SHERIDAN COLLEGE
Term Test 1: (M.McNamara) |
Number of pages: (includes title page) |
Course: Intro to Studies in Creativity |
Number of students: |
Due Date TO SUBMIT: Feb.25 (11:59pm) |
Number of hours: N/A |
Instructor: M. McNamara |
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Instructions:
1. This take-home test is to be completed individually. As an open book test, students may (and are advised to) consult with their textbook, lectures, course notes, and other materials in order to formulate their responses.
2. The test is to be
returned by Friday, Feb. 25th at 11:59pm
via the SLATE dropbox folder (entitled “Term Test 1”)
3. Test Format: Students may prepare their responses in one of two formats (choose one):
a.
Written submission
: A word document, inclusive of a title page (with a word count) with the responses presented in the pages that follow. Please format your document as a double-spaced, Times New Roman Font 12pnt font. I am NOT specifying a word count although student should recognize that the development a comprehensive response capable of achieving a good grade will likely require an effort that will be reflected, in part, in the quantity of the submission (in addition to its’ quality)
b.
Video Submission
: A video submission (creative entries encouraged). Please note that I am NOT specifying a video length requirements. Students should recognize that the development a comprehensive response capable of achieving a good grade will likely require an effort that will be reflected, in part, in both the quantity and quality of the submission (not just in its’ creativity). If video files are too large to make it into the SLATE box… please create/submit the link so that I can view the file. Thanks.
4. This test requires you to
answer 2 of 4 questions
(choose 2 of the 4 questions I’ve proposed below). (Note- if you answer MORE than 2… I will be marking your first 2 responses as they appear in the submission). Each response will be evaluated out of 20 possible marks according to the following criteria (sorry, I know criteria based evaluation kills creativity):
a.
Demonstrated Knowledge of the Scientific Literature
: Has the student demonstrated a robust understanding of the scientific/course material that pertains to the given question?
b.
Development of A Comprehensive/Robust Position
: Has the student woven together a coherent, complex position on the chosen question?
5. On Week 7 activities and my availability: I am available through email if you have any questions although please note that I CANNOT give you any insights on the content of your response. Also, we will be holding a regularly scheduled debriefs on Week 7.
Good Luck!
QUESTIONS: CHOOSE 2 OF THE FOLLOWING 4 QUESTIONS (20 marks each/ 40 marks total)
1. Creativity Assessment:
Ok time to test your friends and family on their creativity! Below are two pictures/puzzles from the figural portion of the Torrance Test of Creativity Thinking (TTCT); which was discussed in the first half of this course. In this response, your challenge is to properly test your friends and/or family! Specifically, you will select two (2) individuals/subjects to participate (two people you know and who will be good sports). You will ask each individual to complete the two pictures, using the stimulus provided, and to provide each picture with its’ own title. Your job, then, is to assess the completed pictures using the criteria we discussed/used for the TTCT figural assessment. In developing this assessment, I want you to first define the criteria and then explain how/why you gave it the score you did. Granted, originality will be difficult to measure/assess… so here, I will accept the definition as well as a ‘hypothesized score’ (aka., your best guess at the what the score would be). Both pictures should have their own score. Finally, once you’ve discussed and scored the pictures/puzzles… briefly tell me- what do you think of this way of ‘assessing creativity’? Have fun and get creative!! NOTE- I’ve copied these pics onto two blank pages at the end of this test…. You can print off those pages and give them to your ‘test subjects’.
2. The Creative Person:
Judging from our conversations, it seems like many of us agree that it takes a ‘special personality’ to make the choice for creativity; to knowingly make the choices associated with a ‘creative life’; and to be able to sustain the dedication and commitment to creativity. With reference to the material we’ve covered on the ‘creative person’ (in both the text and lecture), compare/contrast/and discuss aspects of the “creative person” (ex., some aspect of their personality traits, personality states, and/or backgrounds) as they have been identified and/or considered in the scientific literature on the ‘creative person’. Then, briefly, consider how these features present themselves (or don’t present themselves) in yourself.
3. Cognition and Creativity:
Building on the work of psychology, this course has proposed the idea that consciousness (and creativity) involves different streams of thought (System 1 and System 2). Moreover, we’ve explored these Systems as they might help us understand and interpret creativity and creative thought. Here, we’ve also been introduced to the notion that creativity may actually be a ‘dual process’ that is harmonized and integrated in the critical role of ‘incubation’. In this answer, I’m hoping you will explain your understanding of creativity as ‘dual process’, functional fixedness, and the role of ‘incubation’ and insight problem-solving as cognitive processes aiding creative performance.
4. The Creative Product:
Our explorations of the Creative Product (in the debriefs, the lecture, and related readings in chapter 11, 16 and 17) stand in stark contrast to our earlier explorations of ‘creative cognition’. In short, while the early cognitive psychologists we’ve studied assumed all of the interesting things of creative occur inside a person’s head… our socio-cultural explorations of the ‘creative product’ assume the most important things to explain about creativity occur
outside of people’s heads
– in the social networks and worlds that we inhabit. This approach leads us to consider, for example, how social groups decide what is creative, who benefits from and consumes creative products, what/whose goals creativity serves, and how some creative products (or innovations) disrupt and/or destroy existing structures and institutions. Below, I have listed several events/items that might be consider “creative products” that reveal the socio-cultural nature of creativity. In this question, I would like you to choose one item from this list below and then discuss how this item reveals the socio-cultural nature of creativity. Here, I suspect your answers will diverge; but some concepts you may wish to consider in your discussion is how creativity is always judged and negotiated within a socio-cultural system; how creative products may disrupt social systems; how creativity serves as an effective strategy for navigating asymmetrical competitions; and/or the role of ‘gatekeepers’ in the creative process (to name just a few possibilities that may/may not be relevant).
Here is the list you can choose from:
· Narco-trafficking
· Crypto-currency (choose any form/currency you wish)
· Marcel Duschamp’s “Fountain”
· Komar and Melamid’s “America’s Most Wanted Painting”
· Uber (or any other ride-sharing platform)
· Any film of your choosing
Please complete the pictures below using the stimulus provided. Please also give each picture its’ own title.
Please complete the pictures below using the stimulus provided. Please also give each picture its’ own title.
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