CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING

CHECK OUT THE CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING OPPORTUNITIES BELOW!

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The SDLAX HPL Academic Biathlon is a creative problem-solving adventure that teaches and rewards creative and divergent thought processes, cooperative brainstorming, general intellect, leadership and a flair for the dramatic–all while providing an entertaining and educational experience for all. Four-person teams will complete the Academic Biathlon while displaying good sportsmanship and teamwork. Each team will ultimately showcase the outcomes of creativity and positive risk-taking. (Check it out!)

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The Youth Leadership Initiative is a HPL leadership program for school district students to strengthen self-awareness, recognize the impact of service learning, develop cross-cultural leadership skills, and to put skills learned into action in a multicultural and global community. (Check it out!)

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STEM Sprints are creative problem solving hands-on challenges that utilize the design process. All students are welcome to take the challenge. Students may request STEM KITS to get the supplies for each challenge if needed at no cost! STEM Challenges will be added periodically throughout the year. Get started by choosing a STEM Sprint, requesting a STEM KIT, and don't forget to share your results! (Check it out!)

What is Creative Problem Solving?

Creative problem solving (CPS) is a way of solving problems or identifying opportunities when conventional thinking has failed. It encourages you to find fresh perspectives and come up with innovative solutions, so that you can formulate a plan to overcome obstacles and reach your goals.

Core Principles of Creative Problem SolvingCPS has four core principles.

Divergent and convergent thinking must be balanced. The key to creativity is learning how to identify and balance divergent and convergent thinking (done separately), and knowing when to practice each one.
Ask problems as questions. When you rephrase problems and challenges as open-ended questions with multiple possibilities, it's easier to come up with solutions. Asking these types of questions generates lots of rich information, while asking closed questions tends to elicit short answers, such as confirmations or disagreements. Problem statements tend to generate limited responses, or none at all.
Defer or suspend judgment. Judging solutions early on tends to shut down idea generation. Instead, there's an appropriate and necessary time to judge ideas during the convergence stage.
Focus on "Yes, and," rather than "No, but." Language matters when you're generating information and ideas. "Yes, and" encourages people to expand their thoughts, which is necessary during certain stages of CPS. Using the word "but" – preceded by "yes" or "no" – ends conversation, and often negates what's come before it.