creativity research

A. Current Research Strands

Longitudinal or Sustained Creativity - The analysis and articulation of the dynamic of idea generation and development over time.
Assessmentof educational environments for longitudinal or sustained creative potential. The development of educational environments to sustain longitudinal or sustained creative practice.
The development and implementation of the Creativity Triadic Model for the comprehensive transformation of school culture toward an educational culture of creativity.
Assessing creative maturity of educators and learners.
Identfying and developing creativity development strands for creativity and innovation in educational practice.
Development of a cohort of four graduate level courses for professional educators on creativity and educational practice for the new M.Ed program at the University of Calgary.

B. Book Projects

Book Order Form
Creative Expression, Creative Education: Creativity As A Primary Rationale For Education(2008) co-edited with Carl Leggo published by Detselig/ Temeron Books, Calgary. ISBN: 978 155059-359-4

Creative Expression, Creative Education is a book for educators and parents that presents the case for creativity as a primary rationale for education. It serves as an introduction to the contemporary vocabulary, theory and practice of creativity in education and implications for educational practice. Twenty Canadian creative producers from a variety of creative arts disciplines bearing witness to personal acts of creativity are featured in the main section of this volume.
Associate Editor for Creative Arts In Interdisciplinary Practice: Inquires For Hope and Change. Editor: Cheryl McLean, release date August, 2010, ISBN 978-1-55059-385-3.

This book is a project of the International Journal of Creative Arts and Interdisciplinary Practice, a peer-reviewed open access journal, editor: Cheryl McLean, http://www.ijcaip.com.

Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Practice, Inquiries for Hope and Change is a contemporary research text that features informative and illustrative accounts from leading health researchers, social scientists, artists, therapists, nurse educators and professionals, stories of topical research along with dynamic examples demonstrating how the creative arts in many forms as inquiry and in action applied across disciplines can make a critical difference for individuals and society as a whole.”
Author of Educating For Creativity, release date March, 2012, Detselig/ Temeron books, ISBN 979-1-55059-413-3.
Available in hard copy or ebook. This benchmark book in the field of creativity in educational practice explores how an educational culture of creativity can be implemented across the educational spectrum. The author’s new research in this field is accompanied by numerous profiles of schools from around the world from pre-school to post-secondary where creativity is a primary rationale for education. This book is designed to be an accessible resource for educators, administrators and parents who seek to transform educational environments by enabling students and educators to learn creatively and more importantly to learn to create.

The author explains and demystifies the vocabulary of creativity theory while providing the reader with insight into how the concept of creativity is brought into educational practice through an in depth exploration of the nature of idea generation and creative development. The notion of creative development strands is explained along with how to educationally develop a learner towards creative maturity. Strategies for assessing creative development are also discussed.

This book takes the reader on a journey around the globe from the Kaospilots in Denmark to the Tinkering School in California while exploring the nuts and bolts of how to bring the concept of creativity into daily educational practice. This book is an invitation to readers to learn creatively and while learning to create.
Associate Editor for Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Practice:Research for Community and Cultural Change. Editor Cheryl McLean (November 2011)
This book is a project of the International Journal of Creative Arts and Interdisciplinary Practice, a peer-reviewed open access journal, editor: Cheryl McLean, http://www.ijcaip.com.
In the second research text in the series, "Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Practice:Research for Community Change Across Cultures" thereis a particular focus on creative arts and research in action and practice that transforms and empowers individuals and communities.The primary focus of this volume is in arts and research within neighbourhoods and cities, across continents and beyond borders offering hope for change across cultures and communities locally and globally. Publisher Detselig/ Temerom Books, 2011, ISBN 978-1-55059-395-2. Available in hard copy or as an ebook,
Editor forCreativeJourney: Developing Personal and Professional Creativity , release date December 2012, Detselig/ Temeron Books. This project is funded by a conditional grant from Alberta Education. This volume extends the dialogue on the development of an educational culture of creativity across disciplines. This book focuses on the development of creative maturity of the educator under the premise that this is perhaps the singlemost important factor in the establishment of an educational culture of creativity. This work extends the research to establish an understanding of the creative disposition asone that transcends disciplines reinforcing the link between personal creative development and professional practice.Feature essays focus on contemporary creativity theory, interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity, and metaphorical thinking to compliment thecontributions of the interdisciplinary creative producers who speak to creative development.
Chapter contribution to revised edition of stARTing With edited by Michael Emme, Kit Grauer, and Rita Irwin published by the CSEA , the Canadian Society for Education Through Art. January 2011. Chapter title: Understanding Creativity: Idea Generation and Development. "stARTing With..." is an introduction to the art of art teaching in Canadian schools. Itis designed and written by art teachers and art teacher educators from across Canada whoto provide a stARTing point for those interested in learning about the teaching of art, while also reflecting upon their personal beliefs and values in art education.

C. Education Projects

Design of Creativity in Educational Practice program for the new Interdisciplinary MEd program in the Faculty of Education at the University of Calgary for commencement in July 2012. http://www.ucalgary.ca/gpe/content/creativity-educational-practice This exciting new initiative involves the design and delivery of a cluster of fours courses focused on creativity in educational practice that are part of the designer course-based certificate/ diploma/ MEd program at the University of Calgary. The four courses will consist of : 1) Introduction to Creativiity and Educational Practice; 2) Creativity in Communication; 3) Scientific , Social and Entrepreneurial Creativity; and 4) Designing Education For Creativity.
Expanding Horizons (ongoing) – Faculty of Education at the University of Calgary.
This project offers 500 level courses in education primarily geared to those wishing to complete certification requirements for teaching in Alberta. Creativity and Educational Practice is one of the inaugural courses in this initiative. This course focuses on both collaborative and independent creativity explorations that enhance professional educational practice and personal creative practice.
Creative Journey 2012
This project involves the research and development of a five-day non-credit course for the general public focusing on personal creative development in Canadian wilderness settings. Participants will engage in creative arts-based activities in both independent and collaborative formats with a team of facilitators. Location TBA.