Creative Writing Workshop for Science Students

Elena González Ed. D.April 7, 2015

CADI 108

Objectives of the PresentationBecome familiar with recent articles on creativity in science.Define the creative process and the characteristics of a creative person

Become familiarized with the Creativity Assessment Scale of Silvia et al.

Be motivated to participate in the RISE Creative Writing Competition

Select a provocative prompt and write a creative text

References• How creativity powers science• Some of the best ideas come not from poring over the facts but from a walk in the woods• BY JENNIFER CUTRARO 2:17PM, MAY 24, 2012• www.student.societyforscience.org/article/how-creativity-powers-science • Scientists outshine arts students with experiments in creative • Aifric Campbell Thursday 6 November 2014 11.30 GMT• http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/nov/06/scientists-outshine-arts-students-with-exp

eriments-in-creative-writing • Scientists Are More Creative Than You Might Imagine• But original thinking could be declining among students because of the growing emphasis on test-taking

in schools.• ALEXANDRA OSSOLA NOV 12 2014, 8:00 AM ET• http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/11/the-creative-scientist/382633/ • The Art of Creative Science Writing: A Conversation with Gerald N. Callahan• Nov 21, 2013 by Samantha Tucker Iacovetto, Colorado Review Editorial Assistant• http://coloradoreview.colostate.edu/the-art-of-creative-science-writing-a-conversation-with-gerald-n-cal

lahan/

Scientists outshine arts students with experiments in creative

Aifric Campbell found:• Stem students taking a creative writing course 1. welcomed the opportunity to develop their potential and “resolve a certain tension between their artistic and scientific interests”. 2. became more tolerant of uncertainty. 3. were willing to take more risks. 4. were more humble.

Scientists outshine arts students with experiments in creative

Aifric Campbell found STEM students:5. came up with more creative solutions to engineering problems.6. envisioned software programming and creative writing as creative problem solving.7. Discovered creative writing as a way to engage the public in a dialogue about what’s new in science

Scientists outshine arts students with experiments in creative

• Campbell, English professor at Imperial College London, states, “A year of reading and writing fiction raises all sorts of ethical and moral questions that inspire Stem students to apply their talent for sceptical enquiry to an analysis of human behaviour. And isn’t this precisely what we would all wish for our scientists, engineers, technologists and doctors – that the men and women who build, design, code, fix and shape our world are enriched by their exploration of our human condition? (2013, parag. 13).

How creativity powers science

• Jennifer Cutraro interviews Robert DeHaan, a cell biologist who studies the teaching of creative thinking.

• Dehaan indicates that science is not merely a body of knowledge, but more importantly a process of learning. (Others call it the journey or quest for knowledge).

• If we see science as a process, then, it is easier to incorporate the teaching of creativity within the teaching of science.

• Scientific researchers invent from the data they collect possible explanations. “Creativity is about imagining possibility and figuring out which one of these scenarios could be possible…” (Cutraro, 2012, parag. 19)

How creativity powers science

• How does the creative process work?• 1. brainstorming (distributed reasoning) hearing different ideas helps you to make unexpected connections

2. unfocus the mind – (associative thinking)free the mind to make possible

connections between unrelated things 3. naïveté – a lack of experience, knowledge or training

Scientists Are More Creative Than You Might Imagine

• The author, Alexandra Ossola, quotes from Albert Einstein, “The greatest scientists are artists as well.”

• The 4 stages of creativity were described in 1926 by the social psychologist Graham Wallas in his book “The Art of Thought”.

• Stages of creativity– Preparation– Incubation– Illumination– Verification

Scientists Are More Creative Than You Might Imagine

• Rex Jung, a professor of neurosurgery explains:“In incubation you rely on the neural connections your brain uses for brainstorming-a system known as the default-mode network. You use the region of your brain involved in daydreaming and imagination. It allows ideas to bounce around and intersect in novel ways.The cognitive control network takes control once your brain wants to articulate and implement an idea.”

Scientists Are More Creative Than You Might Imagine

• Imaginability- the ability to play out ideas in one’s mind. It is done in the default mode while the conscious mind is busy doing something else.

• Recess in school and breaks in academic work are important to access the default mode.

How creativity powers science

• How does the creative process work? unfocus the mind– Use associative thinking. Associative thinking is a

process in which the mind is free to wander, making possible connections between unrelated ideas. So go for a hike in the woods and let your mind wander.

– The exploration of other fields by scientists can give them unimagined creative insights.

How creativity powers science

An example of exploring another field of study• Herschbach, a chemist, learned of a technique in physics

called molecular beams.

• The technique made him think about the possibility of crossing 2 beams (chorine and hydrogen). After several years of collecting data, he and a collegue won the Nobel Prize for discovering new insights into the behavior of colliding molecules.

• Herschbach recalled that the idea seemed so simple that it was naïveté.

Creative Science Writing Prompt: Two Frogs in a Vat

By Bill Manhirehttp://wewantedtobewriters.com/our-authors/bill-manhire/

Creative Science Writing Prompt-“One evening two frogs fell into a vat of milk. One was

a scientist. The other was a poet.”

Creative Solution-• Which of the two was able to survive ‘til morning and

why?

Royal Society of New Zealand Manhire Prize forCreative Science Writing

Anthology of winners 2007-2010

http://www.royalsociety.org.nz/programmes/competitions/manhire-prize/

Two Frogs in a VatHere is a story I once heard from a Dutch writer.

“One evening two frogs fell into a vat of milk. One was a scientist. The other was a poet.

The scientist trod water for a while, then did a rapid calculation involving

the buoyancy of his frog-body in milk. It was clear that he could not last.

He gave a sigh and sank to the bottom, where he drowned.

The poet tried to remember what he knew about

milk. ‘Something about the milk of paradise,’ came

to mind. There was something, too, about the milk

of human kindness.

Two Frogs in a VatSome lines for a new poem of his own also occurred to him,

though we will not quote them here. And all the while he

went on treading water – or, more accurately, milk –

occasionally wondering how long he could last.

In the morning, the farmer’s wife came into the dairy. There

in the vat was a large block of butter and … lying on top … a

small, exhausted frog.”

Bill Manhire

• Definitions of Creativity

Definitions of Creativity1. “Mental activity” providing an answer to a novel

situation.

2. A “process” resulting in one of a kind ideas.

3. A thought “experience” that demonstrates uniqueness, divergent thinking, imagination, and fearlessness.

4. The “generation” of the most unusual thoughts .

The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at The Iowa State University http://www.celt.iastate.edu/creativity/defining.html

Terms Used to Describe Creativity

• Fluency – number of ideas generated• Originality and imagination – unusual, unique, and novel

ideas• Elaboration – ability to explain ideas in detail• Flexibility, curiosity, resistance to closure – ability to

generate multiple solutions• Complexity – details and implications of ideas; recognition of

patterns, similarities and differences• Risk taking – willingness to be wrong and to admit it

The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at The Iowa State University http://www.celt.iastate.edu/creativity/defining.html

Stages in the Creative ProcessDennett in Gaboras sees the creative process as a two stage cyclic process:

• The generative stage – you brainstorm Preparation This stage is characterized by obsessiveness. A period devoted to trying to solve the problem and collecting data through traditional approaches.

Incubation In this stage you unconsciously work on the problem.

• The evaluative stage – you focus Illumination

Here you make an association between the problem and something familiar. You discover a previously unknown or underlying order.

Verification The idea is materialized, can be proven, and is diffused or communicated.

Gabora, L. (2002) Cognitive mechanisms underlying the creative process. In (T. Hewett and T. Kavanagh, Eds.) Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Creativity and Cognition , October 13-16, Loughborough University, UK, 126-133

Variable Focus as the Key to Creativity

In sum, creativity is associated with conceptual fluidity and focus or control.

The focus is variable:• First you brainstorm an idea (generative stage)• Then you focus attention on the creative idea

(evaluative stage).

Gabora, L. (2002) Cognitive mechanisms underlying the creative process. In (T. Hewett and T. Kavanagh, Eds.) Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Creativity and Cognition , October 13-16, Loughborough University, UK, 126-133

Applying the Creative Process to Scientific Writing

Narrative, Protagonist, and Triumph

• “The central task of science writing for a broad audience is...how to make science human and enjoyable without betraying nature. The best writers achieve that end by two means. They present the phenomena as a narrative...and they treat the scientists as protagonists in a story that contains...the mythic elements of challenge and triumph."

Edward O. Wilson The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2001

http://www.jacobberkowitz.com/science-writing/

How to Write Creatively about Science

• Don’t just summarize facts. Place the scientific facts within a story or narrative of triumph.

• Instead of concentrating on the investigative problem, concentrate on the investigative triumph.

• Instead of keeping the scientist obscure, make the scientist the protagonist in the narrative.

• Either that or write a narrative about the consequences of the scientific triumph or problem posed.

Narrative of the Consequences of a Scientific Problem

2007 Royal Society of New Zealand Manhire Prize for Creative Science WritingInspiration: Climate Change (Biology)• Many scientists and social scientists believe that

climate change is a serious threat to human civilisation. Regardless of climate change, we need to find sustainable forms of agriculture, manufacturing and energy. How will we respond? How can we respond?

• Fiction winner: Bryan Walpert 16 Planets • Non fiction winner: Alison Ballance Touchstones

Fiction winner: Bryan Walpert 16 Planets

• Read pages 6-14 of Shift: Anthology of Winners

2011 Manhire Award

Chemical WorldFiction biography• http://www.royalsociety.org.nz/programmes/c

ompetitions/manhire-prize/2011-information/

• REPORT ON THE BIRS WORKSHOP “CREATIVE WRITING IN MATHEMATICS AND

SCIENCE,” BANFF, 2-6 MAY 2010

RISE Creative Writing Competition

• Writing about the RISE Seminars

• Tell a story about a seminar presentation in which the scientist is the protagonist.

• Describe the triumphs and challenges of his/her investigation.

RISE Creativity Writing Competition

• Instructions handout

Assessing Creativity

Referene:Silvia, P., Winterstein, B., Wellsi, J. Barona, C., Cram, J., Hess, K., Martínez, J., & Richard, C.

(2008). Assessing creativity with divergent thinking tasks: Exploring the reliability and validity of new subjective scoring methods. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts 2(2), 68-85. DOI: 10.1037/1931-3896.2.2.68

Creativity Assessment Scores

• Score of 1 - Not at all creative• Score of 2 - Somewhat creative• Score of 3 - Creative • Score of 4 – Very creative• Score of 5 – Highly creative

Creativity Assessment Criteria

Uncommon• “Any response that is given by a lot of people

is common, by definition.”• “Unique responses will tend to be creative

responses, although a response given only once need not be judged creative. For example, a random or inappropriate response would be uncommon but not creative.”

Creative Assessment Criteria

Remote• “Creative ideas are remotely linked to everyday

objects and ideas. For example, creative uses for a brick are “far from” common everyday uses for a brick, and creative instances of things that are round, are “far from” common round objects. Responses that stray from obvious ideas will tend to be creative, whereas responses close to obvious ideas will tend to be uncreative.”

Creativity Assessment Criteria

Clever• “Creative ideas are often clever: they strike

people as insightful, ironic, humorous, fitting, smart. Responses that are clever will then to be creative responses. Keep in mind that cleverness can compensate for the other facets. For example, a common use cleverly expressed could receive a high score.”

Instructions for Judging Creativity

• Creativity can be viewed as having three facets – uncommon, remote, and clever.

• Creative responses will generally be high on all three criteria.

• A low score on one criteria will not eliminate the possibility of a high rating.

Creativity Assessment Scale

Criteria 1 2 3 4 5

Uncommon

Remote

Clever

Application ExerciseWriting Science Fiction

The Royal Society

• http://invigorate.royalsociety.org/ks2/creating-and-discovering/science-fiction.aspx

• Instructions:• Click on the doors. Click on the library. Click on one of the books. • Search through the books until you find an illustration that inspires you

to write a creative story.• Select one illustration and write a creative story about it.• Use the prompt and guide questions for inspiration or just use your own

imagination.

Closing

• Questions or comments• Please, assess the workshop before you leave.