Welcome to the class! The first class is on Wednesday, January 18th in Lab Sciences 301, 1-2:30pm.
Welcome to the class! The first class is on Wednesday, January 18th in Lab Sciences 301, 1-2:30pm.
This course is an introduction to the psychological and sociological study of creativity in the arts, sciences, and business. Our topics include the creative individual, the audience, the creative product, the creative process, and social, cultural, and institutional influences on the creative process.
Each week of the semester will follow a similar structure. On Monday, all students will engage in an in-class "creativity experience": a hands-on, group activity that is related to the topic of the week. After class on Monday night, all students are required to post a response to the experience, or a comment on Monday's assigned readings, to the class discussion list. On Wednesday, class will start with a quiz on the week's readings, and then the rest of the class will be devoted to a discussion of the readings.
Specific issues that will be considered include:
The only assigned book is a new book by Professor Sawyer that has just been published by Oxford University Press, Explaining creativity: The science of human innovation.
The majority of the assigned readings will be on Olin ERes. Click here to go directly to Ed 366 ERes readings
To send e-mail to Professor Sawyer, please use this e-mail address (without spaces): k s a w y e r (at sign) wustl.edu
All of the following assignments are required for you to get a grade in the course. In other words, failure to turn in any one of the assignments will result in a failing grade.
Class attendance is required at all classes. I will allow three absences if you discuss the reason with me in advance of the class. After these three, I will reduce your grade by one notch for each missed class (A- drops to B+, B+ drops to B). In any case, I will reduce your grade if you do not notify me in advance that you will miss the class. Frequent late arrivals without explanation may also affect your grade.
In the first class, I will describe the kind of discussion I want to have in class, and the type of participation I expect from each of you. “Participation” includes both thoughtful speaking (responding to the ongoing thread of discussion) and attentive listening (listening closely and critically as other students are speaking).
Approximately once each week, usually on Wednesday, I will give a brief quiz at the beginning of class to test your familiarity with the week's reading. If you are late without notice and miss the quiz, you cannot make up the quiz and you will receive a zero. If you miss a class without notice, you will receive a zero for that day's quiz. If you notify me in advance and your absence is one of the three allowed absences, you will not be required to make up the quiz (I will simply omit it from the end-of-semester average).
In Class 12, teams will present business plans for their selected creative idea to the class. I will provide you with several sources of new product ideas; your job is to turn that idea into a reality by developing a business plan for the product.
In Class 7, students will select ideas and propose them to the class, on the discussion list. Students will then rank their top five choices for ideas and turn these in in Class 8. In Class 9, I will form project teams around the most popular ideas. These teams will meet outside class time to prepare the business plan to be presented in Class 12. A written plan must be turned in, and a formal presentation must be ready for the class.
You will select one historical creativity individual. The individual must no longer be living, and the individual must be prominent enough that there have been several published books and articles about that individual's creative process and creative products. Length: 5-6 double spaced pages.
Select creative individual for biography, and hand in a written 1/2 page proposal: Class 15
Biography due in class: Class 20
Come to Class 22 with a report based on the business case that I will assign.
Due Class 23. This assignment is something like a book report. Find a book that gives advice on how to be more creative. You might find some books like this in campus libraries, but these books are easier to find in public libraries or in mall bookstores. The book could give creativity advice in general, or could focus on creativity in one domain: how to be more creative in business, how to be a more creative writer. Your report should do two things:
(1) find one recommendation in the book that is consistent with the readings of our course.
(2) find one recommendation in the book that is contradicted by the readings of our course.
The most significant assignment for the course is a semester-long project, to be completed by a team of students. The project can be on any topic whatsoever. All project proposals must meet three requirements: (1) the project must involve going outside of class time and beyond class readings to gather additional information and/or data about a topic related to creativity; (2) the project must draw heavily on course readings and themes; (3) the project must result in a 15-minute performance that can be presented to the entire class. Each group will find their own unique way to bring together these requirements.
Here are some ideas, but don't feel limited by these:
Projects will be graded on the following criteria:
Key dates:
Class 5: Each student must come up with a team project idea, and post the idea to the class discussion list.
Class 6: All students must read the posted ideas and select their top five choices.
Class 7: Instructor will select the highest rated ideas, form teams, and announce the results to the class.
Class 10: Teams meet before this date, outside of class time, and develop a two- to three-page project proposal. Project proposals due today.
Class 25: Projects due. Turn in written paper; performance presented to the class.
The final exam will test your understanding of the course readings, and will also assess your participation level during class, by containing items about events and comments that happened during class discussions and during the in-
The readings specified for a date should be read before coming to class that day, since they will be the topic of that class’s discussion and of that day's quiz. I have ordered the readings for each class in the order they should be read.
Introduction: Conceptions of creativity.
Reading (read before posting to the discussion list): Explaining Creativity Chapters 1 and 2 (ERes)
After class: Discussion list posting
This week's topic: Conceptual combination
Experience: Conceptual combination (creating new categories)
After class: Discussion list posting in response to the in-class experience
Readings:
Quiz and discussion: Conceptual combination
Readings:
This week's topic: Creative imagery
Experience: Creative imagery (shapes and inventions)
After class: Discussion list posting about the experience
Readings:
Quiz and discussion: Creative imagery.
Readings:
After class: Post an idea for the semester team project to the discussion list.
This week's topic: Creative insight
Assignment due today: Rank the top five semester project proposals and turn in your list of five proposal ideas, with the name of the proposer.
Experience: Creative insight (remote associates triplets; solving insight problems)
After class: Discussion list posting
Readings:
Semester project team assignments will be announced today.
Quiz and discussion: Creative insight
Readings:
Mini-experience: Using dice to develop business plan ideas
After class: Post ideas for Class 12's business plan to the discussion list.
Idea sources:
Assignment: Read all of the new product ideas posted to the discussion list, and rank the top five ideas on a sheet of paper to be handed in.
This week's topic: Group improvisation.
Experience: Group story telling (with word dice and without; alphabet dialogue; freeze tag)
After class: Discussion list posting
Readings:
Quiz and discussion: Group improvisation.
Readings: Sawyer, Group creativity, Chapter 1 "Introduction"
Business plan team assignments will be distributed at the end of class.
Assignment due today: Semester project team proposals.
This week's topic: The innovation process
Experience: Team creation with Legos, erector sets, Tinker toys, etc.
After class: Discussion list posting
Readings: Explaining creativity, Chapters 7, 8, and 9
Quiz and discussion: The innovation process
Reading:
This week's topic: Translating creativity into innovation.
Experience: Teams present their business plans to the class.
Quiz: Translating creativity into innovation.
Business plan presentations, continued.
Reading:
This week's topic: Creative conversation
Experience: Team game design, using Lego blocks and other materials
Reading: Bearison & Dorval, "The social context of interpersonal negotiations"
Due today: 1/2 page creativity biography proposal
Quiz and discussion: Creative conversation
Reading: Sawyer, Creating Conversations Chapter 2, "Dialogues"
This week's topic: Brainstorming
Experience: Group creativity methods (brainstorming, brain writing, etc.)
Reading: Mullen, Johnson, & Salas, "Productivity loss in brainstorming groups"
Quiz and discussion: Brainstorming
Reading:
This week's topic: The innovation process
Experience: Linear and system creativity, exercise using Legos and Tinkertoys.
Reading:
Quiz and discussion: Creativity processes, organizational innovation.
Reading:
Creativity biographies due.
Experience: Sharing and discussion based on creativity biographies.
Creativity biographies, continued.
Readings: Gruber & Wallace, "The case study method"
Assignment due: Business case report
Discussion of business case
This week's topic: Enhancing creativity
Assignment due: Enhancing creativity book reports
Experience: Discussion of student reports
Enhancing creativity reports, continued.
Reading:
This week's topic: Team performances
Experience: Teams will present their performances to the class.
Performances, continued.
The final exam will be based on both the readings and on in-class discussions and experiences.
For comments or information about this page, please contact Keith Sawyer at
k s a w y e r (at sign) wustl.edu