32 solutions and making selections among them; 6. Finding the acceptance, which is the phase of application of selected ideas correctly (Kandemir & Gür, 2009). Although CPS can be applied individually, problems are often most effectively solved in a team, where brainstorming allows for more ideas to be generated. Thinking of many ideas is critical to effective problem solving using the Osborn-Parnes model (Mitchell & Kowalik, 1999). For OTA creative-problem solving is an ability that allows a certain measure of uniqueness. When we encourage pupils in a creative problem-solving way, we should not expect their ways to be similar to one another or even to the way we see it ourselves. Creative problem-solving should leave room for different interpretations of the same matter. It should allow pupils to find their own paths and have an independent approach. Traditional learning was often set in a way that teachers showed a chosen way of solving exposed problem and pupils were following their lead. The passiveness of pupils in such a way of teaching can result in learning by heart without giving any emphasis on basic understanding of “how” and “why”. Also this can leave negative consequences on post-school life as it encourages pupils to be a passive perceiver. There are pupils who are naturally creative and will actively participate with teachers’ solutions, give their suggestion self-initiative and maybe provide a good example for their peers. However, we must not forget that those are not all pupils. If we are following the goal to encourage pupils to be active citizens, we have to eliminate passiveness in the classrooms and reform it to a participatory, active and engaging shape. We have to ensure that also pupils who tend to become passive quickly are fully engaged the whole time of their schooling. Educators should see this as their responsibility, because they are in direct contact with pupils and can leave a strong life-long impact. With teaching and encouraging creative problem solving pupils’ minds are challenged. This means pupils are not presented with one way of dealing with a given issue but have an open way to discuss possibilities on how certain issues can be solved. As mentioned before, the creative problem solving is a good team activity. How the team approaches an issue is of their own choice. But there are some techniques that can be useful, such as brainstorming, setting the issue in another environment, redefining the context of the issue (for example: they have to form a Newspaper article out of a topic from a scientific subject), forming “What if?” questions (what if my house collapses if I don’t solve this problem), visualising an abstract scientific issue (giving it a name, think of it as a pet). Creativity is often associated with art. Any form of art to be precise. The OTA project does just that. Art as a tool to teach science can improve pupils’ creativity, especially when their task is to provide their own art-form, connected to the scientific problem they have to solve. Keeping pupils active in a creative way is important in all school processes. Pupils should be encouraged to think creatively at their earliest ages, thus providing a strong roots for latest schooling and life-long learning.
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