Celebrating Dr. Sydney J. Parnes, a Pioneer in Teaching Creativity as a Cognitive Skill

“Creativity can be considered a function of knowledge,
imagination, and evaluation.”

Dr. Sydney J. Parnes pioneered creative thinking in education and creative problem- solving with Alex Osborn, and was founder of the Creative Education Foundation (Where Brainstorming Began™) in 1954, for which he served as president for many years. Dr. Parnes died Aug. 19, 2013 at age 91. 

The concept that imagination is so important and that there are ways to stimulate it captivated Parnes for a lifetime. He became the world’s leading expert on the topics of creativity, innovation, and problem solving. This groundbreaking educator, researcher, author, and keynote speaker founded the International Center for Studies in Creativity at the State University at Buffalo, N.Y. and its Master's degree program, the first of its kind.  

See and hear the great Dr. Parnes himself in this recent two-part interview:

Dr. Sydney J. Parnes Interview Part 1

Dr. Sydney J. Parnes Interview Part 2

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Advice from Outside the Box

To live successfully—both personally and professionally—you must identify problems and think of ways to solve them. And if your first attempts don’t work, you need the ability to formulate Plan B, C, D, and Q. You must figure out ways around roadblocks, come up with quick fixes for little emergencies, and design effective strategies for tackling serious problems. Creative thinkers are best equipped to navigate the challenges of life. 

Here are some of my favorite anecdotes featuring creative problem solvers. These lighthearted examples are from everyday life, but their “outside the box” approach

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Knowledge is Power but Dreamers Shape the World

Stop and look around at any given moment and you see what startling advances we enjoy. To be surrounded by such accomplishments we must think to ourselves how much people must need to know to be able to create so many marvelous things. And, yes, it’s true that knowledge is the building block upon which great achievements are made. But it takes something else, as well.

Knowledge is the foundation of achievement, but the formula doesn’t add up without one essential ingredient: creative thinking. Creativity blossoms in fields of knowledge. Knowledge + Creative Thinking = Achievement.

Creative thinking is rarely addressed in school, yet it is the number one factor that distinguishes our great achievers from the ordinary in every field. Combined with knowledge, creativity works wonders.

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E. Paul Torrance Concepts Illustrated

Marjorie illustrated these E. Paul Torrance concepts and we thought we'd liven up the the blog and show them to you. These are part of our FREE poster download which includes a short definition of each term. It's on our Freebies page along with other goodies. Don't forget to grab our FREE "Fluency" lesson plan, aptly entitled, "Fluency Flurry." Enjoy!

Read more about E. Paul Torrance, also known as "The Father of Creativity," in Marjorie's post below.

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The Powerful Fours of Creative Thinking

I was in high school when I first came across the writings of the man who would become my lifetime hero. There isn’t another individual who has affected my thinking and my career direction in life as much as he has. Dr. E. Paul Torrance (1915 – 2003) is called The Father of Creativity among educators. He dedicated his life’s work to increasing the recognition, acceptance, and development of the creative personality in education. He did his research at various universities, including The University of Georgia.

Astonished by Students

Torrance’s interest in creativity grew from his struggles as a teacher working with difficult or failing students. He observed the astonishing fact that many of the least successful students went on to become highly successful in business, the arts, science, education, politics, and more. Torrance determined to discover the other forces, outside of traditional education, that power people toward achievement. He discovered creative thinking!

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Creative Genius: It Takes Both Sides

What is Creativity? Creativity is about problem solving in a new way. It is using skills to generate ideas and bring about something unique and valuable. Although the creative process involves imagination and self expression, it must be purposeful in reaching “outside the box” to solve a problem, meet a need, or accomplish a goal.

Although some children are innately more creatively inclined, all kids can learn creative thinking skills and get in the habit of using them for problem solving in life, work, and play.

Divergent And Convergent Thinking

We often hear the terms “right brain” and “left brain” thinking. This refers to the two hemispheres of the brain, each of which dominate different thought processes. In reality, both hemispheres need to work together for us to do anything meaningful.

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Imagination Knows No Bounds

I recently provided an after school enrichment program at a local elementary school. I was trying out some new ideas to spark creative thinking in kids. The program was only open to students in 2nd to 5th grade, but the principal of the school mistakenly invited kindergarteners and first graders to join, too.

When I arrived at school the principal told me that the little ones had no other place to go during the program, so I had to include them. I was concerned because I didn’t believe children so young could possibly keep up with the older ones. I was wrong.

I prompted the group of 14 to generate new uses for everyday items (see "What Can You Do with a Paper Clip?"), sketch imaginary animals, make up stories based on random images, invent new toys, and solve outrageous problems. The youngest ones eagerly embraced the challenges and ran circles around most of the 4th and 5th graders.

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