Every workshop includes a number of activities that together complete participation in a single workshop.

Pre-workshop speakers bureau series to for context and key concepts for the study.

A synchronous online meeting that includes sections of Creative Problem Solving and Participatory Action Research for learning and practice.

An opportunity to weave creativity into education.

An engagement for reflexivity of creative process on leadership.

The workshops are conducted online, and engage a digital platform for collaborative thinking.

A strong internet connection is required for workshop participation.

PAR requires active collaborative contribution toward problem solving and reflection.

Scholars provide context, appx 10 min

Participatory Action Research
Dr Hanna Kaihovirta
Professor Arts Ed
University of Helsinki, Finland

Creative Problem Solving
Dr Roger Firestien
SUNY Buffalo, NY

CPS for PAR: The Mash Up
Tanya Knudsen
PhD Candidate, Creative Leadership
University of the Virgin Islands

Weaving Creativity Through Education
Dr Cyndi Burnett
Fueling Creativity

Affect
Laura Barbero Switalski
Adjunct Professor, Buffalo State College

FourSightDr Teresa Lawrence
Senior Advisor to the Provost
University of the Virgin Islands

All workshops include an online and follow up meeting. Pease commit to both for the study*. Join any workshop that piques your interest. Limit to 10 Participants per study.
Workshops are 120 minutes.
Come prepared and ready to actively participate. Interaction is key. The study breaks out Creative Problem Solving into the following workshops:

Executive Step

Exploring a Vision

Formulating Challenges

Exploring Ideas

Formulating Solutions

Exploring Acceptance

Formulating a Plan

*A follow up meeting for each workshop encourages meta thinking about the study and affect on professional development for leadership and is integral to the study.

The problem identified is the problem solved.

Effective diagnosis is crucial for problem solving. Diagnostic Thinking and Mindfulness brings a holistic presence to gathering information for key data.

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What is relevant ?

Is creative thinking necessary?

Where to begin in the process?

Relevancy - Senses - Intuition - Starting Point

Vision empowers contributors to worthy acts.

Meaningful goals inspire direction, transforming individuals from robots blindly following instructions to human beings engaged in a creative and purposeful venture.
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What is a desired future state ?

What is worth pursuing?

Where to go?

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Clarity - Dreaming - Goals - Catalyst

Bridge building from present to the future.

Scope of problem and way to proceed efficiently clears pathways and highways for promising opportunities with a compelling sense of direction.

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What’s in the Way?

What might be the pathways?

How to proceed?

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Direction - Sensing Gaps - Forward - Path

Novel ideas address challenges.

Breakthroughs empower fresh perspectives originality, energy and competitive advantage. Imagination expands toward what might be. Break away from seriousness to play with ideas.

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What’s in an idea?

How are ideas valuable?

How are ideas incomplete?

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Diverge - Playfulness - Imagination - Novelty

Transform ideas to solutions.

Taking time to consider the reasonableness of ideas for transformation. Slow down to evaluate and strengthen potential, viability, and continued exploration of ideas before decision making.

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What makes a ‘good idea’ ‘good’?

How to evaluate ideas?

What’s the criteria ?

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Converge - Resist - Transform - Usefulness

Ensure a smooth rollout.

It’s not enough to have good solutions. Anticipate pros and cons to anticipate surprises that could impede proposed change. Pause. Take stalk of the environment before passing ‘go.’

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What am I missing?

How to read the environment ?

How to increase success?

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Pause - Contextualize - Sensitivity - Enhance

Stop and think it through.

Search for action steps for clarity of sequence and manageable work packages over time. Focus for renewing energy with clarity for logistics, details and to monitor progress. Explicit steps ensure success.

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What needs to happen?

What is the order of events?

How to measure success?

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- Think - Mitigate Risk - Implement

In what ways might creative methodologies and specifically the Creative Problem Solving process combine with knowledge in applying novel solutions that add value to pedagogy?

To answer research question one, participants collaborate in the development of a lesson template that deliberately aims to absorb, 'weave' the creative process into a lesson plan relevant to each participant educator.

In doing this, participants have the opportunity to experiment with creative processes in their classroom for the benefit of student, classroom, curriculum and participant professional development.

The weaving creativity template is integral to each workshop.

In what ways might Creative Problem Solving affect leadership ?

Creative leadership is a sense of being through the deliberate ability of consciously becoming unconscious in creative process and specifically Creative Problem Solving.

Research question two explorers the affect of creative process perceived by the participants as educators.

In answering RQ2, participants complete an online form and engage in a virtual interview on completion of the workshop.

Affect relates to feelings and emotions and is a contributing attribute to the quality of creative leadership.