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Show page 4 Spring 2004 Joseph Bentley, professor of management at the School of Business, reviews a student'ss portfolio project. using free prose. "Students often find it more difficult to think and write when they are not limited with any set rules/' said Blitch. To help students better Blitch uses additional materials such as Stacy Ricktor's "A Date With Satan," a short story of insane, obscene characters dating Satan, as well as scholarly essays discussing the use of adjectives. Closely related to Blitch's class is Francois Camoin's Creative Nonfiction Workshop for students seeking a master's degree. Francois Camoin, professor of English and director of the Writing Program for 25 years, quotes Irving Lehman while teaching a class on clay-making, "Don't make ashtrays - don't make something useful and ordinary, be creative and come up with something new and different." When teaching students on how to write nonfiction, Camoin suggests, "Don't use imagination because the real world we live in offers interesting aspects that are far beyond the imagination, so writing a story about the details of even the littlest things such as a thumbnail is possible." Camoin also discourages students to write about matter that can be summed up in normal terms. "The whole idea is ambiguity and uncertainty," added Camoin. "In general, grad students accept being uncertain better than undergrads because they don't try to look for a definite answer in everything which is the key to creative writing." Joseph Bentley, professor of management at the School of Business, also teaches masters students a creativity-related business management class called "Enhancing Creativity in Business." In Bentley's opinion, the turbulence and turmoil in today's business world are primarily caused by the constant changing of rules, people, and technology. "There is a need for coming up with new, different and better ways to answering age-old problems rather than simply resolving to new rules and means of technology," said Bentley. Given this premise, Bentley attempts to teach creative ideas and solutions to significant problems in not only the business field but life in general. The course focuses on (1) the development of creative talent: creative thinking, creative problem solving; (2) the importance of organizational climate in supporting and encouraging creativity; and (3) exploration of the relationship between creative thinking and product/process innovations and improvements in business organizations. Bentley encourages creativity by disregarding the normal restrictions of a structured class setting. The first page of syllabus packet reads, NO SCHOOL TODAY!! - a catchy phrase that will surely draw students' attention. According to Bentley, this almost misleading yet inventive way of inviting University students to his class is effective and keeps students in the class. Also, Bentley forces the students to think and create their own grading standards by which they will abide throughout the semester. Another interesting aspect of the class are the titles of the supplemental texts: "Orbiting the Giant Hairball" and "Weird Ideas that Work." Among many creative assignments, Bentley has the students keep a record of what they learn during the course as well as designing a creativity portfolio. For instance, one student had his daughter illustrate the portfolio while another student attached her works on the outside of a box. Another fun class exercise involves the development of a new innovative product or service and taking the idea into production by creating a prototype and ideas of how to distribute the product. Bentley's goal was for students to use their creative abilities and develop better, useful, different, cheaper, faster, more fun and outrageous products and services in which the public never thought of or knew they needed but would benefit the world. Students worked on this project with two or three other students by brainstorming new ideas. The rules were: everything works, no criticism, no judgment, break rules! In addition to the creative portfolio and product-inventing activities, students had to plan and carry out a personal creative experience that takes them into territory they were not familiar with or competent in. For example, one of the results of this imaginative task was that students feasted one night eating foods their peers cooked or dishes they have never tried nor cooked before. "I love when students have fun while exploring different new possibilities," remarked Professor Bentley. "My objective and the purpose of this class is for students to learn to expand their own creativity as well as collaborating with others." Clearly, Bentley's class encourages the idea of "getting-out-of-the-box" with stimulating, creative assignments and activities. Instead of traditional lectures, papers and exams, perhaps incorporating more creativity into university classes will reignite that feeling of excitement as we awake each morning and actually look forward to learning and attending school. Creativity can no doubt be applied across disciplines and into every facet of life. Experimenting and going "out on a limb" to do things that are not of the norm makes people not only more successful but flexible. Rules can be broken. Stimulating creative over conventional thinking pushes boundaries and provides creative solutions which will help students become skillful employees, managers and educators in the future. |
