• Board of Directors

Creative Education Foundation

Young leaders will improve the world

Teach kids creativity and innovation, look at problems differently, solve problems. change lives., welcome to creative education foundation, empower yourself personally and professionally with the skill set, tool set, and mind set of deliberate creativity. learn how to use creative problem solving to develop new ideas, solve problems, and implement solutions., cpsi conference, professional development, cps for educators, workshops for everyone, register for cpsi 2024.

creative education

Parnes Gift Announcement

The Creative Education Foundation is honored to announce a $100,000 gift from the Parnes Family to provide on-going support for its operations and programs. We are deeply grateful for this gift and honored to continue to serve Sidney J. Parnes’ legacy. 

Creative Problem Solving (CPS)?

Learn more about cps, creative education foundation.

For more than 65 years, Creative Education Foundation ( CEF ) has been teaching adults and children in organizations, schools, and communities how to use the proven Creative Problem Solving process to develop new ideas, solve problems, and implement solutions. In 1954, Alex Osborn – legendary advertising executive, coiner of the term “brainstorming”, and author of the ground-breaking book  Applied Imagination   – founded CEF. Osborn, along with Professor Sidney Parnes, developed the Osborn-Parnes Creative Problem Solving process. CEF introduced its comprehensive educational program at the first Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI) at the University of Buffalo in 1955.

LEARN MORE ABOUT CEF

Creative problem solving institute (cpsi).

Every year, Creative Education Foundation produces the Creative Problem Solving Institute ( CPSI ), the world’s longest-running creativity conference. CPSI offers several experiential programs to learn or improve your knowledge of the CPS method as well as a youth program for children of ages eight to 17.

LEARN MORE ABOUT CPSI

The vision of the creative education foundation is to unlock the creative genius in everyone. , our mission.

The mission of the Creative Education Foundation is to spark personal and professional transformation by empowering people with the skill set, tool set, and mindset of deliberate creativity.

Understanding Creativity

  • Posted June 25, 2020
  • By Emily Boudreau

Teens with laptops and a chalk drawing of lightbulb

Understanding the learning that happens with creative work can often be elusive in any K–12 subject. A new study from Harvard Graduate School of Education Associate Professor Karen Brennan , and researchers Paulina Haduong and Emily Veno, compiles case studies, interviews, and assessment artifacts from 80 computer science teachers across the K–12 space. These data shed new light on how teachers tackle this challenge in an emerging subject area.

“A common refrain we were hearing from teachers was, ‘We’re really excited about doing creative work in the classroom but we’re uncertain about how to assess what kids are learning, and that makes it hard for us to do what we want to do,’” Brennan says. “We wanted to learn from teachers who are supporting and assessing creativity in the classroom, and amplify their work, and celebrate it and show what’s possible as a way of helping other teachers.”

Create a culture that values meaningful assessment for learning — not just grades

As many schools and districts decided to suspend letter grades during the pandemic, teachers need to help students find intrinsic motivation. “It’s a great moment to ask, ‘What would assessment look like without a focus on grades and competition?’” says Veno.

Indeed, the practice of fostering a classroom culture that celebrates student voice, creativity, and exploration isn’t limited to computer science. The practice of being a creative agent in the world extends through all subject areas.

The research team suggests the following principles from computer science classrooms may help shape assessment culture across grade levels and subject areas.

Solicit different kinds of feedback

Give students the time and space to receive and incorporate feedback. “One thing that’s been highlighted in assessment work is that it is not about the teacher talking to a student in a vacuum,” says Haduong, noting that hearing from peers and outside audience members can help students find meaning and direction as they move forward with their projects.

  • Feedback rubrics help students receive targeted feedback from audience members. Additionally, looking at the rubrics can help the teacher gather data on student work.

Emphasize the process for teachers and students

Finding the appropriate rubric or creating effective project scaffolding is a journey. Indeed, according to Haduong, “we found that many educators had a deep commitment to iteration in their own work.” Successful assessment practices conveyed that spirit to students.

  • Keeping design journals can help students see their work as it progresses and provides documentation for teachers on the student’s process.
  • Consider the message sent by the form and aesthetics of rubrics. One educator decided to use a handwritten assessment to convey that teachers, too, are working on refining their practice.

Scaffold independence

Students need to be able to take ownership of their learning as virtual learning lessens teacher oversight. Students need to look at their own work critically and know when they’ve done their best. Teachers need to guide students in this process and provide scaffolded opportunities for reflection.

  • Have students design their own assessment rubric. Students then develop their own continuum to help independently set expectations for themselves and their work.

Key Takeaways

  • Assessment shouldn’t be limited to the grade a student receives at the end of the semester or a final exam. Rather, it should be part of the classroom culture and it should be continuous, with an emphasis on using assessment not for accountability or extrinsic motivation, but to support student learning.
  • Teachers can help learners see that learning and teaching are iterative processes by being more transparent about their own efforts to reflect and iterate on their practices.
  • Teachers should scaffold opportunities for students to evaluate their own work and develop independence.

Additional Resources

  • Creative Computing curriculum and projects
  • Karen Brennan on helping kids get “unstuck”
  • Usable Knowledge on how assessment can help continue the learning process

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Usable Knowledge

Connecting education research to practice — with timely insights for educators, families, and communities

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creative education

Creative Education, Teaching and Learning

Creativity, Engagement and the Student Experience

  • © 2015
  • Gayle Brewer (Senior Lecturer) 0 ,
  • Russell Hogarth (Community Engagement Ambassador and Honorary Fellow) 1

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Teaching Creatively and Teaching for Creativity

creative education

Reimagining Creativity: Critically, Ethically, and Practically

creative education

Flourishing creativity: education in an age of wonder

  • Digital Storytelling
  • higher education
  • social media

Table of contents (30 chapters)

Front matter, introduction: creativity and education.

  • Gayle Brewer

Digital Technology

Introduction to digital technology, twitter in the classroom: harnessing social media to enhance second language acquisition.

  • Judith Broadbridge, Véronique Charriau

From Cinema to the Classroom: A Critical Engagement with Madness in the Movies

  • The Comensus Writing Collective

Using Poll Everywhere to Improve the Student Experience: Increasing Confidence and Encouraging

  • Craig Laverick

Video-Assisted Feedback

Social media in education and the community.

  • Rory McDonald, Nicky Danino

Learning in Virtual Worlds

  • Russell Gurbutt, Dawne Gurbutt

Sockwashing, Service Use and Making Movies

  • Hannah Chamberlain

From the Horse’s Mouth: Working as a Digital Artist on Research Projects

Introduction to narratives, reading the world: developing communities through arts and asset-based education.

  • Lynn Shorter

Somerstown Stories: Can Exploring a Narrative

  • Sharon Court

Digital Storytelling: Media That Makes a Difference

  • Liz Hardwick

Paper, Pictures and Song: Learning Disabilities and Inclusion

  • Lucille Kennedy

Telling Tales: Creating a Space for Stories in Practitioner Education

  • Dawne Gurbutt, Russell Gurbutt

Fiction, Book Groups and Social Work Education

  • Amanda M. L. Taylor

'Good teaching is never just about imparting information, but rather about enabling students to think creatively. This is a fascinating exploration of the role of creativity in education, and the long-term benefits it offers both to the individual and to society as a whole. It is an immensely valuable resource for anyone wishing to encourage and enhance creativity in the classroom.' - Clare Allan, author of Poppy Shakespeare and Everything is Full of Dogs. 

Editors and Affiliations

Gayle Brewer, Russell Hogarth

About the editors

Bibliographic information.

Book Title : Creative Education, Teaching and Learning

Book Subtitle : Creativity, Engagement and the Student Experience

Editors : Gayle Brewer, Russell Hogarth

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137402141

Publisher : Palgrave Macmillan London

eBook Packages : Palgrave Education Collection , Education (R0)

Copyright Information : The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2015

Hardcover ISBN : 978-1-137-40213-4 Published: 27 July 2015

eBook ISBN : 978-1-137-40214-1 Published: 22 November 2018

Edition Number : 1

Number of Pages : 360

Topics : Technology and Digital Education , Educational Psychology , Teaching and Teacher Education , Assessment, Testing and Evaluation , Cognitive Psychology , Psychology, general

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