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Purple Crayons, Random Dots, and Peanut Butter Sandwiches:

Purple Crayons, Random Dots, and Peanut Butter Sandwiches:. Children’s Literature as Catalyst for Creativity and Change in the Workplace. Frances Weinstein Yates Library Director Indiana University East (Richmond) American Library Association June 26, 2010.

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Purple Crayons, Random Dots, and Peanut Butter Sandwiches:

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  1. Purple Crayons, Random Dots, and Peanut Butter Sandwiches: Children’s Literature as Catalyst for Creativity and Change in the Workplace Frances Weinstein Yates Library Director Indiana University East (Richmond) American Library Association June 26, 2010

  2. What is Creativity? Definitions • The use of imagination or original ideas • Creativity (or creativeness) is a mental process involving the generation of new ideas or concepts, or new associations between existing ideas or concepts • Creativity is the ability to solve problems that are worth solving. It is the ability to create knowledge • Creativity is subject-specific: it is the meta-knowledge of how to solve a specific class of problems. So there is no such thing as a raw, undifferentiated creativity • Actively attending to the management of ideas

  3. What is the creative process? • Recognizing problems that may or may not be apparent to others •  Seeing beyond societal definitions and accepting ambiguity • Solving problems by finding parallels and connections between disparate or dissimilar concepts or processes • Developing innovative solutions to worthwhileproblems • Creating something new that is recognized as having social utility

  4. creativity experts & their ideas • Roger von Oech (pragmatic) – author of A Whack on the side the head and A Kick in the seat of the pants. “Everyone has a 'risk muscle.' You keep it in shape by trying new things. If you don't, it atrophies. Make a point of using it at least once a day.” • David Perkins (pragmatic) – “Snowflake model” – Six traits needed for creativity are commitment to re-creating, simplifying or focusing; excelling in finding problems; mental mobility; willingness to take risks; objectivity; inner motivation • Howard Gardner (cognitive psychology) - Creativity is an aspect of each of the 8 intelligences, not a separate intelligence. The multiple intelligences are linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic. • Edward de Bono (cognitive) – “Six Thinking Hats” model used in business and education: each hat is a different color, representing types of thinking. Creativity (green hat) involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way. • MihalyCsikszentmihaly (social psychology) – “Flow” – concentration on the creative process requires clear goals, curiosity, intrinsic interest and motivation, perseverance, time for thinking, evaluating possible solutions, and translating the ideas into practical solutions.

  5. Why is creativity in the library workplace important? • Encourages flexibility for adapting to changes  • Staff more likely to be intrinsically motivated to be productive  • Engages and energizes staff • Facilitates collaborative working groups •  Fosters dynamic rather than reactive change

  6. Applying essentials of creative thinking in the library workplace • Discerning which problems require inventive approaches • Constructing new associations between existing ideas or concepts • Willing to take risks and accept scrutiny of ideas • Focusing on questioning • Avoiding blocks to creativity

  7. Blocks to Creativity! • Discomfort disagreeing with others or hesitancy to try different solutions than are typical (concerned with what colleagues will think of your ideas) • Not knowing when to move away from thinking about the problem so that you can gain fresh perspectives (not giving yourself “incubation” or “pondering” time); Giving up when you have a period of time without any new ideas • External rather than intrinsic motivation • Self-criticism • Not being playful and exercising our right-brain

  8. How can children’s books foster creativity in adults? • Enhance mental mobility • Improve self-perception of creative role identity • Develop divergent thinking • Promote pondering • Create a safe climate for innovation

  9. Which Children’s books? The books featured in this presentation represent fundamental components of creativity: • Openness to experience • Multiple perspectives • Questioning • Pondering • Humor

  10. Self-perception: creative role identity • Catalyst Activities: • stuffed messages • let it go: kiss it goodbye • free-writing

  11. Creativity Can Be Learned • Catalyst Activities: • thumbies • anagrams and Agee • talking pictures • brainwriting 6-3-5 • wear a green hat • 1 + 1 = a ton • library limericks

  12. Creative Mind-Set • Catalyst Activities: • Notice your noticing • Collect popcorn thoughts • Fortunately exercise • Big C, little c • Bubble map

  13. Identifying the problem • Catalyst Activities: • Top Ten Tips thinking • assumption busting • assumption surfacing • boundary examination • bugs • re-thinking via rebus

  14. Pondering… • Catalyst Activities: • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8FHCiG-_PM • Do nothing

  15. Seeing things differently • Catalyst Activities: • talking pictures • change of scenery • bunches of bananas • scamper

  16. Creative response to Change • Catalyst Activities: • differenting • inside outside upside • down • fuzzy boundaries • one-a-day change • listmania

  17. ONE more time: Why be creative? • Creativity is necessary in any library to proactively adapt to change. • Budget challenges necessitate innovation. • Individual risk taking and group trust are essential components for a creative workplace environment. • Children’s literature can open staff to think and act beyond current wisdom, resulting in “unboxed” solutions. • Sharing ideas results in shared solutions!

  18. “ Everyone is creative. Those who are more creative have learned to be so.” ~ Dr. Jane Piirto in Understanding Creativity Frances’ Faves: selective resources for background information: • De Bono, Edward. Six Thinking Hats, Back Bay Books 1999. • Fox, L. Mark. Da Vinci and the 40 Answers: A Playbook for Creativity and Fresh Ideas, 2008. http://www.slaysafox.com/DV40.pdf (308 pages worth reading!) • Gardner, Howard. Frames of Mind, Basic Books 1993. • Pink, Daniel. A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, Riverhead Trade 2006. • Von Oech, Roger. Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative, Business Plus 1998.

  19. A Creativity Catalyst Booklist • Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert • Let’s Do Nothing by Tony Fucile • Monsieur Saguette and his Baguette by Frank Asch • Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Williams • Nothing by Jon Agee • Peanut Butter Rhino by Vincent Andriani • Terrific by Jon Agee • That’s Good! That’s Bad! By Margery Cuyler • Turtle and the Hippo by Kate Banks and Tomek Bogacki • Changes, Changes by Pat Hutchins • Dog and Bear: Three to Get Ready by Laura Vaccaro Seeger • The Dot by Peter Reynolds • Dumpster Diver by Janet Wong and David Roberts • Fortunately by Remy Charlip • Frank was a Monster who Wanted to Dance by Keith Graves • Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson • It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw

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