Thursday, June 26, 2008

Foster Creative Problem-Solving


Although typically considered the domain of artists alone – and thus often considered expendable – creativity is a life skill. It involves the ability to see beyond what already exists - to imagine. And when one can imagine, one can envision possibilities and the solutions to problems.

Each of us solves many problems a day. It can be as simple as producing a decent meal from leftovers, or figuring out where to look for the answer to a question, to the more complex dilemma of balancing a budget, or salvaging lost data from a crashed computer system. For some of us, problem solving involves getting along with difficult coworkers or family members. For others it involves launching a spaceship or ridding the world of cancer.


Our children, of course, aren’t facing such problems yet. But they will one day, and unless they’ve had some practice, they’re not likely to suddenly acquire problem-solving skills as adults.

How do you provide practice in problem solving? There are actually multiple answers to that question!

True problem solving is the result of what’s called divergent production – the ability to find multiple solutions to a single challenge. Those who study creativity tell us that creative thinkers possess “ideational fluency,” which means they can produce numerous ideas. To help promote creative thinking in your child, when you’re doing chores or going for a walk or a drive together, make a game of trying to think of all the things that are round, for instance. Or in what ways are a cat and dog alike? What things move on wheels? Don’t make it a contest – just something fun to do that also happens to stimulate the mind.

And don’t forget the power of the question, “Can you find another way?” If, for example, your child is walking along a low balance beam, a curb, or the edge of a sandbox, acknowledge what you’ve seen. Then ask, “Besides walking, can you find another way to move along the beam in a forward direction?” Possibilities include scooting on the bottom, hopping, sliding on the tummy, and tiptoeing. Possibilities for getting from the front door to the mailbox include jumping, walking backward, dancing, and jogging. Possibilities for making a crooked shape are seemingly endless!

When you present your children with such challenges and validate all the different responses they offer, they become assured that there’s always going to be more than one way to meet a challenge. And as their confidence grows, they’re willing to take greater and greater creative risks.

Divergent – or creative – thinking isn’t essential to the arts only. We need creativity in science, medicine, technology, and education. And, as you can see from the examples given at the beginning of this column, creativity in everyday life comes in handy, too!