Many innovations in organizations result when people discover insightful solutions to problems. Insightful problem-solving was considered by Gestalt psychologists to be associated with productive, as opposed to re-productive, thinking. Productive thinking is characterized by shifts in perspective which allow the problem solver to consider new,…

These notes and questions have been prepared to promote discussion of the ideas set out in the Clarifying paper, "Living and learning in EcCoWell cities" to be found on the PASCAL International Exchanges (PIE) website. This Discussion Paper sets ten questions for discussion. We are hoping to encourage discussions of these issues around the world.

People experience transitions throughout their everyday and lifelong encounters, whether it is in the roles they enact or environments they interact with. In transitions, people encounter the paradox of adapting to the changing and the new, while sustaining the unchanging and old situations. Dealing with this paradox, a person faces three possible…

Traditionally, challenges such as how to sustain district reform, how to build a leadership pipeline, how to create an integrated project, or how to best intervene with struggling students would be resolved with a team of "experts" developing a solution in isolation of the stakeholders involved. By contrast, design thinking centers on the…

In today's knowledge-based society universities and firms must learn to engage more effectively. Universities focus on generating new knowledge, while firms are increasingly drawing on external collaborations to add value to their offerings. This book shows managers how to work with universities to boost their competitive position and revenue.…

The concept of premature discovery in science entails the publication of an important idea which remains uncited for a long period. Thereafter, a deluge of citations of its substance would occur. An overlooked example concerns the discovery in 1963 of how lung cancer cells stimulate the formation of new lymph vessels in man. Subsequently called…

Both on-line and face-to-face courses rely on textbooks as an important source of information for students. A challenge for instructors in an on-line setting is to insure that students are learning from their textbooks. One way to address this challenge is to use productivity software tools to develop assignments that promote student thinking and…

In this article the four coauthors share the process of moving a paper from a conference presentation to a manuscript that is acceptable for publication. The first two authors discuss the ways in which an experienced teacher educator mentored an emerging scholar through the submission process. The last two authors discuss the editors' role in…

Literature on creativity and innovation has discussed the issue of failure in the light of its benefits and limitations for enhancing human potential in all domains of life, but in business, science, engineering, and industry more specifically. In this paper, the Intelligent Fast Failure (IFF) as a useful tool of creativity and innovation for…

In this article we report on the results of an innovative research partnership with the largest school district in one Canadian province where we are exploring how educational leadership practices and the factors that influence these practices interact to impact student learning. This article makes a clear connection between leadership and student…

The article is based on an empirical, interview-based research project investigating resources and barriers to creative teaching within three Danish primary and secondary schools. The analysis shows how project-oriented teaching does seem to represent a creativity oasis for both teachers and pupils. Furthermore, the work identifies a distinction…

In some ways, there is a season of change at the national level in early childhood. Some things are wrapping up while some developments aim to prepare the "field" for improvements in the next year and beyond, just as a garden plot is readied for the next planting season. Change is in the air, and there's hope of renewal, but what changes and how…

While many business schools may want their graduates to pursue social, environmental and economic opportunity, few schools are in fact developing leaders who have the skills, knowledge, and passion to do so. The reasons for this shortcoming have been highlighted by both educators and practitioners. On the one hand, this problem is rooted in how…

Earthquakes, lightning, and history-changing ideas are classic examples of powerful, unpredictable forces of nature. These sorts of phenomena have been difficult to explain and predict, an often frustrating fact as humans try to understand and control the significant influences in our lives. Historically, such phenomena have been attributed to…

This paper explores how models can support productive thinking. For us a model is a "thing", a tool to help make sense of something. We restrict attention to specific models for whole-number multiplication, hence the wording of the title. They support evolving thinking in large measure through the ways their users redesign them. They assume new…