Sheridan Board Undergraduate Certificate in Creativity and Creative Problem Solving

Sheridan’s Board Undergraduate Certificate in Creativity and Creative Problem Solving provides an opportunity for every degree student to gain a deliberate set of creative thinking skills and creative problem solving competencies that are recognized in a formal credential and endorsed by the International Center for Studies in Creativity, Buffalo State, The State University of New York (“ICSC, Buffalo State”).*

This Board Undergraduate Certificate includes a collection of breadth courses that focus on creativity and creative problem solving and span a range of fields of study across disciplines. It's intended to enhance pathways for degree students who wish to pursue graduate and post-graduate studies in creativity, and to further Sheridan’s commitment to an undergraduate educational experience that is renowned for creativity and innovation.

Students who have completed this collection of breadth courses will have demonstrated the ability to integrate theories and methodologies of creativity, creative thinking and creative problem solving to effect innovation and change in personal, professional and global contexts.

Learning Outcomes:

• Integrate cross-disciplinary research and theory on the nature and global context of creativity
• Synthesize critical, analytical and reflective thinking in the production and implementation of new ideas
• Facilitate the Creative Problem Solving (CPS) process through the use of structured, deliberate skills, tools and frameworks
• Practice creative leadership in the context of solving complex problems and instigating change
• Model critical and creative modes of expression
• Cultivate a deliberate mindset, including habits, practices and attitudes, in order to build creative capacity

These six courses cover an assortment of subject areas in the fields of Global Culture, Humanities, and Social Sciences, and have been designed to meet the requirements of Sheridan's Degree Breadth Policy.

Course Descriptions:

Composition and Rhetoric – ENGL17889GD

Composition & Rhetoric is an advanced-level English course that focuses on the art of argument and persuasion. Students explore the function and strategies of argument through reading, writing and oral presentations. In this course, students examine different theoretical models for organizing arguments and presenting evidence, employ primary and secondary sources in research, and construct their own arguments.

Introduction to Studies in Creativity – CULT17545GD

Students critically examine four aspects of creativity — the creative person, process, product, and press— to increase the degree to which they recognize and nurture their own creative potential. Supported by interdisciplinary research and theory, they also assess the increasing importance and global context of creativity skills in the 21st century. Through interactive lectures, experiential learning activities, written assignments and presentations, students explore foundational concepts in creativity studies and enhance their own creative capacities.

Principles of Creative Problem Solving – SOCS10172GD

Students appraise the cross-disciplinary theory, research, and evolution of Creative Problem Solving (CPS), an established cognitive methodology that seeks novel and useful solutions to challenges faced in personal and professional life. They engage in problem finding and clarification, metacognition, narrative inquiry, and a range of convergent and divergent creative thinking tools germane to this burgeoning area of study. Further, they examine the Thinking Skills Model (TSM) of CPS, and through a variety of individual and experiential leaning activities and assessments, students integrate TSM and its application to enhance their problem-solving productivity.

Creative Leadership and Problem Solving – CULT26529GD

Students examine the complex and dynamic relationship between leadership, facilitation and creativity. Through the study of cross-disciplinary theory, they assess conceptions of leadership within a global context and explore processes, methodologies, structures, styles and skills associated with creative leadership and problem solving. Students also examine cultural factors influencing creative leadership and explore the process by which the thinking skills model may be used to develop and enhance creative leadership and facilitation abilities in a cross-cultural, international context. Through interdisciplinary readings, interactive lectures, in-class activities, a leadership project and self-reflections, students nurture their creative leadership and problem solving capacities.

Group Dynamics and Creative Problem Solving Facilitation – SOCS25288GD

Students examine the nature of group dynamics and creative problem solving facilitation. They explore the behaviours, phases, needs, issues, and goals of a group and its members and engage creative problem solving theory and practices to explore the processes, methodologies and skills associated with effective group facilitation.  In addition to the study of cross-disciplinary theories of group dynamics, students evaluate, analyze, synthesize, and apply various facilitation tools and methods in the examination of the process by which facilitation may be used to assist groups in meeting their needs and achieving their goals. Through interactive lectures, in-class activities, relevant readings, facilitation experiences and self-reflections, students explore the dynamics of group interactions within the context of effective creative problem solving facilitation.

Applications of Creativity and Innovation – CULT34857GD

Students appraise how people apply creative processes within a global and creative context to produce innovations. Students examine the life-paths of innovators in different disciplines and different cultural and historical settings, as well as the factors that encourage or inhibit creative outcomes. Further, through readings in interdisciplinary theory and research, students assess the relationship between creativity and innovation and conduct their own research and practice of the attributes, characteristics, and behaviours of ‘innovators’. Through a variety of interactive lectures, written assignments and interactive activities, students develop their own personal innovation plan for engaging in their respective fields.

Contact information

Genevieve Amaral
Associate Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Creativity
genevieve.amaral@sheridancollege.ca
905-845-9430, x8658

* Students who have completed Sheridan’s Board Undergraduate Certificate in Creativity and Creative Problem Solving and meet admission requirements will be eligible for admission to graduate and post-graduate programs in creativity at the ICSC, Buffalo State.