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MODULE 1

INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE PRACTICE: TOOLS, METHODS,

TECHNIQUES AND APPLICATION

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the module, you should be able to:

1. recognize the importance of creative thinking

2. explain the different creative practices
3. identify the tools used in enhancing creativity
4. list down the methods and techniques in creative practice

Introduction

Creative Practice: Tools, Methods, Techniques and Application is a

subject focused on enhancing and developing creativeness and the way of its
application.

This module aims to consider the different creative practices and its
methods, techniques, and tools for improving creativity and to produce work for
any purpose, as we all aware that every individual is unique and have different
ways to handle problems and challenges in life.

Lesson – Different Creative Practices

What is THINKING?

 It refers to the process, able to think intelligently about complicated

things
 the action of using your mind to produce ideas, decisions, memories,
etc. 
 the activity of thinking about something
 opinion or judgment 

UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE AND STRUCTURE OF THINKING

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SIX (6) TYPES OF THINKING

1. Creative Thinking a kind of thinking which aims to produce something new &
useful; something better than before, which may be carried
through to a valuable, beneficial productive results.

2. Critical Thinking the careful and deliberate determination of whether to accept,

reject, or suspend judgement about a claim.

3. Logical Thinking a form of thinking based on logic or logical reasoning.

4. Lateral Thinking a form of thinking that thinks “around” a problem.
5. Autistic Thinking a type of thinking characterized by daydreaming, fantasies,
and delusions. It is typically self-centered, subjective,
accompanied by marked withdrawal from reality.
6. Noothetic Thinking a form of thinking based on the Word of God.

Purpose of Thinking:

* To arrive at a solution to a problem

* To decide on something
* To generate ideas
* To make plans
* To judge the worth of a thing or idea
* To initiate action
* To answer a question
* To invent, create, or discover new things
* To learn or to recall materials to mind.

SIX (6) ELEMENTS OF THINKING

1. Thinking Operations the type of mental activity which involves complex

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strategies to find meaning, and the way we direct & control

such activity.
2. Thinking Tools a thinking activity that serves as a device that helps us use
to carry out thinking operations.
3. Thinking Structures a type of thinking that describes the way we organize or
pattern our thoughts. (e.g. Logical Thinking operations)
4. Attitudes it is the way we feel or value things, towards anything
around us.
5. Principles are “rules” that we use to guide what we need to do and
what not to do.
6. Habits the routine procedures we apply to thinking about things.

Components of Thinking:

Mental Operations

Most experts agree that thinking consists of some type of mental activity. This
activity can be described in terms of operations.

There are of two types: cognitive & meta-cognitive.

The former consists of those operations used to generate meaning. The latter
involves the directing of one’s efforts to find or make meaning, such as planning,
monitoring, and assessing one’s thinking.

There are 3 important knowledge components of thinking

One, knowledge of general heuristics, i.e., rules of thumb on how to execute

various thinking operations.

Two, knowledge about the nature of knowledge itself.

Finally, knowledge of the subject area about which one is thinking.

Attitudes
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To apply the above thinking components, we need certain attitudes or

dispositions to effectively carry out our thinking goals or tasks.

THINKING STRATEGIES:

Problem Solving – involves several steps – from problem-finding and classifying

to identifying a solution & checking it.

Decision-making – is often considered to be identical to problem solving.

Experts see decision making as a process that differs considerably from
problem-solving. It involves:

1. choosing from a number of acceptable alternatives when there is generally no

accepted, best, or correct alternative;

2. simultaneous evaluation of alternatives rather than serial testing;

3. use of non-experimental, qualitative, and quantitative criteria in analyzing

various alternatives; and

4. repeated reference to values in applying these criteria.

Conceptualizing – Essentially, this involves identifying the key or critical

attributes of several members of a class or category of phenomena, and then, by
continued application of these attributes to additional specific examples of the
phenomena, building a generalized mental image that articulates the common
features of the examples and their interrelationships.

Thinking Skills: Creative Thinking Skills, Critical Thinking Skills

Creative Thinking & Critical Thinking are not the same thing. Whereas
creative thinking is divergent; critical thinking is convergent; functionally,
Creative Thinking seeks to generate something new, Critical Thinking seeks to
assess worth or validity in something that exists.

Operationally, Creative thinking is carried on often by violating accepted

principles while critical thinking is carried on by applying accepted principles.
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Although creative thinking and critical thinking may very well be different sides of
the same coin, they are not identical! (Barry K. Beyer, 1988, p. 62)

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THINKING:

• Environment
• Food & drugs
• Values
• Mental habits
Many elements in the environment can catch our attention:

• loud and irritating noise or sounds that distract us from what we are
thinking;
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• unusual icons & images that might get our interest & attention;

• people who are of significant interest to us, glittering & flashes of lights,
etc.

FOOD & DRUGS

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CULTURAL VALUES

Ours is a culture of self. Money is the "means” to acquire what the heart desires.

These are only 5 characteristics that identify our current culture of self:

1. Sex
2. Sports
3. Food
4. Drink
5. Religion

MENTAL HABITS

A habit is any activity that is so well established that it occurs without thought on
the part of the individual. The habits of mind are those well-established thinking
behaviours and patterns characteristic of methodical & logical thinking.
Specifically: problem solving, communicating, reasoning, and making
connections.

Strong mental habits can be a barrier to creative and effective thinking!

THINKING STYLES

THINKING STYLES are foundational in all people. Interests, Attitudes, Values,

and Natural Behaviors interact w/ Thinking Styles to drive our Motivations.
Adaptive Behavior
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FIVE (5) STYLES OF THINKING

1. THE SYNTHESIST Synthesist are integrators. They like to discover two or more
things that to other people may appear to have little or no
relationship, and find ways to fit them into a new, creative
combination. What they look for is some perspective that will
produce a “best fit” solution, linking the seemingly
contradictory views, not compromise, consensus or
agreement on the “best solution to a problem.
2. THE IDEALIST Idealists are people who like to take a broad view of things!
They tend to be future-oriented and to think about goals, i.e.,
“where are we going and why?” Like Synthesist they are
interested in social values, rather than facts. They understand
that people differ, but they like to believe that arguments and
differences can be reconciled by emphasizing the similarities
that can be found even in opposing views. They also tend to
have a strong ethical sense or value.
3. THE PRAGMATIST concerns with ‘workability as the test for usefulness. They
excel at finding new ways of doing things with the materials
that lie at hand. They tend to approach problems in a
piecemeal, incremental fashion, one thing at a time. They are
interested in “getting from here to there”, in making do and in
looking for shortcuts and the quick payoff.
4. THE ANALYST sees the world as logical, rational, ordered, and predictable.
When a problem is presented, the Analyst will look for a
method, a formula, a procedure, or a system that can solve it.
They prefer to concentrates on objective data, procedures,
and planning, finding on the proven best method.
5. THE REALIST They are empiricists, i.e., what is “real” to them is what can be
felt, smelled, touched, seen, heard, personally observed or
experienced. Their motto is, “facts are facts.”
They want to get things done by proceeding on the facts that
are at hand; rather than by gathering over more data; Realist
is inductive and empirical; the Analysts is deductive and
analytical.
The Synthesist asks: “What are the basic assumptions in this
situation?” But the Realist asks: “What are the facts!”

HOW DO WE THINK?

STAGES OF THE THINKING PROCESS

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UNDERSTANDING THE QUESTION

 Ask questions.
 Insufficient data can lead to difficulties.
 Asking clarification questions.

RECALL WHAT YOU ALREADY KNOW ABOUT THE SUBJECT

 Ask, “what do I know about this?”

 Response limited to info contained in the brain.
 More association, more connection and recall.

PRODUCE AN ANSWER IN A FORM WHICH BEST MATCHES THE

QUESTION.

• Analogous to preparing “pandesal”:

information is ingredient; baking & mixing is the
processing.
• Brain searches, sorts, calculates, reject, test
& compare available information.
• Thinking process requires effective matching to
interpret the new subject or produce a
response.
• The way we organize knowledge in our brain
shapes our thinking.

Errors in Thinking

Most errors in thinking are based on inadequacies of perception. None of them

can be detected as logical error in the traditional sense. Improving perceptive
thinking is the foundation of creativity. Changing perception is the operating
mechanism of creative thinking.

The Basic Errors in Thinking

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Based on Edward De Bono’s book on SERIOUS CREATIVITY!

1. Partialism - this thinker is looking only at a part of the situation and basing
his argument on that part. This error occurs when the thinker observes the
problem though one perspective only, i.e., the thinker examines only one
or two factors of the problem and arrives at a premature solution.

2. Time scale- is a special case of partialism in which a person looks at a

narrow slice of time – usually the immediate future. This is a kind of
partialism in thinking in which the thinker sees the problem from a limited
time-frame.

3. Egocentricity– Narrow band thinking or tunnel vision; the partial area of

perception is firmly centered on the thinker.

4. Arrogance & conceit-– This error arises when there is an apparently

logical explanation for something and this is then taken to be the right
explanation. This error is sometimes called the “Village Venus Effect”
because like the villagers who think that the most beautiful girl in the world
is the most beautiful girl in their village, the thinker believes that there is no
better solution other than that he has already found. This block creativity.
Not only individuals but societies and even the whole mankind sometimes
fall prey to this error. For example, before Einstein, the whole scientific
community believed that time was absolute.

5. Initial Judgment – occurs at all levels of thinking even among the most
brilliant people; the judgment is most often whether he personally likes or
dislikes the idea or somebody else’s proposal. Here the thinker becomes
very subjective. Instead of considering the issue or problem objectively,
the thinker approaches it with prejudice or bias.

6. Adversary thinking – puts emphasis on logical support of positions rather

than on mutual exploration. This makes for polarization. This is a “you are
wrong. So, I should be right type of reasoning. Politicians are the masters
in this type of thinking and they use it to their advantage.

7. Ego-involvement– the need to be right at all times is a more powerful

objective than most in determining the direction of thinking. A person will
use his thinking to keep himself right & then believe whatever position that
thinking has generated.
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8. Magnitude error– an error in perception in terms of size, amount, weight,

coverage, effect, etc.

COMMON ERRORS IN THINKING

 Making Inference Based on:

– Insufficient data or evidence

– Outdated knowledge
– Personal “subjective” experience
– Cause-and-effect reasoning
– Emotional content
– Unverified claim (s)

 Use of imprecise language

 Quick to believe.

 Does not seek other point of view.

 Impulsive; Quick to jump to conclusions

 Failure to check the credibility of a source.

 Inferences based on prejudice

INFERENCE is using observation and background to reach a logical conclusion.

Making Inference Based on INSUFFICIENT DATA OR EVIDENCE

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Making Inference Based on OUTDATED KNOWLEDGE

“Relax lang… alam ko ang lugar na ‘to”

Making Inference Based on PERSONAL “SUBJECTIVE” EXPERIENCE

You can almost always tell what a

man does by looking at him. Take
those two. The man near the
window probably is a professor or
doctor…”
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Making Inference Based on CAUSE AND EFFECT REASONING

Chantecler, the rooster in Rostand’s famous play, realized that every day after he
crowed the sun came up. Therefore, he reasoned, his crowing caused the sun to
rise.”

Making Inference Based on EMOTIONAL CONTENT

EMOTIONAL CONTENT, you are creating in awareness, openness and

receptivity to everything around you.

Speakers use the appeal to pity whenever they attempt to use human sympathy,
rather than facts, to move a person or group of people toward a conclusion.
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Making Inference Based on UNVERIFIED CLAIM

What do you think of Deuterium?

Making Inference Based on IMPRECISE LANGUAGE

If a person constructs one premise using one denotation of a word and

constructs the conclusion using a different denotation of the same word, he
commits the fallacy of equivocation.

Example:
Only man is rational.
No woman is a man.
Therefore, no woman is rational.

Making Inference Based on QUICK TO BELIEVE

One of the simplest ruses ever used to get out of jail was employed by the
French writer and journalist Leon Daudet in 1901. For years Daudet had
criticized French government officials as unthinking machines, and it not doubt
gave them great satisfaction when they tucked him into Sante Prison in Paris.
Only five prisoners had ever escaped from Sante, built in 1867. Daudet simply
had a friend call, pretend he was the minister of the interior, and say that Daudet
had been pardoned. So unthinking was the warden that he immediately released
his prisoner without checking the call.

Source: Bong Barrameda’s TRIVIA column, PDI, June 6, 1995.

Making Inference Based on DOES NOT SEEK OTHER POINT OF VIEW

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Abortion
Death penalty
Racial
Discrimination
Atheism
Adultery
Parliamentary government

Making Inference Based on IMPULSIVE; QUICK TO JUMP TO CONCLUSION

Towards the end of WWII, British Intelligence created a fake British Fourth Army
“station” near the English seaport of Dover. The object was to fool the German
into thinking that the area around Dover was a staging area for the Allied
invasion of Europe at northern French seaport of Calais. It was equipped with
rubber Sherman tanks, wooden gliders, aircraft and gun emplacements. To
hoodwink or fool German reconnaissance planes, dummy bomb craters were
painted on large canvasses. It was such a masterly hoax that when the actual
Normandy invasion took place German generals thought it was a diversionary
tactic and that the real invasion would still occur at Calais. Most of the
camouflage work was done by set of designers in English film studios.

Source: Bong Barrameda’s TRIVIA column, PDI, Jan 31, 1995.

Making Inference Based on FAILURE TO CHECK THE CREDIBILITY OF A

SOURCE.

If your boss confides to tell you that he saw your wife with another man, would
you believe him?

Making Inference Based on INFERENCE BASED ON PREJUDICE!!!

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HOW DO WE EVALUATE IDEAS & BELIEFS?

THE WORLD-Shroud of Turin face, Church says

Scientific tests have shown that the Shroud of Turin, revered by many Christians
as Christ’s burial cloth, is a medieval fake, Turin Cardinal Anastasio Ballestero
said yesterday. He told a press conference that carbon 14 dating tests, carried
out by laboratories in England, the United States and Switzerland, showed with
95 per cent certainty that the cloth dated from between 1260 and 1390. (Reuter)

Source: The Philippine Star, Oct. 14, 1988. page 1.

Manila Bulletin, Sat., Oct 15, 1988.

Shroud not Christ’s

Turin, Italy (AP) – Scientific tests on the Shroud of Turin have shown it to be no
more than 726 years old, indicating the linen could not be the burial cloth of
Jesus Christ, the Archbishop of Turin announced Thursday.
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Carbon 14 tests conducted by three separate laboratories put the date between
1260 - 1390, Cardinal Anastasio Ballestero told a news conference. The
scientists are “95%” sure of the accuracy of the tests, he said.

Ballesteros stressed the importance of the symbolism of the image but repeated
that the church never claimed the shroud to be a Holy Relic. The church believes
in the image and not in the history because this image of Jesus Christ in fact is
very interesting and the people believe deeply in Jesus,” the Cardinal said,
referring to the belief that Christ’s image rather than his body somehow was
transferred onto the cloth.

ACTIVITY: SELF-REFLECTION WORKSHOP

INSTRUCTION: Read and answer the following.

1. What particular thinking style do you exhibit?

2. What percentage amount of the styles do you have? Check ( ) the

corresponded percentage.

THINKING STYLES 5% 10% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Synthesist
Idealist
Pragmatist
Analyst
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Realist

3. Which of the thinking styles do you wish to acquire?

4. If Mr. Medina’s peacock laid an egg in Mr. Aquino’s yard, whose egg
would it be?

ASSESSMENT

MATCHING TYPE

PART 1-Types of Thinking

Directions: Match each word in the left column with its definition in the right.
Write the letter on the space provided.

COLUMN A COLUMN B

1. Creative Thinking A. a kind of thinking which aims to produce

something new & useful; something better
than before, which may be carried
2. Critical Thinking through to a valuable, beneficial
productive results.

3. Logical Thinking B. a form of thinking based on the Word of

God.

4. Lateral Thinking C. a form of thinking that thinks “around” a

problem.

5. Autistic Thinking D. the careful and deliberate determination

of whether to accept, reject, or suspend
judgement about a claim.
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MATCHING TYPE-

PART II- STYLES OF THINKING

Directions: Match each word in the left column with its definition in the right.
Write the letter on the space provided.

COLUMN A COLUMN B

1. SYNTHESIST A. Integrators. They like to discover two or more

things that to other people may appear to have
little or no relationship, and find ways to fit them
2. IDEALIST into a new, creative combination.

B. They prefer to concentrates on objective data,

3. PRAGMATIST procedures, and planning, finding on the proven
best method. When a problem is presented, they
will look for a method, a formula, a procedure, or a
4. ANALYST system that can solve it.

C. a type of thinking that describes the way we

5. REALIST organize or pattern our thoughts.

D. They excel at finding new ways of doing things

with the materials that lie at hand. They are
interested in “getting from here to there”, in
making do and in looking for shortcuts and the
quick payoff.
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REFLECTION

Write your reflection about the following questions.

1. Have you ever examined your beliefs at any period of time whether they
are true or not?

2. List down some of your beliefs that you would like to examine to give you

a “peace of mind.”
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Assignment

1. Make a poster of what you have learned about creative thinking

2. Enlist the different development and current trend that affects the changes
in society
3. Compare local creativity and innovation index to other countries in Asia.

REFERENCES

Bono, E. D. (1969). The mechanism of mind = Edward de Bono. London: Cape.

Ruggiero, V. R. (2011). The art of thinking: A guide to critical and creative

thought. New York: Pearson.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/thought/Types-of-thinking

Moser-Wellman, A. (2002). The five faces of Creative thinking genius: styles to

succeed at work. NY, NY: Penguin Books.

Berlyne, D. E. (1965). Structure and direction in thinking. John Wiley.

Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2014). Critical thinking: Tools for taking charge of your
professional and personal life. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Components-of-critical-
thinking_fig1_255669900

https://www.britannica.com/topic/thought
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