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MASTERING THEART AND SCIENCEOF EFFECTIVEPROBLEM-SOLVINGIN EDUCATIONA G O N C O N S U L T I N GCREATIVITYCLINIC

We are so excited that you decided to join us in thisCreativity Clinic course and workshop - Mastering the Artand Science of Creative Problem-Solving! Whether you takethis course in the condensed or expanded form, we hopethat you will be inspired to learn and to lead, to createsolutions, and to implement change in your life, with yourteam, or in your organization.WELCOME!Join us to get updates and additional resources forthis course.JOIN US IN THECOURSE COMMUNITY!LINK TO JOINOur facilitators are highly credentialed, with deepknowledge and experience in their field, and a genuine,heartfelt commitment to your success. If I or one of ourfacilitators can ever be of assistance or support to you,please do not hesitate to reach out. Happy creating!Regards, Founder and CEOAgonConsulting LLC

You can discover moreabout a person in anhour of play than in ayear of conversation.- PLATO

1234COURSE OUTLINEGet into action. Make it. Sell it. Start it.Learn as you go.Just do it!STA GE 4: IMPLEME NTEvaluate ideasMap out the solutionMeet all specificationsAnticipate user needsSTA GE 3: DEVELOPSee the big pictureImagine lots of possibilitiesPlay with abstract ideasSee new connectionsSTA GE 2: IDEATEGrasp the reality of the situationGather all the informationSee gaps, problems, issuesFocus on the right problemSTA GE 1: CLARIFYVISIT THE COURSE PAGE

CREAT IVI TY CLINIC: MASTERING THE ART AND S CIE NCE OFEF FEC TIV E PROBLEM-SOLVING IN EDUCATIONPA GE 5CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVINGImagination and creativity are fundamentally intertwined. Imagination refers to theability to visualize and conceive of things that are not immediately present to thesenses. It is the capacity to generate, change, and manipulate mental images,scenarios, or concepts. Creativity, on the other hand, involves applying one'simagination to generate unique ideas, insights, or solutions to issues. It's the process ofmaking something new or innovative from the images, scenarios, or concepts formed inthe imagination.Here's how they connect: Imagination fuels creativity. It is the bedrock upon whichcreativity is built. Creativity involves taking the scenarios, images, or concepts that wecan conjure up in our minds and then applying them in innovative ways to producesomething new and valuable.Innovation and Creative Problem-SolvingInnovation involves something that captures the value of creativity and often requirescollaboration. In the extremes, innovation can be incremental or transformative. We willuse innovation to solve a complex challenge using creativity to produce something newand valuable. We refer to this process as creative problem-solving - a proven processfor finding innovative solutions to complex challenges.What You Will LearnIn this course and workshop, you will embark on a journey of collaborative learningthrough small group discussions, thought-provoking brainstorming exercises, three-dimensional thinking, and team-based problem-solving activities. It will provide you witha platform to share your unique insights, experiences, and innovative ideas, fostering acollaborative learning environment that thrives on knowledge exchange. You will alsolearn to identify and seize opportunities for improvement in educational settings andelevate your leadership practices by acquiring practical tools that you can applyimmediately in your everyday work environment to facilitate creative problem-solvingapproaches.Learning Objective 1: Gain a solid understanding of the Creative Problem-Solvingmethod, and apply it to real-world, complex challenges. Through this dynamicexploration, you will uncover new techniques designed to ignite and sustain a culture ofinnovation within your classroom and organization.Learning Objective 2: Elevate your leadership practices by acquiring practical toolsthat you can apply immediately in your everyday work environment to facilitate creativeproblem-solving approaches. This part of the workshop equips you with the skills todrive growth and improvement, transforming challenges into opportunities forinnovation and success.

CR EAT IVI TY CLINIC: MASTERING THE ART AND S CIE NCE OFEF FEC TIV E PROBLEM-SOLVING IN EDUCATIONPA GE 6LEADERSHIP AND CREATIVE THINKINGEffective leadership and divergent thinking approaches are inherently linked throughtheir shared emphasis on innovation, adaptability, and challenging the status quo. Forexample, transformational leaders inspire their followers to exceed expectations for thesake of the organization or a larger cause. These leaders motivate their teams not justthrough rewards or punishment, but by instilling a sense of mission or purpose, inspiringthem intellectually, and giving them individualized consideration. Transformationalleaders embrace divergent thinking in a multitude of ways, including, but not limited to:Encouraging Innovation: Effective leaders value and encourage creativity andinnovation. They foster an environment where divergent thinking can thrive, allowingteam members to come up with a variety of solutions and ideas.Challenging the Status Quo: Both transformational leaders and divergent thinkers arenot content with "business as usual." They seek to challenge and change existing normsand systems, encouraging others to do the same.Promoting Intellectual Stimulation: Effective leaders promote intellectual stimulation,encouraging their followers to question assumptions, reframe problems, and approachold situations in new ways. This is very much in line with the principles of divergentthinking.Fostering Individualized Inspiration and Consideration: Transformational leadersrecognize and value the individual contributions of their team members. Thisrecognition helps to promote an environment where divergent thinking can thrive, aseach individual's unique perspective is valued and can lead to innovative solutions.Creating Shared Purpose: Effective leaders inspire a shared vision or purpose amongtheir followers. Divergent thinking can help to achieve this shared purpose by offering avariety of routes to the same goal, encouraging collaboration and co-creation.Fostering a Culture of Exploration: Transformational leaders create an environmentthat encourages exploration, curiosity, and 'outside the box' thinking. They motivatetheir followers to challenge conventional wisdom and come up with innovativesolutions. This aligns with the divergent thinking approach, which encourages exploringmultiple potential solutions before deciding on the best one.

CR EAT IVI TY CLINIC: MASTERING THE ART AND S CIE NCE OFEF FEC TIV E PROBLEM-SOLVING IN EDUCATIONPA GE 7Celebration of Diversity: Effective leaders value diversity, not just demographicallybut also cognitively. They appreciate different perspectives, knowing that a broadrange of ideas can lead to innovative solutions. In this sense, divergent thinking isinherently nurtured in a transformational leadership environment, as it's predicated onproducing a multitude of diverse ideas.Persistence and Resilience: Transformational leaders display high levels ofpersistence and resilience, inspiring their followers to do the same. Similarly, divergentthinking often involves generating many ideas, some of which will not be successful orfeasible. The ability to persist, even in the face of failure, is critical in bothtransformational leadership and divergent thinking.The Four Creative Thinking Practices to Slow Things Down So Your Team CanSpeed UpNext, let’s dive into four divergent thinking processes–integration, splitting, figure-ground reversal, and distal thinking–which transformational leaders can use with theirteams to generate creative ideas and help them solve highly complex problems byworking fast, but slow.Divergent Thinking Practice #1: IntegrationIntegration is a thought process that brings together seemingly different ideas orelements into a unified whole.Divergent Thinking Practice #2: SplittingSplitting refers to the process of dividing a problem or an idea into smaller, moremanageable parts for better understanding and solution development.Divergent Thinking Practice #3 Figure-Ground ReversalFigure-ground reversal is a type of perceptual grouping which is a vital necessity forrecognizing objects through vision. In leadership and problem-solving, this conceptinvolves shifting focus between an 'object' (the problem or challenge at hand) and the'background' (the wider context or environment).Divergent Thinking Practice #4 Distal FormsUnlike integration, splitting, and figure-ground reversal thinking which are grounded incurrent known realities, distal divergent thinking is far removed from the original or

CR EAT IVI TY CLINIC: MASTERING THE ART AND S CIE NCE OFEF FEC TIV E PROBLEM-SOLVING IN EDUCATIONPA GE 8existing framework or problem. Thus, an essential element of distal thinking is the abilityto imagine things that are very different from the here and now. Without imagination,distal thinking is impossible. And without a rigorous creative process that leveragesclarifying, ideating, developing, and effective implementing, distal thinking results inideas that cannot overcome the gap between present realities and future potentials.Let’s look at AI adoption as one challenge facing distal innovators in the new educationcreatonomy.The Reality Gap Facing Distal InnovatorsIn the new education creatonomy, transformational leaders are well-positioned to bedistal innovators. In this case, the transformational leader’s role is to bridge the chasmbetween the present reality and future possibilities. However, they must have a strategyto overcome the present realities/future potentials gap, especially in relation toartificial intelligence. This will likely necessitate at least a two-pronged approach:First, they can escalate the pace of departmental, organizational, or market maturity.This process entails bolstering promotional activities, initiating internal and externalcollaborative strategic partnerships, and executing meticulously targeted incrementalAI solution launches. By accelerating these endeavors, you can bring the department,organization, or market to the maturity required for the acceptance of future AItechnologies much quicker. At the individual level, generative AI solutions like ChatGPTand Midjourney are a couple of incremental solutions that are achieving this objectivewith shocking success.Second, they can employ the concept of 'backward' innovation. Develop intermediaryAI solutions that can be marketed (or deployed internally) immediately and concurrentlypush stakeholders further along the maturity curve. This strategy ensures they areprepared and receptive to the true invention when it arrives. In essence, distal thinkingequips you to drive the department, organization, or market from its current statetoward a future that's ready to embrace your ultimate innovative solutions. And you cansave tremendous amounts of investment by making multiple smaller steps to reachincremental maturity.Pro Tip: You can also use Integration, Splitting, and Figure-Ground Reversal divergentstrategies embedded within a distal innovation approach to help achieve this greaterspeed to maturity and acceptance of stakeholders.The transformative power of creative thinking is yours to wield. As you begin this course,we invite you to push the boundaries, challenge the norms, and lead with innovation bystaying curious and creative. Not sure how yet? Don't worry, we'll show you!

YOUR GOALSWOR KSHOP PRE-WOR KWHE RE YOUARE NO WWHE RE YOUWAN T T O BE3. What is your most important goal for the upcoming school year? Does theproblem you shared above relate to this goal? If not, should it?2. What are you hoping to solve in this workshop? What is a really difficult, stickychallenge you can't seem to solve?1. List below 2-3 goals you have for this workshop. We have provided somelearning objectives for you as well, but these goals should be personalized andjust for you.YO UR COU RSE NA ME HER E | YOU R B USI NES S N AME HE RE