ABSTRACT
In the past decade or so, creativity has become an important topic of research in cognitive science, commonly under the rubric of “creative cognition.” As Finke explains,“the goal”of creative cognition study“is to use the methods of cognitive science to understand how creative ideas are generated, to explore the mental processes and structures that underlie creative thinking, and to identify the various properties of those structures that promote creative exploration and discovery” (303). Before one begins to address these issues, however, one might wish to ask about the definition of creativity itself. A standard definition is given by Sternberg and Lubart: “Creativity is the ability to produce work that is both novel (i.e., original, unexpected) and appropriate (i.e., useful, adaptive concerning task constraints)” (3). Creative work is not only innovative, but also good in its kind. Standing on one’s head in the classroom may be highly innovative. It would not thereby constitute creative teaching.
