The Global Creativity Initiative Podcast

This episode explores how divergent thinking, generating possibilities before evaluating them,  strengthens creativity, problem-solving, teaching, leadership, and collaboration. Tanya  and  Freddie share practical ways to keep conversations open, from asking “what if?” and “what else?” to considering multiple approaches before choosing a solution.

The Global Creativity Initiative Podcast is a scholarly commitment to sharing creativity and specifically creative process for problem solving (aka life) with all of humanity.  Visit our website to learn more about The Global Creativity Initiative. Write to us at [email protected]

Resistance to Premature Closure and the Creative Mind

This conversation explores the creativity factor of resistance to premature closure, and why it matters for problem solving, collaboration, and innovation. Dr. Freddie Reisman explains how staying open long enough to explore alternatives leads to better ideas, stronger decisions, and less shutdown in both workplaces and personal relationships.We also touch on functional fixedness, perspective taking, and how a simple visual icon can help people remember to stay open before deciding.

Key topics

• Premature closure shows up when people jump to conclusions too quickly. Examples include finishing someone else’s sentence, shutting down an idea with “the problem is,” or rejecting a suggestion before it is explored.
• Creative thinking requires divergence before convergence. Dr. Reisman emphasizes that people should explore options first and decide later, rather than rushing straight to a single answer.
• Rejecting ideas can shut down future ideation. When someone’s suggestion is dismissed, especially in a work setting, they may become self-protective and stop contributing.
• Ideas are incomplete thoughts. The discussion stresses that ideas should be treated as things to examine, test, and expand, not as finished claims that must be accepted or rejected instantly.
• Functional fixedness limits creativity. Dr. Reisman describes this as getting stuck in old ways of doing things, using the teaching of place value in math as an example of how long-standing methods can persist even when they are wrong.
• Creativity is broader than the arts. Creativity is a discipline with its own body of knowledge, just like math or science, and that people need awareness of their creative strengths.
• Perspective taking helps resist closure. The “pizza pie” icon for this factor is used as a simple visual for stepping into other viewpoints, such as the secretary, manager, supplier, accountant, or purchase.
• Webbing up captures the idea of staying open long enough to catch something new. The spider web metaphor connects wide-open thinking with the ability to seize useful insight when it appears.
• A practical response is to pause and ask better questions. Phrases like “Tell me more,” “What am I missing?” and “Is there another way to think about this?” create space for more complete thinking.

1. Resistance to premature closure is not the same as tolerance for ambiguity, but they are closely related.   Think “friends” or “cousins” in creative thinking.

The Global Creativity Initiative Podcast is a scholarly commitment to sharing creativity and specifically creative process for problem solving (aka life) with all of humanity.  Visit our website to learn more about The Global Creativity Initiative. Write to us at [email protected]

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation as Factors of Creativity

What motivates us ? Explore the relationship between intrinsic motivation, the enjoyment of a task itself; and extrinsic motivation, including rewards, encouragement, and environmental influences.

Through stories from education and everyday life, this discussion on how motivations can and should work together, how controlling language can restrict creativity, and why creative thinking factors are so helpful because they are concrete, accessible, and teachable.

The Global Creativity Initiative Podcast is a scholarly commitment to sharing creativity and specifically creative process for problem solving (aka life) with all of humanity.  Visit our website to learn more about The Global Creativity Initiative. Write to us at [email protected]

What changes when we respond to an unexpected idea with “maybe so”?

In this interview, Dr. Tanya Knudsen and Dr. Freddie Reisman explore how that small shift can make room for creative thinking. Drawing on Freddie’s work with Dr. E. Paul Torrance, they discuss why creativity belongs to everyone, how classrooms and workplaces can either encourage or constrain it, and what happens when a child’s creative strengths are mistaken for a learning difficulty.

The conversation moves from open-ended questions and the eleven factors of creative thinking to brainwriting, assessment, and the value of mistakes. At its heart is a practical invitation: pause before judging an idea, stay curious, and give people space to explore what might be possible.

The Global Creativity Initiative Podcast is a scholarly commitment to sharing creativity and specifically creative process for problem solving (aka life) with all of humanity.  Visit our website to learn more about The Global Creativity Initiative. Write to us at [email protected]

Learning, Creativity, and Leadership: How Meaningful Learning Happens

This episode opens a three part masterclass on learning, creativity, and leadership with Dr. Freddie Reisman, a longtime educator and leader in creativity research, and Dr. Tanya Knudsen , GCI podcast host. The conversation focuses on how teachers can match content to the learner’s cognitive level, why that alignment matters, and what gets in the way when schools rely on standardized pacing instead of diagnostic teaching. We discuss the hierarchy of learning, Bruner’s modes of representation, and the broader influences that shape how people learn, from motivation and emotion to culture and environment.

Key topics

• Dr. Reisman explains the hierarchy of learning as a developmental sequence that moves from arbitrary associations to relationships, generalizations, and principles.
• Teachers must analyze both the content of a discipline and the learner’s cognitive level before choosing what to teach.
• Dr. Reisman introduces Jerome Bruner’s three modes of representation: enactive, iconic, and symbolic, and explains how learners move from doing to seeing to using symbols.
• The episode stresses that teachers need to know not just what content to teach, but whether students are ready for it cognitively.
• The final section explores generic influences on learning, including motivation, emotion, physical condition, the senses, movement, cultural context, and the learning environment

The Global Creativity Initiative Podcast is a scholarly commitment to sharing creativity and specifically creative process for problem solving (aka life) with all of humanity.  Visit our website to learn more about The Global Creativity Initiative. Write to us at [email protected]

In this episode, the tables are turned as Dr. Robert Cleve interviews GCI podcast host Dr. Tanya Knudsen on her perspectives about creativity and the lessons she has gathered from conversations with creativity scholars and practitioners in the podcast. 

Episode Highlights

•  Creativity is a fluency for what might be, what's possible. At its essence, it is a form of energy that can be used for good, though not always. Creativity in service of harmful outcomes may become more common if humans surrender too much creativity and agency to artificial intelligence. 
•  If we all became even a little more creative, the world would be a better place. Creativity increases our ability to navigate life, adapt, innovate, and find fulfillment. 
• When creativity is diminished, we ultimately limit both our potential and our quality of life. 

How Do We Become More Creative?

 Seek out diversity:

•  Different foods 
•  Different forms of art 
•  Different people 
•  Different places and experiences 

Exposure to diversity helps us recognize that there are always alternatives and new possibilities, an essential first step in developing creativity more intentionally.

Ask more questions

Learn to lean into uncertainty 

•  Accept what is in front of you and begin from there 

Creativity grows through curiosity, openness, and a willingness to engage with new perspectives.

The Global Creativity Initiative Podcast is a scholarly commitment to sharing creativity and specifically creative process for problem solving (aka life) with all of humanity.  Visit our website to learn more about The Global Creativity Initiative. Write to us at [email protected]

🎙️ Podcast Show Notes

Creativity in Surgery: A Conversation PhD Candidate Alex Thabane, 2026 Ruth Noller Research Grant Recipient

This episode explores how creativity shows up in structured fields like medicine and surgery, inspired by the work of Ruth Noller. We reflect on the meaning behind the Ruth Noller Award and why creativity matters, even in disciplines that don’t traditionally embrace it.

🧠 The Noller Formula

Creativity = f (Attitude toward Knowledge, Imagination, Evaluation)

• Attitude toward Knowledge: curiosity and openness
• Imagination: generating new possibilities
• Evaluation: choosing what works

🏥 Creativity in Medicine

• Surgery is highly structured, with protocols and little room for deviation.
• There’s often a cultural aversion to creativity, driven by risk and malpractice concerns.
• Yet creativity is essential for problem-solving, innovation, and adapting to complex patient needs.

Even within rigid training and specialization, creative thinking can and should exist.

🔬 Why It Matters

• Medicine is constantly evolving alongside technology.
• Challenging “how things have always been done” is key to progress.
• Cross-disciplinary thinking and combinatory ideas drive innovation.

💡 Tips for Creativity

• Stay curious
• Read broadly
• Get outside your comfort zone
• Explore ideas across disciplines

🔑 Key Takeaway

Creativity and structure are not opposites. In fields like surgery, creativity is a critical tool for solving problems and improving patient care.

Investigation of divergent thinking among surgeons and surgeon trainees in Canada (IDEAS): a mixed-methods study

A Consensus Definition of Creativity in Surgery: A Focus Group and Modified Delphi Study 

Newsletter (The Time Capsule)

alexthabane.com 

Creative Education Foundation 

The Global Creativity Initiative Podcast is a scholarly commitment to sharing creativity and specifically creative process for problem solving (aka life) with all of humanity.  Visit our website to learn more about The Global Creativity Initiative. Write to us at [email protected]

🎙️ Podcast Show Notes: Unlocking Creativity in Everyone

🌱 Creativity Starts Early

As children, we naturally see ourselves as creative. We ask questions, explore freely, and follow curiosity without fear. But over time, many people lose that sense of creativity—not because it disappears, but because it gets buried under fear, risk aversion, and rigid expectations.

🔑 Why People Stop Feeling Creative

• Fear of taking risks
• Belief that creativity is a “talent” only some people have
• Overthinking or needing all the details before starting
• Environments that don’t encourage curiosity

The truth: every person has creativity. It just shows up in different ways.

👀 Recognizing Creativity in Others

Beyond artistic ability, creativity can look like:

• Asking thoughtful questions
• Being flexible and open-minded
• Generating ideas
• Seeing alternative perspectives

🧠 Creativity is a Skill (Not a Trait)

Creative thinking and problem solving can be learned. They provide a framework, a scaffold you can apply to any situation.

🧩 The Power of Questions

The way we frame challenges shapes our ability to solve them.

Use open-ended, invitational language:

• “How might we…?”
• “In what ways could we…?”

These questions unlock thinking, encourage exploration, and move people forward.

🛠️ A Simple Creative Practice

Take something you’ve already done and ask:

• How can I make this better?
• What else can I do with this?
• How can I take this to the next level?

Overlay creative thinking onto your existing work to enrich outcomes without starting from scratch.

🌍 Creativity Creates Purpose

Creativity helps us:

• Act with intention
• Influence others positively
• Find joy in teaching and learning
• Build stronger connections

A simple daily habit:

🧒 Lessons from First Graders

Even young children can engage in creative problem solving. In fact, they often do it better because they:

• Stay open
• Ask questions freely
• Don’t fear being wrong

If you want a model for curiosity—watch a first grader.

❤️ Staying Open Is the Core of Creativity

Creativity requires:

• Suspending judgment
• Considering new perspectives
• Being open to ideas you haven’t tried

Ask yourself:

🌐 Creativity and Human Connection

When we value interaction, curiosity, and understanding:

• We reduce conflict
• We build empathy
• We create better outcomes together

A more creative world is a more connected—and peaceful—one.

⚡ Practical Tips to Build Creativity

• Lean into your strengths and develop them further
• Share your ideas and get feedback
• Surround yourself with positive, supportive people
• Focus on what you have, not what you lack
• Practice creativity in everyday situations—not just “creative” fields

🚀 Final Thought

A less creative world is less interesting, less innovative, and less motivating.

Creativity isn’t optional—it’s essential.

And it starts with a simple choice:

Dr. Sue Keller-Mathers
Center for Applied Imagination 

The Global Creativity Initiative Podcast is a scholarly commitment to sharing creativity and specifically creative process for problem solving (aka life) with all of humanity.  Visit our website to learn more about The Global Creativity Initiative. Write to us at [email protected]

Podcast Show Notes: Creativity in a Conformist World 🎙️

In this episode, we explore how creativity works, why modern systems often train us for conformity, and why creativity is essential for participating fully in a rapidly changing world shaped by technology and AI.

Creativity is imagination made real. The process of turning ideas into something tangible through experimentation, iteration, and action is what we humans do. It also brings something deeply human into our lives: joy, connection, and meaning.

Key Themes

Creativity is trainable
You become creative by creating. Practice, experimentation, and iteration strengthen creative thinking.

Creativity helps us participate in the world
In a fast-changing world, creativity gives us agency. It allows us to adapt, solve problems, and engage with new tools and technologies rather than simply reacting to them.

Creativity brings joy
Humans are wired to imagine, build, and explore ideas. The process of creating—trying things, discovering possibilities, and bringing ideas to life is energizing and fulfilling.

Creativity is social
Humans are social beings, and creativity grows through conversation and collaboration. Sharing ideas, experimenting together, and building collectively are essential parts of the creative process.

Conformity vs. creativity
Schools, corporations, and industries like Hollywood rely on formulas and repetition. While this creates predictability, it can also limit or worse, ossify thoughts. Breakthrough ideas often come from people willing to step outside familiar patterns.

A human transformation is needed
As AI becomes more powerful, society faces an important choice. If we default to letting AI do the thinking for us, we risk losing our agency, curiosity, and creative capacity. That doesn’t just limit individual potential. It can put society itself at risk.

Without developing our own creative abilities:

• People may become passive users of technology
• Critical thinking and imagination may decline
• Society may struggle to adapt to rapid change

When we strengthen human creativity, AI becomes a powerful tool for exploration rather than a replacement for thinking.

Raising creative kids
The foundation for creativity begins early. Play, curiosity, imagination, and social exploration—especially before age 10—help build adaptable thinkers who can engage thoughtfully with powerful technologies in the future.

Practical Tips

• Adopt a creative mindset: Everyone can become more creative.
• Practice regularly: Creativity grows through use.
• Think in options: Explore multiple possibilities before choosing one.
• Move ideas into action: Creativity happens when imagination meets execution.
• Iterate quickly: Try, learn, adjust, repeat.
• Create with others: Collaborate to strengthen ideas.

Bottom line:
Creativity is how humans participate in the world. It gives us agency, connects us with others, and brings joy to the act of building new possibilities. As technology accelerates, developing our creative capacity isn’t just beneficial—it’s essential for individuals and society alike. 🚀

Bradley Scheel
Raising Dreamers 

The Global Creativity Initiative Podcast is a scholarly commitment to sharing creativity and specifically creative process for problem solving (aka life) with all of humanity.  Visit our website to learn more about The Global Creativity Initiative. Write to us at [email protected]

This conversation reframes creativity as something practical, powerful, and accessible to all of us.

✨ Creativity Is a Process

Creativity isn’t random inspiration. It can be practiced. Taught. Scaffolded.

When we approach creativity as a process, we make it accessible, especially for people who may not yet have the vocabulary or confidence to see themselves as “creative.”

👥 Creative Leadership Creates Space

To lead creatively is to bring people along.

It means:

• Inviting contribution
• Listening with intention
• Creating psychological space for ideas
• Keeping the focus on the problem and not the people

Creativity in leadership is about fostering the kind of interaction where better answers can emerge.

🎧 Listening Is a Creative Act

Creativity is conversational.

The way we listen and the language we use  can either shut ideas down or open them up. Reframing a challenge changes what becomes possible. The moment we move from “That won’t work” to “What might work?” we’re being creative.

🏖️ The Sandbox Before the Solution

Before implementation comes play.

In many workplaces, we talk about “sandboxing,” experimenting with ideas before locking into execution. Not everything needs to be creative. But when something feels stuck, messy, or tense, that’s often the signal to step back into the sandbox.

Creativity keeps things lighter. More flexible. More joyful.

🚫 What Gets in the Way?

We become less creative when we:

• Rush to get the answer
• Assume our thoughts aren’t welcome
• Depend too heavily on external solutions
• Define the problem too narrowly

Creativity requires space  and permission.

🌱 The Core Belief

We are all creative. Everything sparks ideas and that's why listening matters. 

Becoming more creative starts with:

1. Believing you are just as creative as anyone else.
2. Wondering more. Noticing more. Staying curious.

Creativity is a mindset. A leadership skill. A way to approach life with more openness and possibility.

And sometimes, it starts with choosing to play.

Palgrave Handbook of Applied Creativity in Global Higher Education 

www.linkedin.com/in/cmckaylephd

Consultancy thecreativityagent.com

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Camille-Mckayle

The Global Creativity Initiative Podcast is a scholarly commitment to sharing creativity and specifically creative process for problem solving (aka life) with all of humanity.  Visit our website to learn more about The Global Creativity Initiative. Write to us at [email protected]