Creative Thinking Annotated Bibliography

Jim Eison, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Teaching Enhancement
University of South Florida


May 1999



Biondi, A. M. (Ed.). The creative process. Buffalo, NY: Creative Education Foundation.

The creative process is generally used by people who have been encouraged to apply their natural talent for imagination or by those who have had instruction and practice in forcing hidden capabilities into operation. If many more people could be induced to utilize their privilege of creating, confidence rather than unhappiness would result. The selections in this book are to acquaint the reader with an understanding of what is entailed in the creative process and an effective five-step creative problem solving method from which to utilize.



Biondi, A. M., & Parnes, S. J. Assessing creative growth: The tests and measured changes. Buffalo, NY: Creative Education Foundation.

A total of 21 selections dealing with the identification of creative talents as well as the use of creative testing instruments in studies assessing creative growth and development. The areas of interest range from the classic theories and investigations of Guilford and MacKinnon, to the more easily implementable approaches discussed by other authors.



Dantonio, M. How can we create thinkers? Questioning strategies that work for teachers. Buffalo, NY: Creative Education Foundation.

Recent research from the National Association of Secondary School Principals indicates that teachers spend 80% of their instructional time asking questions. But are they asking the type of questions that will engender thinking among students? How Can We Create Thinkers? Questioning Strategies they Work for Teachers demonstrates how to ask questions that prompt students to focus, expand and support their answers. Proper use of questioning techniques presented in this publication will help increase your students' ability to think creatively and to better comprehend and retain information. Inside the pages of How Can We Create Thinkers?, you will find specific and practical steps for developing a successful questioning skills training program.



Draze, D. (1994). Pickles, problems, and dilemmas. Sarasota, FL: Center for Creative Learning, Inc.

Starter situations or challenges for creative problem solving. These 84 situations, presented in cleverly illustrated formats, will help students learn to apply and practice the skills of productive thinking. The problems are useful as starters for idea generation, CPS practice exercises, or as stimulating prompts for writing, drama, or group discussion.



Isaksen, S. G. Frontiers of creativity research: Beyond the basics. Buffalo, NY: Creative Education Foundation.

A milestone book on creativity, this publication is a must for anyone currently or planning to conduct research in the field. It has been written to provide a historical viewpoint as well as a glimpse into the future because the need and usefulness in understanding creativity is great; but the resources and energy currently available are few. We cannot afford to waste these valuable but limited resources solely on unnecessary rediscovery. It is Dr. Isaksen's hope that this book will promote better coordination, communication, and cooperation to better understand creativity and more effectively focus the resources on the concept.



Isaksen, S., Dorval, B., & Treffinger, D. (1994). Creative approaches to problem solving. Sarasota, FL: Center for Creative Learning, Inc.

This comprehensive textbook provides a thorough and detailed treatment of the most up-to-date, extensively researched, and field-tested framework for creative problem solving (CPS) that is available from any source. CPS builds on a tradition of more than 40 years of theory, research, and practice- and extends that foundation based on the most recent studies and field experiences in educational and business settings throughout the world. Creative Approaches to Problem Solving provides practical resources combined with the in-depth background and foundation needed to make your own CPS efforts, and those of others, powerful and successful. This text provides resources on personal orientation and styles and their effects on effective problem solving, situational or environmental factors in CPS, as well as detailed presentations of each of the three CPS components (understanding the problem, generating ideas, and planning for action) and the six CPS stages (mess finding, data-finding, problem-finding, idea-finding, solution-finding, and acceptance-finding). It also includes extensive new material on task appraisal, preparation for CPS, client-facilitator planning, process planning, and component diagnosis. It will be an indispensable reference for trainers, workshop leaders and instructors, CPS facilitators, and anyone who seeks a thorough understanding of the structure and application of CPS.



Noller, R., & Frey, B. (1994). Mentoring: An annotated bibliography (1982-1992). Sarasota, FL: Center for Creative Learning, Inc.

Mentoring is an important factor in the development of creativity and other talents in many fields. Mentor experiences have helped to stimulate the development and productivity of many talented individuals, and research has shown that ignoring the mentoring process can inhibit creative success for many young people. This thoroughly-researched bibliography provides complete reference citations and annotations for more than 900 references on all aspects of mentoring, from a variety of sources, over a decade's time. It also includes an introduction and overview by the editors, a narrative summary, and a complete categorical index.



Osborn, A. F. Applied imagination. Buffalo, NY: Creative Education Foundation.

This book is a reprint of the third revised edition of Alex F. Osborn's classic text in creative problem solving. In Applied Imagination, Dr. Osborn speaks of the importance of imagination in all areas of life. Creative and noncreative forms of imagination, factors which can tend to cramp creativity, ways by which creativity can be developed, the creative problem solving process, individual ideation, and team collaboration and evolution and obsolescence of new ideas are a few of the many topics Dr. Osborn addresses in this ageless book. It is possible to approach your creative potential through exposure to and exercise of the principles and techniques presented in this book.



Osborn, A. F. Your creative power. Buffalo, NY: Creative Education Foundation.

This special limited edition book, published by Motorola University Press, 1991, is authorized by the author's family and Creative Education Foundation. Personally abridged by Robert W. Galvin, Chairman, Executive Committee, Motorola, Inc., Your Creative Power is timeless. In this, its new abridged form, it is also timely as a fresh leadership skill tool. Author, Alex Osborn, was a prolific and exciting thinker, creative and judgmental. He inspired others by practical role modelship and clear, fundamental instruction. This shortened version is pure Osborn text retaining all of his fascinating insights and principles that outline each and every creative fundamental step that he lived, practiced, and wrote of in the interest of stimulating our creative power.



Parnes, S. (Ed.). (1992). Source book for creative problem solving. Sarasota, FL: Center for Creative Learning, Inc.

A fifty year digest of proven processes and strategies for creativity and innovation. This book is a collection of both classic and contemporary articles, written by many of the field's leading theorists, researchers, and practitioners. It surveys a variety of historical and contemporary topics and issues in creativity and creative problem solving. The Source Book for Creative Problem Solving also offers a valuable synthesis of many methods, techniques, and resources on defining, recognizing, and nurturing creative behavior at all age levels and in many different settings.



Parnes, S. J. Visionizing. Buffalo, NY: Creative Education Foundation.

This book is designed for those interested in encouraging and nurturing creative awareness, attitudes, and accomplishments in themselves and others. It blends expanded imagery and analogy processes with the Osborn-Parnes creative problem solving (CPS) process. Visionizing serves the same purpose for the study of futuristics CPS as did the earlier Scribner publications: Creative Behavior Guidebook, Guide to Creative Action and Creative Actionbook for general CPS programs. However, it also features and integrates researched and time-tested instructional materials from the earlier publications. The inclusion of these materials provides for three important applications: (1) to supplement, expand, and make more universally applicable the sessions in part 1; (2) to help new CPS students make more powerful use of the visionizing processes in part 1; and (3) to serve as general resource materials in all other types of creativity development programs, including self-study. Visionizing makes explicit and expands the "opportunity-finding" processes which are largely implicit in general CPS programs--what is termed in the Osborn-Parnes model, "sensitivity to objectives or messes." It greatly expands upon "the front end of the CPS process"--the opportunity-making, the dreaming, the visioning. Then the dreams or visions are engineered into the best reality manageable.



Shallcross, D. J. Teaching creative behavior: How to evoke creativity in children of all ages. Buffalo, NY: Creative Education Foundation.

Here is an important classroom handbook that encourages creative behavior on the part of both the teacher and the student and describes optimal conditions for creative teaching and learning. The reader will discover helpful classroom strategies for guiding the individual student or students in groups and setting the mental, emotional, and physical climate for creativity.



Shallcross, D. J., & Sisk, D. A. Intuition: An inner way of knowing. Buffalo, NY:

Creative Education Foundation.

Intuition: An Inner Way of Knowing digs in deep to examine the history of intuitive influences on Eastern and Western spiritual traditions. It tunnels through the generalization known as women's intuition to the origins of the myth. The research of Drs. Shallcross and Sisk is an important, historical probe on what paying attention to intuition did then. It is an equally vital exploration of how this inner knowledge affects society now. This book is a thoughtful and sensitive inspection of the reality of intuition as it applies to the arts and sciences, mathematics and psychology, education and management. But not satisfied with the how's and why's of it, the authors provide proven methods of preparing for intuition's intervention in our personal and professional environments.



Stein, M. I. Making the point: Anecdotes, poems, and statements about the creative process. Buffalo, NY: Creative Education Foundation.

This is a collection of materials which have helped the author to illustrate his presentations about the creative process. They are presented in response to the numerous requests made by members of the various audiences over the author's distinguished career.



Torrance, E. P. Mentor relationships: How they aid creative achievement, endure, change, and die. Buffalo, NY: Creative Education Foundation.

E. Paul Torrance has served as a mentor to countless individuals during his long and illustrious career. Such influence of one individual on the lives of others is not unique to modern times, however. As the author notes, this sort of relationship has occurred throughout history and its importance has been alluded to over and over. The significant questions addressed by this book are why and how the mentoring relationship produces positive benefits in terms of personal growth. Excellent documentation is provided to describe how the relationship develops, grows, and changes. Moreover, in his characteristic manner of original thinking, Dr. Torrance provides the "unusual twist" by analyzing what damages may occur when a person is mentorless.



Torrance, E. P., & Safter, H. T. The incubation model of teaching: Getting beyond the aha! Buffalo, NY: Creative Education Foundation.

The objectives of this book are to elaborate on the Incubation Model of Teaching and get you on the way to developing the skills required to execute it. The authors have controversially suggested that many things can be learned more economically and effectively if they are learned in creative ways rather than by authority. This book should be read by all instructors--from kindergarten teachers to college professors, and by Sunday school or music and art teachers alike. In kindergarten or graduate school, the minds of students before their classroom experiences can be likened to unhatched eggs. Torrance and Safter give teachers a delightful opportunity to incubate those minds to the kind of knowledge that has wings to soar.



Treffinger, D. (1992). Practice problems for creative problem solving. Sarasota, FL: Center for Creative Learning, Inc.

This book provides 50 interesting and varied "messy situations" to use as motivating and effective starting points for creative problem solving with groups of many ages. These one-page practice problems can be used to help students learn and apply CPS components, stages, and strategies in both an engaging and enjoyable way. Choose the problems best suited to your group's interests and needs. You may reproduce the messy situations and several other helpful worksheets to prompt and guide the students' efforts. The problems and worksheets have been revised from previous editions, based on field-tests in several sites, and new text has been added to help you use the materials more effectively.



Treffinger, D. (1993). The real problem solving handbook. Sarasota, FL: Center for Creative Learning, Inc.

This handbook offers practical guidelines and resources to help you plan, organize, carry out, and evaluate a program to involve students in solving real problems and challenges. Real problems are opportunities or challenges in which the problem solvers will actually carry out their solutions and action plans--situations in which there is considerable motivation and ownership for problem solving. It provides valuable resources and tips to help you guide students in moving gradually from learning and using basic "tools" for creative and critical thinking, then learning CPS methods and working on realistic practice problems, and ultimately to tackling real challenges. The book will help you incorporate CPS consistently and effectively in relation to today's emphasis on authentic learning and assessment; initial rubrics are also included for assessing success in dealing with real problems.



Treffinger, D. (1994). Assessing CPS performance. Sarasota, FL: Center for Creative Learning, Inc.

These resources will help you in your efforts to link CPS instruction and today's focus on "authentic assessment." Assessing CPS Performance offers a variety of practical, reproducible instruments, and checklists for use in: evaluating students' knowledge of CPS strategies and concepts; assessing their attitudes about CPS and their self-concepts as creative problem solvers; and assessing and documenting the effectiveness or impact of instructional or training programs in creative problem solving. These instruments are offered in a research edition format, for field testing and group use. They include a CPS project checklist (for evaluating individual or small group independent projects in which CPS was applied), a CPS program reference form (for assessing characteristics of effective problem solvers), client CPS session evaluation form, parent CPS impact evaluation form (to assess carry over to the home), a multiple choice CPS information quiz, the CPS skills inventory, CPS session group evaluation form, CPS group debriefing form, and two CPS attitude inventories. The booklet includes a form which can be mailed in to obtain permission to reproduce the assessment resources at no additional cost.



Treffinger, D. (1994). Creative problem solver's guidebook. Sarasota, FL: Center for Creative Learning, Inc.

The Creative Problem Solver's Guidebook is a practical collection of more than 20 reproducible forms to guide individuals and groups in applying CPS for any problem or challenge. You can use these forms in many ways: as "templates" for organizing flip charts or CPS session notes; for overheads or handouts to accompany CPS instruction; as "working papers" to guide your selection of exercises and activities in a CPS session; or for creating booklets to guide group participants through CPS and recording their ideas as the session progresses. Select and reproduce any of the forms you wish to use with your group! Each form is clearly labeled to guide the user in the CPS stages. Spiral-bound pages open flat for easy duplication. Booklet includes a mail-in form to grant permission (at no additional cost) for duplication of all forms.



Treffinger, D., Isaksen, S., & Dorval, B. (1994). Creative problem solving: An introduction. Sarasota, FL: Center for Creative Learning, Inc.

This book provides a concise introduction to and overview of the most contemporary approach to creative problem solving (CPS), based on extensive research, development, and field experience in education, businesses, and many other organizations. Creative Problem Solving: An Introduction describes the three important components of CPS (understanding the problem, generating ideas, and planning for action), the six specific CPS stages (mess-finding, data-finding, problem-finding, idea finding, solution-finding, and acceptance-finding), and the fundamental techniques for diverging (generating options) and converging (analyzing and refining options) in each stage. It also includes an introduction to the newest concepts of task appraisal and process planning. This book is intended to provide an introduction to contemporary CPS, in a briefer format than the more comprehensive Creative Approaches to Problem Solving. It is ideal as a participant's text for use in introductory workshops, courses, training programs, or seminars.



Treffinger, D., McEwen, P., & Wittig, C. (1989). Using creative problem solving in inventing and student invention evaluation kit. Sarasota, FL: Center for Creative Learning, Inc.

Using Creative Problem Solving in Inventing is a concise, practical overview of ways to use creative thinking, critical thinking, and creative problem solving methods and techniques in inventing. The Student Invention Evaluation Kit includes a variety of resources, checklists, and rating scales to help compare, judge, or strengthen the creativity of inventions or other new products.