2. I believe children today suffer from stifled and ignored creativity,
and that creative thinking development methods should be adapted to the
education of all children.
Michelle Korenfeld
The role of the teacher and the teaching method presented in
this abstract are based on my teaching at The Dr. Erica
Landau Institute for the gifted in Tel Aviv, Israel, based on her
book "The Courage to be Gifted" [2], and on conversations
with Dr. Moshe Rishpon, who established the Science
Oriented Youth Department in the Weizmann Institute of
Science, Rehovot, Israel. The Science Oriented Youth
Department is a pioneer in the field of science education and
a leader of that field worldwide. Both institutes' teaching
methods have enabled children to become leaders in their
fields of expertise.

3. A leap in technological development is expected in a
few decades. We will enhance the intelligence that
evolution has bestowed on us. Human creativity will be
amplified. Yet the ability to act on our destructive
inclinations will be amplified, too [6]. Our challenge as
educators is to develop students' thinking skills and
humane approach. Our goal is that tomorrow's adults use
technology ethically, to take the world a step further into
an age of creativity and humanity.

4. The Future of Education [6]
Every person all over the world will have ready access to the highest quality
knowledge and instruction.
The learning experience for each student will improve, as computer programs
will adapt to each student's needs and there will be virtual
laboratories.
In a few decades artificial intelligence will merge with human intelligence.
Vast knowledge embedded in our brains will merge with the vastly greater
capacity, speed and knowledge sharing ability of our technology.
We will then have the ability to download knowledge and skills .

5. Future professions will require:
• Creativity
• Flexibility and Constant Development [3]
• Innovation [3]
• Interdisciplinary vision [3]
• Decision Making [3]

6. Creativity Being Stifled by
Education
Young children enter pre-school alive with creative confidence.
By the time they leave high school, many have lost that confidence
entirely [1].
today's mainstream education has been shaped by particular ideas
about academic intelligence, which disregard abilities that are
important for creativity and innovation [1].
Teachers lack understanding of the nature of creativity and undervalue
creativity [7].

7. Complementing Classical Learning with Creative
Thinking development
Creativity is possible in every discipline and should be promoted
throughout the whole of education [1].
Case studies of teachers who have experience with teaching gifted and
creative students can bring new insights into understanding and
teaching creative students. For example, Sak's research: About
Creativity, Giftedness, and Teaching the Creatively Gifted in the
Classroom [7].

8. About Creativity
According to Freud creativity presents a healthy form of sublimation,
using unfulfilled unconscious drives for productive purposes [4].
According to Kris creative individuals are able to recreate a childlike state of mind
in which unconscious ideas are more accessible to the conscious mind [4].
According to Skinner individuals' actions are determined solely by their history of
reinforcement. Thus, creativity can be influenced by reinforcement [4].
According to Mednick Individuals who frequently bring remote ideas together should be
more likely than others to produce creative ideas [4].
According to Maslow and Rogers the ability to express ideas frequently without self-criticism
is essential to creativity, and is paralleled to the innocent, happy creativity of
secure children. Creativity is the product of healthy human growth [4].

9. About Creativity
According to Csikszentmihalyi flow is a state in which the person is deeply
involved in an activity, and concentration is high. There are a loss of
self-consciousness and a diminished sense of time. Artists painting,
musicians practicing, and scientists absorbed in their work are
examples of individuals in flow. Thus, flow is tied to creativity [4].
According to Dr. Landau playfulness is typical to creativity.
Many scientists and artists approach problems playfully, thus coming up
with new solutions [2]. Humor is seeing something from a different
perspective. The discovery of new connections creates the humoristic
surprise. It is enabled by flexibility. That is in fact the definition of
creativity, as well.
According to Seelig scientists and artists of all types are the world's
"noticers". They are trained to pay attention and to communicate what
they see and experience to the rest of the world [8].

10. About Creativity
According to Sak – Research on Gifted Students' Class:
Being creative is being perceptive. It's about being able to understand or
perceive the complexity of the outer world. It's about what people can do to
make the world interesting, innovative and original. It's about coming up
with a newer idea or manner that are unusual [7].
Creativity comes from insights.
Emotions intensity plays a significant role in the creative personality [7].

11. The Role of the Teacher
• Teacher as a leader who raises leaders
• Teacher as facilitator of students' creativity
• Developing independent thinking, creativity, reason and humanity.
• Mastering the art of listening and encouraging
• Identifying strengths and building confidence
• Developing lateral thinking (restructuring patterns and
provoking new ones) ]4[ ]9[
• Developing critical thinking
(In critical thinking the individual assesses.
In creative thinking the individual originates. [5])
• Encouraging curiosity to experiment and expressions of creativity
• Raising happy productive individuals
• Teacher as role model for life

12. Creative Thinking Development Methods in Class
Conversations - a conversation is more than a discussion of the material.
In conversations thoughts are mixed with feelings. The mixing of feelings
with thoughts contributes to the internalization of the knowledge. Creativity
depends on interactions between feeling and thinking [1]. It is an opportunity
for seeing how the subject is manifested in different fields in order to raise
interdisciplinary vision.
Questions - teaching for creativity involves asking open-ended questions,
where there may be multiple solutions [1].Our wish is that the questions we
ask the students, and the ones they raise, be creative.
Experiments – learning through experiencing to arise conversation and
thinking.
Expression in Writing and Drawing – independent time for students to
extend ideas and connect them to real life.

13. Activity to Ignite Creative Thinking
– My Experience
Through a dramatized story, the students enter a state of flow of
an hour and a half, in which they are confident to express their
creativity.
Conversation and teaching aids - discovering the world in an
interdisciplinary vision: symmetry, the colors of the rainbow, colors
of animals (camouflage, courting and warning).
Students who at the beginning have expressed lack of confidence in
their creativity, later participate in painting freely with oil colors.
Learning through experiencing – darkening the classroom and
playing with flashlights covered by red, blue and green cellophanes
(The primary colors of light).The activity is thoroughly explained in
Creative Children Like the Animals of the World (“A Rainbow of
More than Seven Colors”)
The magic of words and colors – The children do the magic that
preserves their creative thinking for life using rainbow glasses.

14. Interactive Workbook – My Experience
The stories, poems and paintings
in Creative Children Like the
Animals of the World's purpose
is to inspire children to write
and draw freely themselves.
While taking a journey toward
broader horizons and creative
thinking, they create their
personal book.

15. Interactive Workbook
Stories and Poems –
Learning English
Paintings for creative
inspiration

16. Interactive Workbook
Coloring Pages Free writing and Drawing

17. Experiences and Elaborations

18. Experiences and Elaborations

19. Conclusion
Classical learning enhanced by technology is the future of education. However,
education is the future of humanity. In the process of fostering creative thinking,
we also develop reason and humanity. Classical education therefore needs
not only be enhanced by technology, but also complemented by teaching
for creativity.
The future world, with its technological advancement raises fears. What if
tomorrow's human being will be characterized only by technological
advancement and academic skills? What if we will lack humanity and
creativity? I believe we need to make sure our education not only doesn't
stifle them, but develops them as much as possible.
Human intelligence is predicted to merge with artificial intelligence by the time our
students are grown. How can we make sure the advanced human being of
the future remains humane? By making sure the children of today develop
a humane approach, and by ensuring they don't lose their creative
thinking, curiosity and imagination – their human spark.

20. Click on the image for Raising
Creative Thinkers’ website

21. Contact
Please feel free to contact. Your feedback will be
much appreciated:
mailto:mchll555@gmaill.com
Thank you for your time and patience
MichelleKorenfeld

22. References and Links
[1] Robinson, K. (2011). Out of our Minds – Learning to be Creative.
Capstone Publishing Ltd, pp. 49-80, 245-286.
Ted Lecture: Do Schools kill Creativity? Sir Ken Robinson
[2] Landau, E. (1990). The Courage to be Gifted. Trillium Press Inc.
[3] Davies, A., Fidler, D., Gorbis, M. (2011). Future Work Skills 2020.
Institute for the future for the University of Phoenix Research Institute.
www.iftf.org , pp. 8-13.
[4] Strake, A.J. (2014). Creativity in the Classroom. Routledge,
pp. 6-9, 161-164, 283-286.
[5] Paul, R., Elder, L. (2008). The Thinkers Guide to
the Nature and Functions of Critical and Creative Thinking. Kindle edition,
part 1.

23. References and Links
[6] Kurzweil, R. (2005). The Singularity is Near. Penguin Books, pp. 7-34,
335-336.
Ted Lecture: A University for the Coming singularity - Ray Kurzweil
[7] Sak, U. (2004). About Creativity, Giftedness, and Teaching the
Creatively Gifted in the Classroom. Roeper Review, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp.
216-222.
http://home.anadolu.edu.tr/~usak/documents/AboutCreativityGiftednespubl
ishedinRR.pdf
[8] Seelig, T. (2012). inGenius: A Crash Course on Creativity.
HarperCollins Publishers, pp. 65-84.
[9[ deBono, E. (1970). Lateral Thinking: Creativity step by Step.
Harper and Row Publishers, pp. 7-14.

24. Links
Activities for Children and Youth in The Weizmann Institute
The Clore Garden of Science - The Weizmann Institute
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow, the secret to happiness