Department Chair

Gerard Puccio, Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Creative Studies

Date of Award

5-2016

Access Control

Open Access

Degree Name

Creative Studies, M.S.

Department

Center for Studies in Creativity

Advisor

Selcuk Acar, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Creative Studies

Department Home page

http://creativity.buffalostate.edu/

First Reader

Selcuk Acar, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Creative Studies

Second Reader

Gerard Puccio, Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Creative Studies

Abstract

Teachers’ perceptions of an ideal student were investigated in terms of their FourSight preferences (i.e. Ideator, Clarifier, Developer, and Implementer). Based on these preferences, 275 teachers who were currently working in Western New York region described their “ideal” student with 66 adjectives of Torrance Ideal Child Checklist. Results showed that for each of FourSight preferences, teachers have a tendency to support characteristics associated with their own preference. More specifically, teachers with a stronger Ideator tendency encouraged the students’ Ideator characteristics more compared to Developer and Implementer styles. Teachers with a Clarifier tendency do not seem to favor students’ Ideator characteristics as much as those with an Ideator tendency. Significant findings also indicated that teachers with an Ideator tendency tend to define themselves as more creative than those with a Clarifier, Developer, or Implementer tendency. However, surprisingly, teachers who considered themselves as smart tend to encourage the Ideator student characteristics more in their classrooms than those who view themselves as creative. Results underscore the importance of creativity training in educational settings that emphasize cognitive style characteristics.

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