Acknowledgements

How to Embed Creativity into the Curriculum
Jane Piirto
Ashland University, Ohio, USA
“VERY practical, on target for schools today—good balance of theory with anecdotal
connections.”
“At first I was worried about the time involved. I discovered when given 5 minutes . . . the time is
a continuation to their work in progress. Realizing that creativity does not have to consume large
chunks oftime is more meaningful than tokens.”
“I like the tone of the writing. It feels like there is a conversation going on.”

Creativity for 21st Century Skills

Creativity for 21st Century Skills

Creativity for 21st
Century Skills
How to Embed Creativity into
the Curriculum
Jane Piirto

“I like the stories of famous people and how their creativity influenced and changed their lives.”CREATIVITY FOR 21ST CENTURY SKILLS describes what many creative people really do when they
create. It focuses on the practical applications of a theoretical approach to creativity training the
author has developed. Many suggestions for enhancing creativity focus on ideas that are over 60
years old. This new approach may be helpful for those seeking to develop 21st Century Skills of
creativity.Five core attitudes (Naiveté, Risk-taking, Self-Discipline, Tolerance for Ambiguity, and
Group Trust), Seven I’s (Inspiration, Intuition, Improvisation, Imagination, Imagery, Incubation,
and Insight), and several General Practices—the use of ritual, meditation, solitude, exercise,
silence, and a creative attitude to the process of life, with corresponding activities, are described,discussed, and illustrated. A discussion of how to be creative within an educational institution
is also included.
JANE PIIRTO is Trustees’ Distinguished Professor at Ashland University. Her doctorate is in
educational leadership. She has worked with students pre-K to doctoral level as a teacher,
administrator, and professor. She has published 11 books, both literary and scholarly, and
many scholarlyarticles in peer-reviewed journals and anthologies, as well as several poetry
and creative nonfiction chapbooks. She has won Individual Artist Fellowships from the Ohio
Arts Council in both poetry and fiction and is one of the few American writers listed as both a
poet and a writer in the Directory of American Poets and Writers. She is a recipient of the Mensa
Lifetime Achievement Award, of anhonorary Doctor of Humane Letters, was named an Ohio
Magazine educator of distinction. In 2010 she was named Distinguished Scholar by the National
Association for Gifted Children.

DIVS

Jane Piirto

SensePublishers

SensePublishers

Creativity for 21st Century Skills

Creativity for 21st Century Skills
How to Embed Creativity into the Curriculum

Jane Piirto
AshlandUniversity, Ohio, USA

SENSE PUBLISHERS
ROTTERDAM/BOSTON/TAIPEI

A C.I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

ISBN: 978-94-6091-461-4 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-94-6091-462-1 (hardback)
ISBN: 978-94-6091-463-8 (e-book)

Published by: Sense Publishers,
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DEDICATION

To Steven, Denise, and Danielle
(of course)

v

CONTENTS

Preface..................................................................................................................... ix
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................... xiii
Author...