“You see things; and say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?'” by George Bernard Shaw, “Back to Methuselah” (1921), part 1, act 1

It is easy to wax lyrical about a pet theory or idea to the home crowd, but putting it ‘out there’ for public scrutiny invites unpredictable responses, which may challenge even the most Teflon coated amongst us. Like many out there, I DO have my pet theories but until recently have kept them safely and comfortably ‘close to home’.

Tempted by the chance to attend the recent Design Management Institute conference in Boston and the recent Creative Communities Conference run by Griffith University, I decided to parade my sacred ‘pets’ before a wider audience than my usual ‘captive’ Uni students and colleagues. The idea was generally to find like minds and see how my thoughts and ideas ‘stacked up’ amongst peers. Two excellent events well worth attending and to my delight, extremely positive responses both at the conferences and since. So you might ask, what did I talk about?

Thinking (or lack thereof) and ‘holes’ in our thinking. Sounds exciting? Heard it all before? Is this just more of the ongoing complaint that people just don’t know how to think anymore? And certainly not creatively!

One of the things I have found in teaching at University is that many students believe they are not creative. If we think about how critical creative thinking is to being able to recognize and resolve problems, I believe this is cause for considerable concern. Different thinking approaches are critical in a future that demands innovation, and creative thinking is essential in any profession. While students recognise this, many are not sure what this actually entails or how they can prepare for it and it does not appear anywhere in general University curricula (apart from Creative Degree programs).

It all started when I outlined a creative exercise to undergrad and postgrad students enrolled in an advertising subject. I was met with frightened ‘deer in the headlight’ stares as they were confronted with a task that would require them to spontaneously create a solution to a problem. One that did not come from a textbook or from the internet!  Surprised by their response, I asked them how many of them believed they were creative and only 3 students out of 58 said that they were. The rest believed they were not.

In a moment of mild exasperation, I mock threatened them with a class in finger painting. Much to my surprise, they were serious about it and keen to participate, so in several different tutorial groups we finger-painted.

The results were interesting to say the least. Students reported significantly increased feelings of wellbeing, feeling happy and relaxed, and were really engaged in what they were doing. They were more responsive in class and with each other. Even more interesting was that this change lasted throughout the remainder of the semester. In addition, creative and imaginative solutions became frequent and of increasingly high quality.

It all seemed far too easy. Thinking differently after such a simple exercise? But they did.

This was only the beginning. Emboldened by such success, I went on to devise new challenges for students who then discover how they think, how to recognise holes in their thinking and how each of us can think differently, giving us all new perspectives and problem solving capacity.

Tune in next week as I explain paper bag thinking.