Creativity: Some Definitions: the Creative Personality; The Creative Process; the Creative Classroom

Abstract

This paper attempts to explore, briefly, the divergence of thinking about the nature of creativity and the reative process. It is suggested that creativity involves thinking, intuition, feeling and sensing and that in order to achieve fulfilment, the highly creative personality needs a framework of elf-understanding, positive encouragement and acceptance in order to balance the rational and irrational components of the creative personality. Creativity is regarded as the reconciliation of conflict between detachment and commitment, passion and decorum, immediacy and referral, masculinity and femininity. The assessment and promotion of creative functioning are vital considerations for the teacher. The writer suggests ways in which the teacher can promote a classroom environment in which all children can flourish creatively and in which the highly creative child can more easily reconcile his/her differences within the peer group.