DONALD r. TREFFINGER

JACLYN R. HUBER

Designing Instruction in Creative

Problem-Solving: Preliminary

Objectives and Learning Hierarchies*

Frequently we seem to assume that instructional technology,or any formal "systems" approach to instructional planningand design, may not be likely to be valuable in courses whichemphasize complex creative problem-solving goals and objec­tives. The instructional scientist emphasizes identification andprescription of specific, behaviorally stated objectives, diag­nosis of the characteristics and previous learning of the stu­dent, utilization of carefully programmed, sequential instruc­tional activities, and frequent evaluation to determine stu­dents' attainment of content objectives. Such an approach isoften considered to be too rigid for successful application increative problem-solving courses, or heavily oriented towardthe acquisition of knowledge or specific "low level," factualinformation.

We believe, however, that psychological principles of soundinstructional planning can be applied productively to creativeproblem-solving courses, and that students can benefit fromsuch efforts. Feldhusen and Treffinger (1971) suggested thatthe first step in planning instruction should be to analyze theproposed content of the course. For creative problem-solv­ing, such an analysis has been provided by Parnes in theCreative Behavior Guidebook (1967). We began with thatanalysis, therefore, and attempted to apply some fundamentalprinciples of instructional design in the development of afive-week, one credit undergraduate course on creative prob­lem-solving (conducted in conjunction with an undergraduatecourse in educational psychology).

.. The development of this paper was funded in part by a grant fromthe University of Kansas General Research Fund (Grant No. 3476-5038).

260 Volume 9 Number 4 Fourth Quarter

SPECIFICINSTRUCTIONAL

OBJECTIVES

LEARNINGHIERARCHIES

The Journal or Creative Behavior

In planning this instructional program, our next steps wereto develop specific instructional objectives to accompany theCreative Behavior Guidebook and Workbook (Parnes, 1967),and then to organize those objectives.Specific instructional objectives are statements which commu­nicate instructional intentions unambiguously. They specifystudent learning outcomes, emphasizing observable, measur­able behavior (Mager, 1962; Kibler, Cegala, Barker & Miles,1974); that is, they describe, as clearly and directly as pos­sible, what students will be able to do at the conclusion of acourse or unit of instruction. Advocates of the use of explicitinstructional objectives maintain that many benefits may ac­crue from their use: reduction of confusion between teach­ers and students regarding expectations, intent, and standards;facilitation of accurate, objective evaluation; and increasedopportunity for students to direct their own efforts effectively.A learning hierarchy is a diagram of the organization of theskills and prerequisite accomplishments involved in a morecomplex, general learning outcome (Gagne, 1968, 1974). Thehierarchy is developed by investigating the prior skills andoutcomes which must be attained before a more complexobjective can be accomplished. Beginning with the most com­plex outcome, the question is raised: "What must the studentbe able to do in order to learn how to reach this goal?" Theprocess is repeated, through each successively less complexset of outcomes, until the most basic skills or performancesare reached (i.e., those prerequisites which can be assumedto have been met by all students when they enter the in­structional setting).

The purpose of this paper is to present the specific instruc­tional objectives and the learning hierarchies that we devel­oped for our creative problem-solving course. These are pre­liminary efforts, of course, and must be considered very ten­tative. It is quite possible that the objectives of a creativeproblem-solving course, derived from the Guidebook and theWorkbook, might be defined in a wide variety of ways in­volving different emphases and thinking levels (cf., Bloom,1956). The learning hierarchies presented here represent, asfar as we can determine, the first efforts that have beenmade to employ this strategy to objectives for creative prob­lem-solving. They must be examined carefully, tested empiri­cally (following established procedures for validating learn­ing hierarchies), and revised accordingly. They are presentedhere as an attempt to correlate two valuable methodologies,creative problem-solving and instructional technology.

261

GOALSTATEMENTS

D••lgnlng Instruction In Creative Problem-Solving

Each general goal statement for creative problem-solvingwill be presented, along with a summary of the specific in­structional objectives subsumed under that goal and a tenta­tive learning hierarchy. A diagrammatic view of the first gen­eral goal statement is illustrated in Figure 1. (Additional dia­grams are available directly from the authors).

1. Be sensitive to problems.Given a "mess," the student should be able to:a. describe many specific problems which could be appro­

priatelyattacked;b. articulate many elements of the situation;c. employ a checklist of elements to extend an analysis of

possible problems.

2. Be able to define problems.Given a perplexing situation, the student should be able to:a. recognize the "hidden" or "real" problem which may

underlie the stated question;b. broaden the problem, or redefine it, by asking why;c. redefine or clarify the problem by changing verbs;d. identify several sub-problems which are more man­

ageable, or can be more easily solved because they arebetter worded.

3. Be able to break away from habit-bound thinking.Given a description of an ordinary (day-to-day) situation,the student should be able to:a.· describe correctly his ordinary or habitual way of re­

sponding;b. evaluate the effectiveness of habitual response patterns;c. develop many possible alternative ways of responding

(i.e., learn to question the habitual response);d. select from those alternatives, those responses which

will be most useful;e. develop and implement a plan on the basis of the

selected alternate responses.

4. Be able to defer judgment.

In viewing a perplexing situation, the student should beable to:a. produce many responses;b. give responses without imposing internal evaluations;c. refrain from evaluating the responses of others.

5. Be able to see new relationships.

Given a perplexing situation, or a pair of perplexing stim-

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Designing Ins'ructlon in Creative Problem-Solving

uli, the student should be able to:a. identify similarities among objectives or experiences;b. identify differences among objects or experiences;c. list ideas for relating or comparing objects or exper­

iences.

6. Be able to evaluate the consequences of one's actions.

Given a cluster of possible solutions, the student shouldbe able to:a. identify a variety of criteria for evaluating situations

and proposed solutions and courses of action;b. develop many criteria for any problem;c. demonstrate deferment of judgment with respect to

criteria.

7. Be able to plan for the implementation of ideas.

Given a problem and a proposed solution or set of solu­tions, the student should be able to:a. identify specific sources of difficulty in implementing

the ideas;b. demonstrate the use of implementation check lists, key

word lists, and implementation stimulators, to recog­nize and overcome possible blocks to implementation;

c. specify a plan for facilitating implementation and ac­ceptance.

8. Be able to observe carefully and discover facts.Given a description or illustration of a perplexing situa­tion or experience, the student should be able to:a. list many attributes or characteristics of the situation;b. describe factors which may influence observation;c. state the difficulties associated with "shifting one's

viewpoint"i

d. describe several techniques for breaking the limitingmindset resulting from past experiences i

e. describe the features, characteristics, and functions ofthe important parts of the situation.

9. Be able to use effective techniques for discovering newideas.

Given a perplexing situation or experience, the studentshould be able to:a. describe and demonstrate the use of several techniques

for facilitating idea production, which would includemagnification, minification, rearrangement, etc. i

b. describe and demonstrate the use of Osborn's "ideaspurring questions" list to generate new ideas.

264

The Journal of Creative Behavior

10. Be able to refine strange ideas into useful ones.Given a perplexing situation and a selection of apparently"silly" Ideas, the student should be able to:a. describe and demonstrate ways in which silly ideas

can be made useful;b. demonstrate the technique of determining the essential

criteria, and describe the value of meeting essentialcriteria first;

c. describe the problems associated with vague criteria;d. demonstrate techniques for rating ideas and working

first with the most important ideas;e. describe and demonstrate the use of analogies in find­

ing useful ideas (i.e., Gordon's categories).

11. Be able to describe and use a systematic approach toproblem-solving.

Upon request, the student should be able to define andillustrate each of the following stages in creative problem­solving: fact-finding, problem-finding, idea-finding, solu­tion-finding, and acceptance-finding.

12. Be able to describe the influence of interpersonal rela­tionships on problem-solving, and to illustrate problemsassociated with interpersonal relationships in effectivecreatine problem-solving.

(Confidence, trust, honesty, openness, etc.),In the affective domain, we assume that the student willdevelop:a. an awareness of his own potential and limitations;b. the inclinations to realize his potential and overcome

his limitations i

c. the willingness to master new ideas and to attempt toapply <those ideas to real situations;

d. the willingness to share with others his own problemsand ideas.No learning hierachy has been developed for this gen­eral goal, which involves primarily affective, ratherthan cognitive outcomes.

The ideas set forth in this paper represent an initial effort tosynthesize the goals and objectives of creative problem­solving with some basic principles of instructional technology.We invite the reader to use these materials, to modify them,and to communicate with us about suggestions, revisions,and application of these ideas.

265

Dellgnlng I,",tructlon In Creative Problem-Solvlng

REFERENCES BLOOM, B.S. (ed.), Taxonomy of educational objectioee: cognitit1e do­main. NYC: McKay, 1956.

FELDHUSEN, J. F. & TREFFINGER, D. J. Psychological background andrationale for instructional design. Educational Technology, 1971, 11.

GAGNE, R. M. The conditions of learning. NYC: Holt, Rinehart & Win­stan, 1968.

GAGNE, R. M. Essentials of learning for instruction. Hinsdale, IL: Dry­den Press, 1974.

KIBLER, R. J., CEGALA, D. J., BARKER, L. L. & MILES, D. T. Objec­tioes for instruction and eoaluailon, Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1974.

MAGER, R. F. Preparing instructional objecti",es. Palo Alto: Fearon,1962.

PARNES, S. J. Creative behavior guidebook. NYC: Scribner's, 1967.

Donald J. Treffinger, Educational Psychology & Research Dept.Address: University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66044.

Jaclyn R. Huber.Address: University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66044.

Lunatic., Lovera, and Poel8: On Madnen and Creativity

(Continued from Page 232)

BROUDY, H. S. Some duties of a theory of educational aesthetics.Educational Theory, 1951, November, 1(3).

CROCKER, L. G. (ed.) Don Quixote de la Manc~a by Miguel de Cer­»ante». (Washington Square Press Enriched Classics ed.), NYC:Pocket Books, 1972.

FITZGERALD, R. (ed.) The collected short prose of James Agee. NYC:Ballantine Books, 1970.

FOUCAULT, M. The order of things. NYC: Vintage Books, 1973.GABLIK, S. Magritte. Greenwich, CT: NY Graphic Society, 1973.KOESUER, A. The act of creation. (Danube ed.), NYC: MacMillan,

1969.PLOKKER, J. H. Artistic self-expression in mental disease. London:

Mouton, 1964.TURBAYNE, C. M. The myth of metaphor. (rev. ed.). University of

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Roy R. Behrens, Assistant Professor of Art.Address: University of Northern Iowa, Department of Art, Cedar Falls,Iowa 50613.

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