Creative Thinking Training Days
Tuesday, 13 September 2011 08:59
Print
Training

Our desire not be boxed in has lead to us being one of the first organisations to promote creativity as a learnable skill. We are unashamedly fans of Edward De Bono. De Bono and other champions of creativity feel that critical thinking within Western education often overshadows creative thinking. Gamos has observed that in participatory programmes, there is a prevailing assumption that if poor communities are encouraged to analyse their situations through reflection tools such as group discussion, mapping, wealth ranking, seasonal calendars, etc, that a creative solution will arise from within the community. There is a prevailing assumption that a natural creativity will rise to the surface if the situation is analysed to a sufficient level. And yet creativity is a learnable skill. Communities trained in analysis AND creativity implement actions that are more innovative and have a greater degree of anticipation about future contextual changes resulting in more sustainable actions.

We advocate comprehensive thinking, both critical (analytical) and creative. Our desire not to box specific tools has lead to us being one of the first organisations to move De Bono's six-colour hat thinking from the human resources box out into fieldwork. Gamos now undertakes training of organisations at every level (management to field workers to volunteers) in creativity as a learnable skill.

We have run training days for many organisations, the latest being a sizeable NGO based in UK in January 2009. On that day the learning objectives were:-

Learning Objectives – Creativity and Thinking management.

Introduce the participants to the idea that creativity is a learnable skill.

  • At the end of the day, participants should be able to assess whether creativity can be enhanced by the use of specific tools and techniques, and assess whether with practice, these tools and techniques will lead to a greater supply of ideas and solutions in problem solving situations.

Introduce participants to the idea that discussions and thinking can be structured and managed to encourage creativity

  • At the end of the day, participants should be able to articulate why a structured and managed process might result in more explicit creativity than a free form discussion based on instinct and intuition.

Introduce participants to the tool "Six hat thinking"

  • At the end of the day, participants should be able to describe the six hat thinking tool, be able to articulate how and when it might apply, and to be able to comprehend its use in various discussions.

We could go the cheesy route and put down all the testimonials of how enjoyable the day was, and how particpants have used it, but instead we will stop here. :)