 Hello learners, today we will discuss about the unit number 7 entitled Creativity from your course 2 of M.Education. I am Dr. Arsena Adhikari, we will discuss this topic with you in two parts. The first part we will discuss about the meaning of creativity, its characteristics, factors that influence creativity, what are the steps that are involved in creativity and the characteristics of a creative person. With the help of which we can identify who is creative or not. Then we will summarize and end the part. So let's start. So what is creativity? We all are anxious to know who is the creative person. Because creativity is such a term which is essential for development of new things, new ideas, innovative ideas to make a process for the right nation and activity successful one. So basically creativity essentially relates to the potentials of an individual for generating new idea, forms and practices. So basically what it means, it relates to the potential or qualities of an individual of a person which are helpful in generating new ideas, innovative ideas. Because creativity itself is a term which is concerned with innovativeness. It is the result of convergence of the basic cognitive process, core domain knowledge and environmental, personal and motivational factors. So we know that in the last, in the rest of course, in units of the particular courses you have come to know about many things about psychology, learning, motivation, transfer of learning, all these things you have come to know. So you have come to know that this creativity is a part of a cognitive process of an individual. It includes the core domain knowledge and environmental factors. Because for a person to be creative he needs some motivational factors, he needs some environmental factors which the parents, the school, the family can provide him. As well as it is also personal. He must have the particular quality, then only he can be considered as a creative person. Then it is the capacity to produce something that is both not new and adaptive. Yes, important thing. It is the capacity to draw which a person can produce something that is new as well as adaptive. And it is also not important that every time the creative person should produce new thing, he can also adapt the whole thing into a new term. That is also a creative activity. It is a complex phenomenon as it is determined by a wide range of factors. Because in creative process there are lots of factors which we will discuss in the later part, therefore it is a comprehensive and complex phenomenon. There are lots of definitions you will get in the asylum or in the textbook of psychology. But the definition I have put it here is Simpson. He said that creative thinking involves new forms of thinking away from the traditional forms. Generally, we all are in a habitual form to think in the traditional mode or form. But creative thinking are not like that. It always goes for a new form which is always away from the traditional one. It involves a curiosity, imagination, research, novelty, etc. Because where a creative person is always in strife, it is a charge of a new thing. He strives for novelty. He does not go for the existing one. Therefore, he needs what? Curiosity. Curiosity. What is going on? He is always curious. He is always imaginative. And he always looks for the novelty, research. That is why he is a creative person. As well as creativity is a very precious and unique quality in an individual. Because we all are not quite creative. There are lots of people in a state, in a school or in a wall. There are lots of people, millions of people. But among all these people, few, only a few or a few is a creative. Why? Because it is a precious kind of quality, unique kind of quality. As it enables the person to solve the complicated problem in the different works of life. He can think in a new way. He can solve the problem in an innovative way, which is very precious and unique. So it is a unique and precious quality of a person. That is the main concept of creativity. Basically, it is a complex, it is a very unique phenomenon that happens to a particular person. Then what are the characteristics on the basis of which we can determine the concept of creativity. First one is universal. Yes, creativity is universal in nature. Yeah, there are a few person, particular person who have the particular quality of creativity. But it is universal in nature. Anyone in the world can have this great particular potentiality. Therefore, it is universal. There are novelty. Creativity is always considered, dealt with novelty. What is novelty? Novelty is the ability to produce something new. As well as belong aside, along with creating something new, it also go for creating or the adopting the old thing in a new form. Therefore, it is always concerned with the novelty. Then diversions. Creativity always involves diversions and thinking, more than the conversion thinking. It is always different from other, always diversions. Then there are some conditions for creativity. What it is? Requires free atmosphere. Yes, if a person have to think something new, he need a free atmosphere in a very controlled and imposing position or imposing situation, he cannot think. He have to think. He have to imagine for novelty, for innovation. And for this, he require a free environment. Then wide scope. Creativity has a very wide horizon. It includes all aspects of human life. It is not like that creativity only includes the academic field. No. In any area, in any works of life, it may be art, it may be drama, it may be cooking also. Creativity can occur. So its horizon is very wide. It is not confining to a particular aspect of human life. Then innate as well as acquired. Yes, creativity is a natural enjoyment. A person can be creative by inbound. He may have this quality by innate. But it is also acquired. It may be also be acquired. This creativity may be the function of natural enjoyment as well as its nurturing. Means it is the product of natural and nurses. Means what? Yes, creativity is acquired by part. But if we do not nourish it, if we do not make proper care of it, then it will vanish. So therefore it is termed as innate as well as acquired. Then adventurous and open thinking. Creativity is adventurous and open thinking. For creative thinking, we have to open our mind. Open up our mind. If we are controlling our mind, if we are limiting our mind to a particular area, we cannot be adventurous. We have to be adventurous. We have to explore. Then only we can imagine. Then only we can create. That is creativity. Then process as well as product. Creativity is both process and product. It is not like that creativity is only productive. We have to process it. Through processing, it becomes a product. So creativity is both process and product. Then individualistic as well as socialistic. Creativity is an individualistic approach, yes, in the beginning. Because when a person thinks his things from his own individual point of view, but later on it becomes socialistic because he gives it to us. He leaves it to us, the society and other persons society accepts it. Because whatever something new happens, first of all this particular thing comes from the particular person, then we accept it. That means what we have, we accepting the individualistic view from socialistic part. Therefore creativity is both individualistic as well as socialistic. Now we will discuss the factors that are responsible or that are influencing or affecting the creativity. What are the things, what are the factors that are essential for creativity? If we want our child to be creative, then we have to provide some factors or we have to provide some particular environment and what are they? First is motivation. If a person, if a child want to do something, that means what he has some reason for it. The first reason is motivation. The school teachers, the parents and his friends must motivate him. That's why he is encouraged to do something new. So we all the teachers, the parents must motivate our child because all are endowed with some creative qualities. That's the thing is what we have to motivate them. We have to push them to do that and that is motivation. Courage. They may, child may get motivation, but if they do not have that kind of courage then they cannot make new things, new ideas. For this we have to encourage them. They must gain the courage and after that it will be helpful for them to go for a new and innovative idea. The experiences, yes of course. For creative, to be creative we must have some experiences in the line or in the area which we are focusing on. If it is an artistic area, we must have some artistic experiences. If it is a sport area, a literature area, then we must also have some experiences. So experience is another factor that is responsible or influencing creativity. Then resources. Of course, I want to make something or you want to make something. You are motivated, you have courage, you have experiences. If you don't have any resources for it, how can you make it? How can you go for it? It's impossible. So for this we need some resources in any form, in any kind which will be applicable to the particular area. So resources are important and who will give us the resources? The management. The governance. If it is cool, the school have to provide the particular resources. Suppose, if it is about the writing poem, writing stories or doing something performance, then it must have a proper stage, proper platform. It must provide some particular resources in terms of paper, pencil, art, skills, you know, colors, all these things, resources, any kind of resources. The management or the school should provide. Then pressure and challenges is of course, sometimes we have seen, we have witnessed some people who are, who are considered or who have turned to creative person because of challenges or pressure they have faced in their life. There may be some children, there may be some person who have faced lots of challenges in his life. And out of that, because of that, he is, he has turned to a creative person. Because challenges has put him such kind of, you know, motivation that he is supposed to do that. Yes, I have to do this because I am, I am challenging, I have faced this problem. Therefore, I must solve it. Because creativity is itself something that it helps the person to solve problem. Creative person have lots of solution. So if they have faced challenges, they are able to, what, they are able to derive some solution also. Then space and time, of course, they must, if we have to be creative, if we want our child to be creative, we must give them free space and free time. Because in a control environment, control condition, they cannot think, they cannot imagine. So we have to give them free time, so that they can utilize in a productive way. So that way the factors, now we will discuss about the steps, steps in creativity. What are the steps? You know, when a creative person creates something new, it's not like that he has just created yesterday only. It has a process. He has to go long away for the process. We have to follow some procedures. What are they? It may be, you know, it may be individual, but psychologists have divided it in some ways. So some have divided it into four stages. Some have divided it into five and some into seven. So it differs from psychologist to psychologist. But in general view, creativity is believed to follow the following stages. First one is preparation. Yes, of course. If we have to, if a creative person have to develop something new, give something new. First of all, he have to find out what are going on. For this he have to prepare himself or herself. He have to find, he have to see what is going on, what are the problem. So for this he identify the problem. He prepare himself. That's the first thing. Then incubation. So what incubation means, here in this case, he leave the problem. He don't think much about, he doesn't think much about the problem. He just leave it. Then he give time, give space to his unconscious mind to get some solution for it. Because when we are thinking much about a particular problem, we are becoming confused. We get confused. We don't get proper solution. But when we leave it, when we are free, our subconscious mind also become free. And then it gives us proper cue. Therefore it is incubation. Then illumination. So all of a sudden, all of a sudden we get some solution. Okay. So as we are leaving our problem free, all of a sudden some new mind, some new thinking comes to our mind. Therefore it is illumination. And at last we verify it. The creative person verify it as the solution. So these are basically the four steps of creativity. First is preparation, incubation, illumination and verification. And we will discuss the characteristics of a creative person. As a teacher, as a parent, we sometime may fail to identify our creative children, creative student. So for this it is very essential to know what are the characteristics a creative person possess. Because creativity is a national and a man. It is innate. It is if the child get it by birth. But if they are not identified, not nourished, it will vanish. So it is very essential for the teacher to identify it, very essential for the parents to find out it. So what are they? First is originality of ideas. Creative person have always have their own original ideas and expression. They do not follow others. They do not depend on others thinking. They have their own ideas and those ideas are original in nature. Then they have the adaptability and sense of advance. They have independent way of thinking. They think in an independent way. They have independent judgment. They do not follow or depend on others for giving an adjustment to any activity or any matter. They have their own independent judgment. Then they have high degree of awareness and to stress them and concentration. Then they have investigative and curiousness of course. At a particular stage we find out that all children become curious to know something new. So at that moment it is the right moment for the teacher and the parents to find out these characteristics in the child and nourish it because they have some curiosity to know about the world, know about the nature, know about the outer art. Therefore we have to keep proper mind on it. Then they have fancy expression. They can plenty express their views. They have flexibility in thought, perception and action. They have good memory and a general knowledge. And they have ambitious nature. They have diversity and divergence of thought. Of course I have already stated that divergence is an important characteristic of creativity. As such they have divergence of thought. Then spontaneity and ease of expression. They can express their view spontaneously and with ease. They have respect for others opinion too. Though they have their original thinking, independent thinking, they also respect the others opinion. And they have large number of ideas and solutions to problem because they are creative. They have when you approach a creative person for a particular problem, particular person, they can give you lots of solution because they have their independent thinking. Independent judgment. So on the basis of these qualities, these are not the list we have or we have other characteristics also but these are the basically the important characteristics of creative person. On the basis of which we can identify creative person, creative student or creative children at our home. So we have come to the last part of this discussion, what we have learned, what we have discussed. We have discussed about creativity which is essentially a potential of an individual for generating new ideas and forms and practices. They have lots of characteristics that are universality, novelty, divergence. Again there are some factors responsible for creativity. What are those, motivation, resources, courage, experiences. We have also discussed about the state involving creativity in terms of preparation, incubation, illumination and verification. Then there are a number of characteristics we have just discussed through which we can identify a creative person. So in this part we have discussed about the first part of the unit. In the second part we will discuss about the remaining part of the unit 7. Thank you.