™ The Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development™ Newsletter
Inside this Issue Creativity and Innovation Certificate Program Launches in Spring................. 2 In Memory of Dr. John D. Kauffman....... 3 International Creativity Collaborative..... 3 Global Minds Summer Program 2014... 4 Torrance Center Summer Institute......... 4 Training on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking.................................. 5 Visiting Scholar - Dr. Lev Redin............. 5 UGA-Duke Tip Programs....................... 6 Photo Highlights from NAGC.................. 7 Cramond Receives Lifetime Beyonder Award................................................... 8 Beyonder Checklist............................... 8 NAGC Creativity Network Torrance Award................................................... 9 Neumann Wins National Book Award.... 9 2013 Torrance Legacy Awards............................................... 10 Ways to Get Involved........................... 11 Call for Submissions - Gedenkschrift.. 11 Make a Gift to the Torrance Center...... 12
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Fall 2013
2014 E. Paul Torrance Lecture Sunday, April 6, 2014, Georgia Museum of Art 7-8 p.m. Lecture 8-9 p.m. Reception
Branford Marsalis Georgia Museum of Art The Torrance Center invites both creativity researchers and practitioners as lecturers to inform us about creativity. Join us this year as Branford Marsalis talks about his creativity. NEA Jazz Master, renowned Grammy Award®-winning saxophonist and Tony Award® nominee composer Branford Marsalis is one of the most revered instrumentalists of his time. The three-time Grammy Award® winner has continued to exercise and expand his skills as an instrumentalist, a composer, and the head of Marsalis Music, the label he founded in 2002 that has allowed him to produce both his own projects and those of the jazz world’s most promising new and established artists. Having gained initial acclaim through his work with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and his brother Wynton’s quintet in the early 1980s, Marsalis also performed and recorded with a who’s-who of jazz giants including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, and Sonny Rollins. He has also collaborated with such diverse artists as Sting, the Grateful Dead, and Bruce Hornsby. His expansive interests are further reflected in his explorations in film, radio and television, including his role as the musical director of “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno for two years in the early 1990s. Marsalis has also acted in such popular movies as “Throw Mama from the Train” and “School Daze,” provided music for “Mo’ Better Blues” and other films and hosted National Public Radio’s syndicated program “Jazz Set.” Whether on the stage, in the recording studio, in the classroom or in the community, Branford Marsalis embodies a commitment to musical excellence and a determination to keep music at the forefront. Bio provided by branfordmarsalis.com
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Torrance Center News • Fall 2013
Creativity and Innovation Certificate Launches in Spring By Michael Childs
The University of Georgia is launching a new graduate-level Interdisciplinary Certificate in Creativity and Innovation in spring 2014. The program aims to offer graduate students an advantage when applying for jobs in the workforce. This certificate improves and documents creative potential–something employers say they are looking for. Many economic experts have tied any society’s economy to its ability to attract and retain creative people, according to Bonnie Cramond, Torrance Center director. “We have seen a dramatic increase in contact from businesses and foreign organizations in the last year,” she said. “We think UGA has a unique value in having the Torrance Center, with its international reputation, and we want our students and faculty to benefit from it.” The program will enable graduate students in any discipline to add a certification to their degree by taking 15 hours of courses—nine hours of core courses in creativity and six hours of approved electives. The core courses are mostly in the education college’s department of educational psychology, but some focus on topics from business management to social work. The elective courses range across many disciplines including art, educational leadership, journalism, science education, food science, geography, Spanish and language and literacy education. “We hope that as people learn about it across campus, we’ll have more faculty interested in offering courses,” said Cramond. “We plan to provide support for faculty who wish to create or tweak courses that could be core courses or electives through UGA’s Center for Teaching and Learning. The core courses must deal with basic theory and research on creativity and innovation. Electives should support this learning through extension and application in specific disciplines.” The new program has received letters of support from potential employers in academia and various businesses, many stating that such a certificate would provide an edge to applicants who possess it. Others like the interdisciplinary nature of the program, which is structured to promote collaborations and innovative problem-solving, according to Cramond. The program is now the culmination of several people’s ideas, including those of Sarah Sumners, the assistant director of the Torrance Center, and Garrett Jaeger, a doctoral student in educational psychology. While there are other creativity certificate or degree programs across the nation, none are quite like UGA’s, said Cramond. “Most programs with creativity in the title are based in art, business or psychology, and do not really promote the interdisciplinary aspects as we do,” she said. For more information, see http://www.coe.uga.edu/icci/
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Fall 2013 • Torrance Center News
In Memory of Dr. John D. Kauffman Reprinted from ststesting.com
The Scholastic Testing Service (STS) family mourns the loss of Dr. John D. Kauffman. John began his journey at STS in 1974 and served most recently as STS VicePresident of Marketing. During his time at STS, his efforts helped products like the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking and the High School Placement Test (HSPT) to become bestsellers. John was known nationally and abroad as an advocate for gifted education and an expert in creativity assessments. He tirelessly promoted the Torrance Tests by cosponsoring creative competitions, engaging in long-term research studies, and teaching scoring workshops. John’s scoring workshops were always in great demand because he knew how to combine his expertise and sense of humor to ensure that his sessions were as much fun as his whimsical neckties. John also had great relationships with the administrators and admissions directors who used HSPT. He loved to travel across the country to meet personally with administrators, and he was always responsive to their needs and concerns. Dr. Kauffman will no longer be answering the phones at STS, but his presence will remain with us. In his honor, STS will continue their commitment to gifted education and assessments, and they have promised that every customer will receive the same outstanding personal service that he provided. http://ststesting.wordpress.com/2013/10/08/in-memory-of-dr-john-d-kauffman/
International Creativity Collaborative October 16 -18, 2014 Athens, Georgia
Join us in October 2014 for the first annual Torrance Center International Creativity Collaborative. During this conference, participants will enjoy a range of guest lecturers and presentations bringing together many great minds in creativity in one place. [An additional and optional training in the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) will be available following the conference.] Keynote presentations will be given by Dr. Mark Runco and Dr. Dean Keith Simonton, renowned creativity researchers. It is the intent of this conference to forge new relationships, enhance creativity among researchers and students, and bind new relationships that prove fruitful in the study and practice of creativity. To be added to the email list to receive more information, please email ejb12@uga.edu.
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Torrance Center News • Fall 2013
Global Minds Summer Program 2014 June 29-July 19, 2014
Who: • Turkish students ages 7-10 (will have Turkish translator) • International students ages 10-13 (all classes taught in English) Requirements: • English proficiency if 10-13 • Parent must escort and live with child for the duration of the program if coming from abroad • Identification as a gifted student This past summer, the Torrance Center hosted the first annual Global Minds Summer Program welcoming 16 students from Istanbul, Turkey, to take classes designed for gifted and creative education. Over the course of the three-week residential program, students ranging in age from 5-13 engaged in classes such as “World Travelers,” “Field Biology,” “Building a Peace Community,” “Multiplicative Reasoning,” and more. Next year we plan to offer Global Minds again, opening it up to Turkish students ages 7-13 and other international students ages 10-13. All classes for international students ages 10-13 will be taught in English. While classes have not been fully set for this year, we are hoping to offer courses in “Future Problem Solving,” “English Language,” “Wild Intelligence,” and more. The three-week program will begin June 29 and end July 19. Weekend excursions will take the students and their parental guardians to Atlanta and other local attractions. We are looking forward to another successful and enlightening summer hosting gifted international students!
Torrance Center Summer Institute July 7-11, 2014 Athens, Georgia
Come and explore the principles of creative thinking as a framework for curriculum development, classroom teaching, and assessment. Designed around research-based strategies for integrating creativity into the classroom, the five-day training will revolve around key strands such as Future Problem Solving, The Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, Common Core Creativity, and Differentiation in the Creative Classroom. Educators will leave with practical creative strategies for enhancing their overall classroom instruction. To be added to the email list to receive more information, please email ejb12@uga.edu.
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Fall 2013 • Torrance Center News
Training on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking–Figural and Verbal March 6-8, 2014
The Torrance Center™ offers training on the administration, scoring, and interpretation of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking — Figural and Verbal. Efficient, effective, expert, up-to-date training by the Torrance Center™ assures all motivated learners will receive a certificate of scoring reliability from the Torrance Center™ for Creativity and Talent Development. Figural: March 6-7, 2014 (Registration opens in January) Two-day training: one full day March 6 and one full day March 7 Verbal: March 8, 2014 (Registration opens in January) One full day of training on March 8 To register, visit http://www.coe.uga.edu/torrance/training-opportunities/ Training: The training for the figural requires about two days of active training. The verbal can be taught in one day to individuals who have mastered the figural scoring. All training requires that participants follow up by scoring practice protocols to reach scoring reliability. Trainings are held periodically at UGA, but on-site trainings can also be arranged. Follow-up: • Participants will be given two weeks to score four tests independently and send the scores to the Torrance Center™ . • Participants’ scores will be checked by component. For the figural, that is fluency, originality, abstractness of titles, resistance to closure, elaboration, and the checklist. For the verbal, the components are fluency, flexibility, and originality. • Individuals will receive feedback about which scores were accurate and which were not and need rescoring along with another set of four tests for those who must rescore some components. Trainees will only score the components that they missed on the first set. • Steps 1-3 will be repeated as necessary to mastery (up to five trials), or arrangements will be made with the individual to receive additional training. We will work with any motivated individual to mastery. Certificate: When individuals reach mastery, they will be issued a personalized certificate of proficiency by the Torrance Center™ at the University of Georgia.
New Visiting Scholar Dr. Lev Redin
Dr. Lev Redin, visiting scholar from Kazan, Russia, recently joined the Torrance Center for a month-long visit. An associate professor of engineering in Kazan National Research Technological University’s Department of Engineering Education and Psychology, Dr. Redin discussed his research and theory of Mental Integrative Metasystemic Innovative Methodology as basic elements of creativity in a talk entitled “Change by Creativity: How One Can Make A ‘Strong’ Solution.” He earned a Ph.D. in engineering in aerodynamics and thermodynamics from Kazan Aircraft Institute. Since that time, he has taught courses in philosophy and methodology of science education, as well doing research and publishing in the area of creativity. His current research interests include the formation and development of creative and inventive ability and skills of students.
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Torrance Center News • Fall 2013
UGA-Duke TIP Programs The UGA-Duke TIP programs hosted through the Torrance Center had an awesome start this fall! Over 300 students participated in classes such as Secret Agent Scientist, Pharmacology, Sports Medicine, and many more. Students had a great time exploring the UGA campus while engaging in challenging and unique topics that they typically do not get in school. Spring 2014 courses promise to be equally powerful and will allow each student to deeply explore interesting topics in the company of likeminded peers! Our spring 2014 dates include: Academic Adventures (5th & 6th Graders) January 25 February 22 March 29 Scholar Weekend (8th-11th Graders): open to all students identified as gifted February 8-9 April 12-13 Check out the Spring 2014 course listings on our website: http://www.coe.uga.edu/torrance/about/duke-tip-at-uga/ If you know any gifted 8th-11th graders, please share this information with them.
Photo highlights from this year’s UGA–Duke TIP events
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Fall 2013 • Torrance Center News
Photo Highlights from NAGC Convention, Indianapolis November 7-10, 2013
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Cramond Receives Lifetime Beyonder Award The South African Creativity Foundation presented Dr. Bonnie Cramond and the Torrance Center for Creativity & Talent Development with the Lifetime Beyonder Award for pioneering and advancing Beyonder creativity in the USA and worldwide. The award was presented at the foundation’s annual conference in October held in Bela-Bela, South Africa. Dr. Kobus Neethling, president of the South African Creativity Foundation, noted that “it does not matter where we live and where we operate, the Torrance Center remains our Beyonder home.” Named after Dr. E. Paul Torrance’s seminal work on highly creative individuals called Beyonders, this is the first time the South African Creativity Foundation nominated a few companies for the Beyonder Awards. Four South African companies and one Indian company that have anchored a Beyonder culture in their organizations the past three years received the Beyonder award for their work. Congratulations to Bonnie for this much-deserved recognition of all her hard work and dedication to going Beyond and fostering creativity globally!
Torrance Center News • Fall 2013
BEYONDER CHECKLIST By E. Paul Torrance, Ph.D. Name Date
Identification/Group Please check the statements that usually describe your feelings. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
I have experienced many ups and downs. My behavior is difficult to predict. My horoscope hardly ever predicts my behavior. Even as a baby I knew I was no ordinary child. I feel that I have an important mission in life. I usually go Beyond the usual scope in trying to understand things. 7. I sometimes wonder why I have so much good luck. 8. I usually consider myself a giver rather than a taker. 9. I am not a well-rounded person; there are many rather ordinary things I cannot do. 10. I will repay a debt even when I do not have to. 11. When I have failed, I have picked myself up and tried again. 12. I am honest even when it hurts. 13. I love all living creatures. 14. I try to use my energy constructively. 15. I may fail a hundred times, but I will not give up if I love it and believe in it. 16. I learn much from the experiences of others. 17. I like a challenge even though I have to work hard. 18. I enjoy being with young children or working with them. 19. At times I have felt very alone. 20. I look forward to retirement as my “golden years.” 21. They are few people who have loved their work as I have. 22. Few people in my field have had the courage that I have. 23. I believe that the most important mission in life is to give without end. 24. I have always had a high energy level. 25. My job is better than working for a living. 26. I have outbursts of levity occasionally. 27. When I am in doubt, I will often go ahead and try it. 28. My behavior is guided by a clear purpose. 29. I feel comfortable in being a minority of one. 30. Even as a child I knew I was different. 31. I am usually a chance taker. 32. It is fun to discover the reason behind things. 33. Problems or new ideas won’t go away for me. They creep into my mind at odd times. 34. I find that I usually make a lot of mistakes in order to accomplish much. 35. Deep Thinking is really fun—more fun than much of the social conversation I get involved in.
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Fall 2013 • Torrance Center News
NAGC Creativity Network Torrance Award Goes to Barbara Kerr On Nov. 8, Barbara Kerr received the 2013 Torrance Award from the Creativity Network of the National Association for Gifted Children. The award was given at the Creativity Night celebration at the annual NAGC Conference in Indianapolis, Ind. Dr. Kerr also gave the enlightening and humorous lecture, 60 Years of Creativity Research, followed by a set by the band the Amygdaloids, a group of scientists and musicians who weave neuroscience and biology into classic rock.
Neumann Wins National Award for Book on Teaching Experiences By Michael Childs
Ryan Neumann, an English teacher at Pope High School in Cobb County, Ga., is receiving national recognition for a book he wrote about his experiences as a teacher during the first five years Barbara Kerr holds an endowed chair as Distinguished Professor of his career. of Counseling Psychology at the University of Kansas and is Fellow of the American Psychological Association. Her research Neumann (MEd ’06 and has focused on the development of talent, creativity, and optimal current Gifted and states, while training psychologists and counselors to be talent Creative Education Ph.D. scouts who provide positive, strengths-based services for student), of Atlanta, was named recipient of the 2013 James N. creative adolescents. She certainly fits the criteria of the Britton Award for Inquiry within the English Language Arts from Torrance Award, which is given to acknowledge “significant the Conference on English Education, a division of the National contributions of individuals and groups whose work facilitates Council for Teachers of English for his book titled, What Had the enhancement and spread of creativity, especially among Happened. gifted children, and who are themselves creative thinkers.” The self-published book is a collection of observations based on Kudos to Barb! his experiences teaching English at South Cobb High School in Austell, before he moved to teach at his alma mater. The book’s title, What Had Happened, comes from students’ excuses for not completing assignments. “The cover of the book describes its contents as ‘a work of friction,’ which refers primarily to his decision to change people’s names to protect their anonymity, but also is an attempt to capture how he felt when writing certain parts of the book. Ryan writes from his first-person perspective and focuses on the absurdities of the teaching life—the contradictions, the inconceivabilities, the students, the colleagues, the community,” said Peter Smagorinsky, Distinguished Research Professor of Language and Literacy Education and Neumann’s former professor at UGA. “He relates how it feels to be a teacher, in and out of the classroom.” Neumann received the award Nov. 22 at the 2013 NCTE Annual Convention in Boston. From left: Suehyeon Paek, Hyeri Park, Ahmed Mohammed, and Sarah Marie Catalana, UGA graduate students; Sarah Sumners, Torrance Center Assistant Director; Barbara Kerr, Torrance Award recipient; Chris Rea, University of Kansas graduate student; Bonnie Cramond, Torrance Center Director; Alex Vuyk and Nicole Farmer, University of Kansas graduate students
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Torrance Center News • Fall 2013
2013 Torrance Legacy Awards in Writing, Visual Arts & Music We are pleased to announce our Torrance Legacy Award winners. The students competing represent an international dimension as well as several states throughout our country. We welcome you to share the list of student winners on your website, or other shared sites, helping us all to recognize these students who participated in our 2013 Torrance activity, in both writing and the visual arts. Below is a list of first-place winners. A full list of winners can be found at http://www.ststesting.com/cw_2013_s25.html.
Winners 2013 Torrance Legacy Creative Writing Awards Stories, Grades 2 & 3 Gibson Witz “The Pancake Wars” Carlsbad, CA – 3rd grade Stories, Grades 4 & 5 Theo Roullet “The Horrible Land” Wroclaw, Poland – 5th grade Stories, Grades 6-8 First Place: Tie Molly Pyne-Jaeger “Bird Feathers, or The Little Fire Girl” Los Angeles, CA – 7th grade Bek Schin “Look” Singapore – 8th grade
London Miller “River Water” Prairieville, LA – 12th grade
Amelia Tan “Illumination” Singapore – 8th grade
Sarah Neal “My Battling Selves” San Francisco, CA – 12th grade
Ze Kang Guo “Congruent Roots” Wexford, PA– 7th grade
Poetry, Grades 2 & 3
Leong Li Jing “Five Hundred Feet” Singapore – 8th grade
Audrey Yang “Nature Wonders” Buffalo Grove,IL – 2nd grade Poetry, Grades 4 & 5 First Place: Tie Logan Knapp “Tides of Joy” Long Grove, IL – 5th grade Marlene Schaff “Wishes and Dreams” Lake Forest, IL – 4th grade
Stories, Grades 9-12 First Place: Tie Ellie Lochead “The Short-Lived Tell Manor” Boulder, CO – 10th grade
Poetry, Grades 6-8 First Place: Tie Molly Pyne-Jaeger “Mint Tea on a Rainy Morning” Los Angeles, CA – 7th grade
Poetry, Grades 9-12 First Place: Tie Katie Rose Dionne “Song of Home” Gainesville, GA – 9th grade Lucie Pereira “Inadequacy” San Carlos, CA – 12th grade Sharvani Kim Jeya Putra “The Closed Flower” Singapore – 11th grade Kristi Lim Qingli “Blizzards–Schools Close” Singapore – 9th grade
Winners 2013 Torrance Legacy Creative Visual Arts Awards Visual Arts, Grades 2-4
Visual Arts, Grades 5, 6, & 7
Visual Arts, Grades 8, 9 & 11
Music, Grades 2-12
Seung Ye Seo 2nd grade
Thea Musolino Melbourne, FL 5th grade
BoMoon Kim 11th grade
Emily Kearney-Williams Tybee Island, GA 12th grade
SPONSORS: The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC); The National Association for Gifted Children Creativity Network; the Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development; the Future Problem Solving Program International (FPSPI); Ignite Creative Learning Studio; Knox College; The Center for Gifted, a Northern Illinois University partner; and Scholastic Testing Service, Inc. (STS).
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Fall 2013 • Torrance Center News
Ways to Get Involved with the Torrance Center • Contribute to the Torrance Legacy by writing reflections of Dr. Torrance or co-authoring a chapter for the Torrance Gedenkschrift • Send us any resources, articles, or interesting links that relate to creativity • Donate relevant books to the Torrance Center library so others can check them out • Send snippets of how you are using creativity, professionally and personally, for us to post and share with our community • Brainstorm ideas of how you can help us continue the legacy of Dr. Torrance • Collaborate on a creativity research project • Register and participate in the Creativity Research Group • Submit suggested courses to be added to the Interdisciplinary Certificate in Creativity and Innovation (ICCI) core and elective curriculum • Donate money for specific Torrance Center projects or towards our general fund • Volunteer to help at our upcoming events: • E. Paul Torrance Lecture, Sunday, April 6, 2014, 6:30-8:30 p.m. • UGA-Duke TIP Academic Adventures and Scholar Weekends • January 25, 2014 • February 8-9, 2014 • February 22, 2014 • March 29, 2014 • April 12-13, 2014 • Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking Scoring Workshops • Figural: March 6-7, 2014 • Verbal: March 8, 2014 • TC Summer Institute for Teachers • July 7-11, 2014
Call For Submissions - A Gedenkschrift to Honor the Legacy of Dr. E. Paul Torrance Similar to a Festschrift, which is a publication honoring a living, respected person in academia, a Gedenkschrift serves as a posthumous memorial to a respected academic. The Torrance Center invites contributors (students, colleagues, and collaborators) to participate in a Gedenkschrift honoring Dr. E. Paul Torrance’s life and work by submitting the following: 1. Personal narratives or anecdotes 2. Academic papers related to Dr. Torrance’s work 3. Updates, extensions, and applications of Dr. Torrance’s work 4. Paeans to Dr. Torrance, his life, and work 5. Photos, poems, and art work that show what Dr. Torrance was like We seek a balanced mix of academic papers, personal or group narratives, anecdotes, poetry, or other reflections for this text, honoring and celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. E. Paul Torrance, which we hope to publish in time for his 100th birthday, October 8, 2015. Submissions due by March 15, 2014 to ssumners@uga.edu. Please direct any questions or comments to: Sarah: ssumners@uga.edu and/or Bonnie: bcramond@uga.edu
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Torrance Center News • Fall 2013
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