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Video Welcome Message
TEXT OF DR. TREFFINGER’S
WELCOME VIDEO
Hi, and welcome to the Creative Problem Solving in Education
distance learning module. I am Dr. Don Treffinger, President
of the Center for Creative Learning, and I’d like
to tell you how excited we are about these new learning
opportunities, and about your participation in this program.
Many educators have been telling us that they
would value the opportunity to learn more about Creative Problem
Solving and its applications in education. However, travel,
distance, and increasingly, the pressure to be away from one’s
students, often make it very difficult for people to participate
in in-person workshops or seminars. So as a result, many people
have had to rely on brief sessions or presentations at conferences,
or on reading books and articles. However, it can be very
challenging to ask a question to a book or an article; very
seldom do you get a response!
So in creating this series of programs by taking
advantage of new technology and the Internet, we have tried
to build into the program opportunities for active participation,
high levels of engagement, varied activities for people who
learn and work in different ways, and especially, the opportunity
for feedback and support from an experienced professional
Mentor. We hope that you will find these very valuable parts
of your learning experience, too.
We’d certainly like to express our appreciation
for the support and encouragement we have received from two
of our partner organizations, Destination ImagiNation®
and the Future Problem Solving Program.
But— enough talk from me, at least for
now. I hope that you enjoy your journey into the Creative
Problem Solving in Education distance learning module and
that it will help you to gain in confidence and knowledge
whether you are just new to CPS or whether you are an experienced
practitioner.
Thank you very much for joining us, and good
luck with your study.
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About the Module
This module consists of ten units that will provide
you with an introduction and overview of our contemporary approach
to Creative Problem Solving: CPS Version 6.1™. The module
will help you to learn, practice, and apply the following elements
of CPS:
• Four Factors that Contribute to
Creative Productivity
- Personal Characteristics and Style
- Operations
- Context or Environment
- Outcomes or Creative Products
• The Foundations for CPS
- Definitions
- Guidelines
- Basic Tools
• Three Process Components and Six
Stages
- Understanding the Challenge (Constructing Opportunities,
Exploring Data, Framing Problems)
- Generating Ideas (a component and stage)
- Preparing for Action (Developing Solutions, Building
Acceptance)
We divided the module into several “units;”
these are like the chapters in a book. Each unit will have a number
of screens. Some of these will present information, others will
present questions or activities for you to think about and carry
out. A number of screens will include links to other files or websites.
At the end of each unit, there is a very brief self-quiz that you
can use to check on your own comprehension of the unit’s content.
You will see an outline of the module, listing all the units (and
the sub-topics for the unit on which you are working at any time);
these are also links that you can click to move from one unit to
another at any time.
We designed the contents of the module to be consecutive,
and in some ways, what you learn in one unit will contribute to
your understanding of material in later units. However, you can
always access any of the units at any time, so it is not mandatory
that you proceed from one unit to the next in a linear, sequential
manner. (If you find that you are missing information you need,
you can always move to a previous unit to investigate the background
material that you need.) |
