.

As I wrote in Chapter Seven of my book, Dream Big!: How to Reach for Your Stars , “One of the most unifying human qualities is creativity.” It was creativity that brought people from all around the world together to save the crew of Apollo 13. Their teamwork showed what humanity can achieve when we work together towards a common goal, and the lessons learned from this mission taught people the power of innovation. Keep reading to learn more about the power of creativity and how it brought the crew of Apollo 13 home safely!

Apollo 13 mission emblem Image credit: NASA

Apollo 13: The Mission

Apollo 13 is one of the most well-known space missions in history. It was the seventh crewed Apollo mission and was commanded by Jim Lovell . Lovell served alongside command module pilot Jack Swigert and Apollo Lunar Module pilot Fred Haise . While Lovell was a veteran astronaut, Apollo 13 was the first mission for Swigert and Haise, and it sure put all their training to the test!

NASA’s Apollo Program

NASA’s Apollo program began in 1961 and was dedicated to landing the first humans on the Moon. It was the United States’ third human spaceflight program, preceded by Project Mercury and Project Gemini . Project Mercury capsules could carry one crew member, Project Gemini’s could carry two, and the Apollo spacecraft could carry three.

The Apollo spacecraft consisted of three main parts:

• The command module, which carried the astronauts from launch to landing.
• The service module which supported this Command Module and contained a service propulsion engine and a fuel cell power generation system.
• The Apollo Lunar Module, which was designed to land on the lunar surface with two astronauts and then return them back to the command module after they completed their mission.

In total, there were seventeen Apollo missions, and ultimately, twelve astronauts stepped foot on the Moon . These missions were momentous in space exploration and each made history in their own right. However, these accomplishments didn’t come without trial, error, and hard work, and they wouldn’t be possible without the remarkable team rallying behind them.

The Mission of Apollo 13

Before Apollo 13, there were seven crewed Apollo missions. Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 were the first and second to land on the Moon, and Apollo 13 was meant to be the third.

On the lunar surface, Apollo 13 was set to conduct numerous experiments to study the composition of the Moon.

After months of testing and preparation, the mission launched on April 11, 1970, from the John F Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The command, service, and lunar modules were carried on board a Saturn V rocket. The Command and Service Module was nicknamed Odyssey and the Apollo Lunar Module was nicknamed Aquarius . These spacecraft carried Jim Lovell, John Swigert, and Fred Haise on a mission meant to last four days. But after technical failure two days in, the mission went on to be much longer.

Disaster Strikes Apollo 13

“Houston, we’ve had a problem.”

These famous words were uttered by Jim Lovell as he reported an explosion in the spacecraft to NASA. The second oxygen tank had blown up, and as a result, the regular supply of oxygen, water, and electricity were shut down. Odyssey, where the astronauts were living, was leaking oxygen and losing fuel cells at a rapid pace as the spacecraft flew farther and farther from Earth.

Just minutes before, Lovell had been conducting a routine task in which he turned on the fans in the fuel and oxygen tanks. This was meant to stir the oxygen to avoid it separating into layers. Unknown to the astronauts, inside the second oxygen tank, there was a damaged wire . When the fans were turned on, the wire caused a spark and started a fire. Soon after, the tank exploded and severely damaged other equipment in the area.

Apollo 13: Creative Thinking Saves the Day

When disaster struck Apollo 13, the crew found themselves trapped 200,000 miles away from Earth. The worst was feared as NASA faced a crisis they had never dealt with before. Scientists from around the world needed to come together and think creatively in order to bring the astronauts back home safely.

The Problems

The explosion aboard the spacecraft presented numerous problems. The crew now faced a severe shortage of oxygen, water, electricity, and light. Temperatures dropped drastically, hitting a low of roughly 38 °F, and food became inedible. Oxygen vented out of the spacecraft at a rapid pace, and attitude control thrusters were damaged by the explosion and unable to stabilize the spacecraft. Life support systems were inoperable and in order to conserve resources for reentry, Command Module systems needed to be shut down. These systems helped the spacecraft operate, navigate, and support the astronauts, but the ones that were nonessential were turned off until it was time to return home.

In order to survive, the crew had to transfer to Aquarius, the Landing Module meant to land on the Moon. They moved to this part of the spacecraft quickly, around an hour after the explosion occurred. However, this spacecraft was only designed to support two men for two days and lacked a heat shield needed for reentry. Scientists and engineers needed to figure out how to solve each of these problems and conserve limited and damaged resources.

The Solution

The first problem NASA teams needed to work out was what flight path the astronauts could take home. With limited supplies, conserving time was of utmost importance. However, taking a shorter path was a riskier approach, and no one wanted to take any chances. Due to this, mission control decided to guide the spacecraft on a longer route – traveling around the Moon before heading back to Earth – and they came up with creative ways to conserve supplies.

This new flight path would take four days. For this duration, the astronauts transferred to stay in Aquarius, which scientists reconfigured to support the three of them. One system they created was a “mail box.”

This arrangement took lithium hydroxide canisters from the Command Module to get rid of carbon dioxide from the Landing Module. This “mail box” was made solely out of a plastic bag, a spacesuit hose, cardstock, and duct tape and successfully kept carbon dioxide levels down for the duration of the flight.

To deal with issues of food and water, the crew had to ration what they consumed. Each astronaut was limited to six ounces of water per day (that’s about half a standard plastic water bottle!), and they lost a total of 31 pounds during their mission. Their intake was strictly monitored because not only did the astronauts need water, but the spacecraft did as well. Water helps cool machinery down and prevents any further damage caused by heat exposure.

The temperature in the spacecraft, which dropped to 38℉, was also an issue. Lovell and Haise put on the boots they were supposed to wear when they walked on the Moon. Swigert didn’t have a pair (because he was never supposed to walk outside the spacecraft) so instead, he had to put on extra clothing to keep warm.

While conditions were rough, everyone came together to make sure the astronauts made it back home alive. NASA teams worked round the clock to improvise solutions to help the crew stay safe during their four-day journey home, and ultimately, they were successful. On April 17, the astronauts splashed down in the South Pacific Ocean. They were successfully picked up by American ships, but two ships from the Soviet Union were also present at the site in case more help was needed. Haise suffered from a kidney and urinary tract infection, but the crew had otherwise made it back home unharmed.

Apollo 13: The Legacy

What could have been a terrible failure turned into an important moment in history. Apollo 13 demonstrated the power of humanity and how, when great minds come together, people can accomplish extraordinary things. The lessons we learned from Apollo 13 have changed both the space industry and the world of science.

Public Response

When the astronauts began their descent back to Earth, countries around the world were ready to pick them up. Soviet Union ships were at the landing area ready to offer assistance, and multiple other countries offered resources as well, including France, Uruguay, and Burundi. Years prior, many of these countries had signed the International Agreement for the Safe Return of Astronauts , which said they would take any and all needed steps to rescue astronauts in distress. This agreement exemplified the power of international collaboration.

Tens of millions of people everywhere watched Apollo 13’s splashdown, united in their concern for the crew As Jack Gould, a reporter for the New York Times , put it:

“The venture, which came so close to tragic disaster, in all probability united the world in mutual concern more fully than another successful landing on the moon would have.”

Change in Mission Design

While this mission was a close call, the experience helped NASA make improvements to their spacecraft and ultimately learn. For subsequent Apollo missions, oxygen tanks were redesigned, thermostats were modified, and stirring fans were removed. Emergency water and batteries were added to the Command Module, and another oxygen tank was added so that one would never go below half full. This third tank was set up so that it could be isolated from fuel cells and the other oxygen tanks if an emergency arose. Furthermore, all electrical wiring was upgraded to be lined with stainless steel and monitoring systems were changed to detect and alert the crew of anomalies sooner.

The Power of Space Exploration

As evident with Apollo 13, space exploration has the power to bring the world together. Scientists and engineers everywhere gave their all to help rescue the three stranded astronauts. In their efforts, they developed innovations and technologies that revolutionized spaceflight. The creative solutions they came up with have assisted people everywhere, not just astronauts, and have had lasting impacts on our lives.

Apollo 13 demonstrated the power of teamwork as people achieved things that had never been done before. While the mission didn’t fulfill its intended goal, it was by no means a failure. Without the lessons we learned from Apollo 13, we would not be able to achieve the things we have today.

The Power of Creativity

Apollo 13 showed us just how powerful creativity is. Creativity can turn failures into extraordinary successes, but none of that would be possible without people’s hard work and dedication. To learn more about the importance of creativity in achieving your goals, check out my new book, Dream Big!: How to Reach For Your Stars . Inside, I share my advice for chasing after your dreams, developing your creativity, and discuss important habits to develop that’ll help you get there.

April 28, 2021 at 3:05 pm

This was an interesting and knowledgeable thing to know about. Admire the great brains. Thank you Mars Generation for sharing this informative post.

… [Trackback]

[…] Informations on that Topic: themarsgeneration.org/how-creativity-saved-the-crew-of-apollo-13/ […]

[…] After all, mistakes are how we learn and grow. For instance, after technical failures on the Apollo 13 mission, scientists redesigned oxygen tanks, monitoring systems, and thermostats. They also added emergency […]

[…] taken to limit technical errors, failures do still happen. In 1970, an explosion occurred on the Apollo 13 spacecraft, causing the three crew members to evacuate to a landing module only meant to hold two of them. A […]

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

• Top Courses
• Online Degrees
• Find your New Career
• Join for Free

Solving Problems with Creative and Critical Thinking

This course is part of People and Soft Skills for Professional and Personal Success Specialization

Taught in English

Some content may not be translated

Instructor: IBM Skills Network Team

Financial aid available

23,292 already enrolled

(244 reviews)

Recommended experience

Beginner level

No Previous Experience Required! This course can be taken by anyone regardless of professional experience.

What you'll learn

Utilize critical and creative thinking to solve issues.

Describe the 5-step process of effectively solving problems.

Analyze a problem and identify the root cause.

Explore possible solutions and employ the problem solving process.

Skills you'll gain

• Critical Thinking
• Creative Thinking
• Professional Development
• Problem Solving
• Soft skills

Details to know

Add to your LinkedIn profile

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Build your subject-matter expertise

• Learn new concepts from industry experts
• Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
• Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
• Earn a shareable career certificate

Earn a career certificate

Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV

Share it on social media and in your performance review

There is 1 module in this course

In order to find a solution, one needs to be able to analyze a problem. This short course is designed to teach you how to solve and analyze problems effectively with critical and creative thinking.

Through the use of creative and critical thinking you will learn how to look at a problem and find the best solution by analyzing the different ways you can solve a problem. By taking this quick course you will gain the skills you need to find the root cause of a problem through the use of a five-step method. You will learn the process you must go through in order to find the problem, which leads to finding a solution. You will gain the necessary skills needed for critical and creative thinking which will be the foundation for successfully solving problems. This course provides fundamental skills that you will need to use in your day to day work. The course is suitable for anyone – students, career starters, experienced professionals and managers - wanting to develop problem solving skills regardless of your background. By taking this course you will be gaining some of the essential skills you need in order to be successful in your professional life. This course is part of the People and Soft Skills for Professional and Personal Success Specialization from IBM.

This module will help you to develop skills and behaviors required to solve problems and implement solutions more efficiently in an agile manner by using a systematic five-step process that involves both creative and critical thinking.

What's included

31 videos 11 readings 12 quizzes

31 videos • Total 30 minutes

• Why do you need to focus on solving problems? • 1 minute • Preview module
• The problem-solving process • 1 minute
• How can you solve problems in an agile way? • 0 minutes
• Let’s begin with the first topic • 0 minutes
• The problem-solving process-Identify • 0 minutes
• Write a problem statement • 0 minutes
• How do you find out if a problem is worth solving? • 0 minutes
• Recap • 0 minutes
• Let’s move to the second topic • 1 minute
• The problem-solving process: Analyze • 1 minute
• How do you use “The 5 Whys”? • 1 minute
• The root cause! • 0 minutes
• Many tools can help with root cause analysis • 0 minutes
• Let’s move to the third topic • 0 minutes
• The problem-solving process: Explore • 0 minutes
• Brainstorming rules • 1 minute
• Brainstorm to solve Georgia’s problem • 0 minutes
• Let’s move to the fourth topic • 0 minutes
• The problem-solving process: Select • 2 minutes
• Let’s find five solutions for one problem • 1 minute
• Use these factors to identify who should choose a solution • 0 minutes
• Use the Ease and effectiveness matrix to select the best solution • 0 minutes
• Recap • 1 minute
• Let’s move to the fifth topic • 0 minutes
• What will success look like? • 0 minutes
• How will you measure a solution’s effectiveness? • 0 minutes
• If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it • 0 minutes
• Build an implementation plan • 0 minutes
• Review the five-step problem-solving process • 2 minutes

11 readings • Total 36 minutes

• Critical and creative thinking are required to solve problems • 5 minutes
• What will you learn from the course? • 2 minutes
• Let’s help Georgia! • 5 minutes
• Is Georgia’s problem worth solving? • 4 minutes
• Recap • 2 minutes
• Brainstorm to get plenty of ideas • 5 minutes
• Let’s find five solutions for one problem • 2 minutes
• Who should chose a solution in Georgia's problem? • 2 minutes
• How will you work out the best possible solution? • 4 minutes
• Plan to implement the solution for Georgia • 3 minutes
• Congratulations and Next Steps. • 2 minutes

12 quizzes • Total 116 minutes

• Practice Quiz: What do you think? • 5 minutes
• Practice Quiz: What do you think? • 3 minutes
• Practice Quiz: The “5 Whys” for Georgia • 20 minutes
• Practice Quiz: Which type of solution will work for Georgia? • 3 minutes
• Practice Quiz: Who should choose the solution in each case? • 10 minutes
• Practice Quiz: Who should choose a solution to Georgia’s problem? • 10 minutes
• Practice Quiz: Using the Ease and Effectiveness Matrix • 10 minutes
• Practice Quiz: Let’s use the Ease and effectiveness matrix for Georgia’s problem • 10 minutes
• Practice Quiz: What do you think success will look like? • 5 minutes
• Practice Quiz: What do you think? • 10 minutes
• Practice Quiz: Solving Problems with Critical and Creative Thinking • 10 minutes
• Graded Quiz: Solving Problems with Critical and Creative Thinking • 20 minutes

Instructor ratings

We asked all learners to give feedback on our instructors based on the quality of their teaching style.

IBM is the global leader in business transformation through an open hybrid cloud platform and AI, serving clients in more than 170 countries around the world. Today 47 of the Fortune 50 Companies rely on the IBM Cloud to run their business, and IBM Watson enterprise AI is hard at work in more than 30,000 engagements. IBM is also one of the world’s most vital corporate research organizations, with 28 consecutive years of patent leadership. Above all, guided by principles for trust and transparency and support for a more inclusive society, IBM is committed to being a responsible technology innovator and a force for good in the world. For more information about IBM visit: www.ibm.com

Recommended if you're interested in Personal Development

People and Soft Skills Assessment

Developing Interpersonal Skills

People and Soft Skills for Professional and Personal Success

Specialization

Google Cloud

Essential Cloud Infrastructure: Foundation - Bahasa Indonesia

Why people choose coursera for their career.

Learner reviews

Showing 3 of 244

244 reviews

Reviewed on Sep 29, 2022

It is not only a highly insightful course but the way it is put together makes it extremely easy to understand.

Reviewed on Oct 5, 2023

As Critical and creative thinking forms the foundation for successful problem-solving, this course equips you with the basic essential skills that are invaluable in your day-to-day work.

Reviewed on Mar 25, 2023

I learn lot of new things with the help of this course. Thank you coursera for giving me this opportunity.

New to Personal Development? Start here.

Open new doors with Coursera Plus

Unlimited access to 7,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs - all included in your subscription

Advance your career with an online degree

Earn a degree from world-class universities - 100% online

Join over 3,400 global companies that choose Coursera for Business

Upskill your employees to excel in the digital economy

Frequently asked questions

When will i have access to the lectures and assignments.

Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:

The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.

The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.

What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?

When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.

What is the refund policy?

If you subscribed, you get a 7-day free trial during which you can cancel at no penalty. After that, we don’t give refunds, but you can cancel your subscription at any time. See our full refund policy Opens in a new tab .

Is financial aid available?

Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

More questions

The Creative Thinking Curriculum Development Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Introduction

The educator needs to provide an open class-oriented school activity that allows children to fully express themselves and show their abilities and skills. The desired effect of inclusiveness and comfort can be achieved by providing a safe learning environment in which all students can communicate normally. This will promote understanding and respect for all students with special needs. Children will be able to develop their self-esteem and self-confidence, which will contribute to their self-regulation and problem-solving skills. When developing a curriculum for students, it is crucial to consider each person’s particular needs and provide them with appropriate conditions (Isenberg & Jalongo, 2017). This can be done through the provision of a range of activities and materials that can help guide the learning process. In addition, classes that can reveal the emotional side of students and contribute to their self-expression are also a necessary part of training. These types of activities can be beneficial for children with intellectual disabilities. At the same time, an essential mandatory element for facilitating the student life of children with special needs is to provide the right curriculum that is suitable for different students.

How Arts-Based Centers Nurture Children’s Creative Expression

Art can be a pretty powerful tool to encourage student self-expression. For children with special needs, it can provide the necessary opportunities for self-expression and development (Wilson et al., 2020). Some of the teaching methods may not be available for formation in this class since it is necessary to consider students’ specific needs. By designing an arts curriculum that accommodates student diversity, educators can provide a safe and inclusive environment that promotes creativity, self-expression, and emotional regulation.

In the special education classroom, children with special needs may spend a significant amount of time engaging in highly focused tasks that are designed to meet their unique learning needs. These tasks may be necessary for their academic and cognitive development and play a prominent role in shaping them as individuals (Isenberg & Jalongo, 2017). Being open and process-oriented when learning an art can provide a respite from narrowly focused tasks, allowing children to participate in more informal and enjoyable activities. Thus, their nervous system will not succumb to a high load, and they will be able to relax more while maintaining their emotional well-being.

In addition, by preparing and adapting the arts curriculum for children with different needs, the teacher can provide opportunities for students to develop their skills in a more comfortable environment. Art activities can be collaborative and can provide opportunities for children to work together and share their ideas and feelings (Aljabreen, 2020). Educators can promote socialization and help children with special needs build relationships with peers by creating a safe and inclusive environment that encourages communication and collaboration.

How Teachers Must Adapt Arts-Based Centers for Different Age Levels

For the correct educational process with children with special needs, it is crucial not only to create a training program but also to select suitable tasks. A framework using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can provide educators with guidelines for creating an educational program suitable for all groups of learners (Orndorf et al., 2022). Some examples of the principles of this strategy can be adapted to the needs of all students. Such assignments and adaptations can be incorporated into art class programs to develop children’s creativity and artistic abilities. For the means of self-expression, various tools can be used with which the student can convey their feelings and thoughts.

Emotional and intellectual challenges

Children with intellectual and emotional developmental problems can significantly benefit from artistic pursuits. Such a pastime will help develop their creative abilities, thereby improving their creative abilities and imagination. For such a group of children, one of the examples of activities could be to implement a collage of feelings. In this type of activity, the child should be offered various materials such as tissue paper, scissors, glue, or magazines. Students can use these materials in order to collect any images that will reflect the emotions that the child is currently experiencing (Isenberg & Jalongo, 2017). Thus, students will be able to develop their ability to perceive and express emotions by developing this area. At the same time, the color palette is an essential element in this exercise since, first of all, with their help, children will express their feelings, such as fear, misunderstanding, confusion, or satisfaction.

Visual impairments

Children with visual impairments may benefit from activities based on sensory and tactile principles of interaction. In this context, the appropriate activity to implement might be to create a painting with texture. For this activity, the child will need to provide various materials such as canvas, paper, sandpaper, cotton balls, figured fabrics, and paints (Ferguson et al., 2019). In the course of completing this task on creativity, the child will be able to create a picture that can be perceived not only visually but also by touch. In this way, it can significantly expand the potential abilities of the child to perceive and create anything. Depending on the student’s assistance, the assignment can be adapted with the addition of auditory cues or assistance with material placement.

Hearing impairments

Hearing-impaired children can be effectively engaged in activities that focus on tactile and visual cues. A suitable example of an exercise for this group of students would be creating a fine art magazine. The child may be provided with various materials for this, such as an album or notebook and colored pencils or paints with which the student can recreate what they saw or any other image (Saha-Gupta et al., 2019). In addition, they will be able to create a journal that will display what they feel and what they think with the help of visual images. As an additional feature, this task can help children develop a creative approach to tasks. The exercise can be modified depending on precisely what needs the child is experiencing. An example of this would be the use of sign language in the process of drawing or developing fine motor skills.

Orthopedic impairments

Children with orthopedic disorders will be suited to tasks adapted to the level of physical activity that students can handle. One of the activities for children from this group can be wall painting (Isenberg & Jalongo, 2017). To imitate a wall, the student may be given a large canvas as well as paints, stickers, and felt-tip pens. These children can then work together with other students to create a common idea for the big picture. Such an exercise will be helpful and can be adapted depending on the specific level of mobility of the student.

When creating a curriculum, an important consideration will be the use of appropriate language and terminology. Educators must understand the unique needs of all students and adapt to them by choosing appropriate ways to communicate the principles of learning. They should focus on the strengths of children with disabilities in order to design assignments in such a way that students can discover their talents. This will help them develop in those aspects that will be of interest to them. In this way, the stigmatization and marginalization of such a group of students can be avoided. The ongoing development of educators as professionals can also be a vital aspect of helping them fulfill their responsibilities in child development.

Aljabreen, H. (2020). Montessori, Waldorf, and Reggio Emilia: A comparative analysis of alternative models of early childhood education . International Journal of Early Childhood , 52 , 337-353. Web.

Ferguson, B. T., McKenzie, J., Dalton, E. M., & Lyner-Cleophas, M. (2019). Inclusion, universal design and universal design for learning in higher education: South Africa and the United States . African journal of disability , 8 (1), 1-7. Web.

Isenberg, J. P., & Jalongo, M. R. (2017). Creative thinking and arts-based learning , 7th ed . Pearson Education (US). Web.

Orndorf, H. C., Waterman, M., Lange, D., Kavin, D., Johnston, S. C., & Jenkins, K. P. (2022). Opening the Pathway: An Example of Universal Design for Learning as a Guide to Inclusive Teaching Practices . CBE—Life Sciences Education , 21 (2), ar28. Web.

Saha-Gupta, N., Song, H., & Todd, R. L. (2019). Universal design for learning (UDL) as facilitating access to higher education . Journal of Education and Social Development , 3 (2), 5-9. Web.

Wilson, C., Sitbon, L., Ploderer, B., Opie, J., & Brereton, M. (2020). Self-expression by design: Co-designing the expressiball with minimally-verbal children on the autism spectrum . In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-13). Web.

• Visual and Hearing Impairments in Education
• The Selfie Definition as an Art Form
• Political Battlegrounds in Curriculum
• Instructional Overhaul on Linear Equations Topic
• New York State: Social Studies Framework
• The Tyler Model as a Curriculum Design Method
• The K-4 Curriculum: Training for Children
• Introduction to Computer Graphics: Lesson Plans
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2024, May 30). The Creative Thinking Curriculum Development. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-creative-thinking-curriculum-development/

"The Creative Thinking Curriculum Development." IvyPanda , 30 May 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/the-creative-thinking-curriculum-development/.

IvyPanda . (2024) 'The Creative Thinking Curriculum Development'. 30 May.

IvyPanda . 2024. "The Creative Thinking Curriculum Development." May 30, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-creative-thinking-curriculum-development/.

1. IvyPanda . "The Creative Thinking Curriculum Development." May 30, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-creative-thinking-curriculum-development/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The Creative Thinking Curriculum Development." May 30, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-creative-thinking-curriculum-development/.

Caps Business Studies 10

Caps bs 10 term 3 week 1 – 2 creative thinking and problem solving, topic – creative thinking and problem solving.

• Creative thinking and its contribution towards successful and sustainable business practice • Creative thinking to generate entrepreneurial opportunities and to solve business problems

• Problem solving:
• Research skills -finding information to assist with problem solving
• Problem solving versus decision making
• Problem-solving cycle: identification of the problem, definition of the problem, formulation of the strategy, implementation of the strategy, allocation of resources, monitoring problem solving and evaluation of the problem-solving process
• Problem-solving techniques (e.g. Force-Field Analysis, Chair Technique, Empty Chair Technique, Delphi Technique, Nominal Group Technique, brainstorming, Forced Combinations, SCAMPER) — The use of indigenous knowledge to solve problems and identify business opportunities — The use of mind mapping, brainstorming and creative thinking/idea generation to identify innovative and entrepreneurial business opportunities — The use of non-conventional thinking to identify innovative business opportunities — Ways in which creative business opportunities can realistically be implemented