College Students' Definitions of Creativity: Existing Frameworks and New Perspectives

• In Event: 72.050 - Poster Session 17
  In Poster Session: 72.050-6 - Giftedness and Creativity

Abstract

The current study investigated college students’ definitions of creative thinking. Three hundred forty-nine college students completed an online survey in which they provided definitions for creativity on open-ended survey items. Data coding used procedures from the grounded theory (Creswell, 2013). Study results showed that participants referred to creativity as a disposition commonly applied in everyday tasks or within problem solving. Additionally, results showed five major themes related to creativity: Personal Attributes, Problem Solving, Environment, Other, which were related to the existing model of 4P’s (Rhodes, 1961). This study provides a discussion for further investigation of the relations between individual’s beliefs about creativity for improved classroom practice.

Authors

• Ondrej Pesout, Jan Evangelista Purkyne University

• Elena Vladimirova, North Carolina State University

• Margareta Maria Thomson, North Carolina State University