Educating for Creative Potential with Mark Runco

To kick off Season Four of the Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast, Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Dr. Matthew Worwood speak with world-renowned creativity researcher, thought leader, and cognitive psychologist, Dr. Mark Runco. In part one of this knowledge-packed “double expresso” discussion, Mark talks about the meaning of creative potential and divergent thinking as well as why creative potential is the REAL target of education.

“Creative potential is very frequently overlooked and that’s in part because it is so hard to see.” – Dr. Mark Runco

Listen in to learn about the best indicators of creative potential and divergent thinking, the needs that students with creative potential have, and the difference between personal and social creativity. Mark also breaks down the difference between creativity and divergent thinking, the essential components of divergent thinking, and how educators and parents can teach divergent thinking to children.

Plus… Do we have the tools to assess for creativity and originality in the classroom? Tune in to hear Mark’s answer as he highlights his research on creativity assessment!

“One of the big things is just for an educator to think divergently him or herself and thereby, to model and value divergent thinking and originality.” - Dr. Mark Runco

Resources Mentioned:

Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT)

Listen to the episode with Jonathan Plucker

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Eager to bring more creativity into your home or classroom?

Access various creativity resources and tools & listen to more episodes of The Fueling Creativity in Education Podcast by visiting www.CreativityandEducation.com.

What to learn more about Design Thinking in Education?

Do you want to build a sustained culture of innovation and creativity at your school? Visit WorwoodClassroom.com to learn how Design Thinking can promote teacher creativity and support professional growth in the classroom.

Have a question? Email Dr. Burnett and Dr. Worwood at questions@fuelingcreativitypodcast.com!

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About Dr. Mark A. Runco:

Dr. Mark A. Runco is a leading creativity scholar who is active in empirical research and has published cognitive, economic, genetic, historical, developmental, and educational books and articles on the topic. To help people fulfill their capacity for creativity, he has devised a battery of tests that measures creative potential and performance. He teaches a variety of graduate and undergraduate classes on creativity and innovation, and once each year he organizes an international creativity conference. Mark earned his Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the Claremont Graduate School in California and has studied creativity ever since. He is currently the Director of Creativity Research and Programming at Southern Oregon University.

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