Educating for Creativity and Innovation: A Comprehensive Guide for Research-Based Practice

Today, more than ever before, we must all be able to think creatively, manage change, and solve complex, open-ended problems. Education today is different in its structure and practice than it was in any previous generation, not just because of the impact of technology and the Internet, but also because, across the lifespan, every person studies, works, and plays in a global community that was previously unknown to most generations. Although organizations worldwide recognize that their success both now and in the future depends on a workforce capable of effective thinking, problem solving, and innovation, educational practice still lags behind our knowledge in these areas. Educating for Creativity and Innovation is a powerful resource to close the gap between research and practice and to promote understanding and effective practice relating to creativity and innovation. In short, this is a book whose time is now!

Donald J. Treffinger, Ph.D., was the president of the Center for Creative Learning in Sarasota, FL. He earned a master's degree and a doctoral degree in educational psychology from Cornell University. Treffinger previously has been a member of the faculty at Purdue University, the University of Kansas, and Buffalo State College. He now is a member of the Gifted Child Quarterly Advisory Board and has served as editor of that journal and as editor-in-chief of Parenting for High Potential, NAGC's quarterly magazine for parents.

Treffinger is the author of more than 350 articles, chapters, and books. He has written and conducted research on the nature, assessment, and nurture of creativity and Creative Problem Solving, as well as problem-solving styles, gifted education, and talent development. He has given presentations and workshops worldwide, and served as a consultant to numerous local, state, national, and international organizations. He has received the Distinguished Service Award and the E. Paul Torrance Creativity Award from the National Association for Gifted Children, the Creativity Research Award from the World Council on the Gifted and Talented, and the Risorgimenti Creativity Award from the Destination ImagiNation program.

Patricia F. Schoonover, Ph.D., is part of the Board of Directors with the Center for Creative Learning. She lives in Clintonville, WI. Pat is a consultant who works with schools and other organizations, and teaches an online Creative Problem Solving Process and Tools as an undergraduate and graduate level course through the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Pat has also worked for many years in the area of gifted education and talent development and teaches an online graduate-level course about twice-gifted children. She worked an elementary gifted education and as Director of Gifted Programming and a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. She was the founding Executive Director for Destination ImagiNation program. Pat's research, writing, and training interests focus on creativity, CPS, creativity style preferences, and leadership.