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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Creative Problem Solving by University of Minnesota

4.4
stars
2,326 ratings

About the Course

This course deals directly with your ability for creativity which is a critical skill in any field. It focuses on divergent thinking, the ability to develop multiple ideas and concepts to solve problems. Through a series of creativity building exercises, short lectures, and readings, learners develop both an understanding of creativity and increase their own ability. This course will help you understand the role of creativity and innovation in your own work and in other disciplines. It will challenge you to move outside of your existing comfort zone and to recognize the value of that exploration. This course will help you understand the importance of diverse ideas, and to convey that understanding to others. The principal learning activity in the course is a series of "differents" where you are challenged to identify and change your own cultural, habitual, and normal patterns of behavior. Beginning with a prompt, e.g. "eat something different", you will begin to recognize your own = limits and to overcome them. In addition, you are encouraged to understand that creativity is based on societal norms, and that by it's nature, it will differ from and be discouraged by society. In this course, the persistence of the creative person is developed through practice. At the same time, these exercises are constrained by concerns of safety, legality, and economics, which are addressed in their creative process....

Top reviews

EN

Jan 17, 2021

I really enjoyed this course, it was very informative and easy to follow. The videos were clear and the graded sections were great. The course as a whole was enjoyable and would recommend to others.

AF

Mar 1, 2016

SO INTERESTING AND FUN. Have you ever took a stranger'S secret and propose another stranger to take that secret in exchange of one of his? This course is an opportunity to do crazy stuff like that!

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51 - 75 of 719 Reviews for Creative Problem Solving

By Kris A M d R

May 8, 2020

The course is not easy and the readings are not few! This means that the course is rich with knowledge and practical experiences you will discover to yourself and to others, how creative you are! A very interesting experience, which is like riding a time machine and writing a journal from the trip too!

By Pankaj S

Apr 10, 2020

This course actually help building a new approach towards the issues that one may face. It encourages to challenge one's own limits and look for the solutions that may not be comfortable to accept as most of the times the breakthrough is achieved through such ideas only.

ALL in ALL A MUST DO COURSE.

By Hana W

May 17, 2020

All the activities were really fun, engaging, and at the same time challenging! I enjoyed this course a lot than I expected. This course does not limit its application in one field but rather, it is useful in daily living and solving mankind's biggest challenges.

By Mominah K

Jul 31, 2020

A wonderful experience learning from the talented instructors, and enjoyed the Do Something Different assignments the most for challenging me to think out of the box. The entire course was designed very thoughtfully, kudos to University of Minnesota for that!

By Andraea Z

May 19, 2020

This course was excellent; I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I recommend this to everyone. It's already changed the way I think, and I look forward to seeing how divergent creative thinking spills out in every aspect of my life, including work.

By Meita K

Apr 25, 2020

Instructions are clear and easy to understand. The way the lecturers talk are very calming and motivating, so that encouraged me to do something beyond my limit or what i thought was my limit. I enjoyed this class a lot, thank you so much.

By Diego C

Nov 11, 2015

Esta curso ha sido de gran ayuda para incentivar la creatividad y el pensamiento innovador, para salirse de la caja en la cual siempre nos colocamos, donde tenemos restricciones que incluso son puestas de acuerdo a nuestra educación y c

By Pallavi

Jul 30, 2020

Thank you Coursera for this platform. I would like to thank our professor and content creators. I am thankful to University of Minnesota for sponsoring this program. Thanks to all the peers who evaluated my project nicely. :)

By Appili V K

Jul 31, 2020

This Course is Excellent. The professor is great. We will Learn how to think more creatively. Don't do this course in 1 week, take time. This is a creative fun Project type of coursework. So kindly do slow and have fun

By Antonella M T B

Aug 1, 2020

Im so glad I took this course, I think it was really life changing and It has helped me see things in a different way. Im so excited to apply this new knowledge to my everyday work and experiences. Thank you so much!

By Akram T B

Apr 26, 2020

It is a nice class to teach you how to look differently at problems and that there are more than one way to solve it. Very basic course in problem solving but still enjoyable nonetheless

By Masoud A

Feb 2, 2021

I understand that creativity has to do with being open-minded and have the ability to accept failing the first or even 5th time, so long the drive for success is the will power to push and explore beyond one's limited peripheries. The course attempted to encourage participants to "get out of a normal pattern of thinking to a more challenging pattern" or what we call it today getting out of the "comfort zone". This is true and one would not succeed if he/she doesn't attempt to seek trial and error and participate externally in a fashion that would merge inner thoughts with outward actions. Despite all the aforementioned, I can not see how turning oneself into deplorable public scenery is a creative thought?

Are weird actions and behaviors are now the drives for being creative?

The course was designed to invite international participants and therefore must have been prepared better so as to embrace "International culture" when accepting images such as eating with a foot, or eating cereals from a bath tab or drinking coffee from it, or standing in a public wearing outfits that are outrageous. These thoughts might suit some fresh graduates from high schools that are willing to participate because they need to "experiment" new approaches to life and bove all pass the curriculum, but certainly not creative for people who take life as a serious gist and an obligation to act as human whilst a life.

When one understands the concept of life and the values embedded in life, he/she will attempt to be a useful member and participate in leaving a positive image when his/her time comes to depart this life.

By Detthana S

May 6, 2020

I learned how to think fluently. May I suggest? The content of the course sound interesting but the thing is I stii have no idea about how to solve problem creatively. And the quality of the VDOs were very low and boring. Although I got something useful from this course but overall I am not happy. Thanks for those techniques! Cheers!

By DOMENICO T

Apr 11, 2020

some video was repeted creativity and motivation. most of them are poor of information, one of the best coming from outsorcing (ted conference). the readhead speaker was really hot!

By Muhammad Y

Feb 9, 2021

I will not recommend this course for anyone.

By Shaker i N

Aug 22, 2020

there's no add value for me

By Salman A

Sep 7, 2023

Extract ten thousand cubic feet of water from just about anywhere in the Indian Ocean and do a full inventory on the life you find there: the list would be about as "poor" as Darwin's account of the land animals of the Keelings. You might find a dozen fish if you were lucky. On the reef, you would be guaranteed a thousand. In Dan¥in's own words, stumbling across the ecosystem of a coral reef in the middle of an ocean was like encountering a swarming oasis in the middle of a desert. V\Te now call this phenomenon Darwin's Paradox: so many different life forms, occupying such a vast array of ecological niches, inhabiting waters that are otherwise remarkably nutrientpoor. Coral reefs make up about one-tenth of one percent of the earth's surface, and yet roughly a quarter of the known species of marine life make their homes there. Darwin doesn't have those statistics available to him, standing i

By Egor S

Aug 15, 2020

Really, really thank thanks to you all, who was working on that cource! It was my first expirience with Coursera, and I'm happy it was with that course. Such many interesting information. creative ideas, life hacks and other usefull, creative and funny things! I had real kids-tyoe joy to do DSD, read comments from peers, and have fun study together. Plus, I'm mature man, getting close to my 50, and this course revived me, gave me new perspectives in thinking, Creative Problem Solving and whole life! Thank you, Coursera, thank you teachers, thank you peers! God bless you all. All the best to you from bottom of my Russian heart in cold Sweden :) Give us some more good courses and exciting studies! Yours, Egor Sonin.

By Kazuhiko K

Jan 26, 2021

Thank you, prof Brad Hokanson for this online course.

I have been working on promoting creativity for about 30 years at Tokai University in Sapporo, Japan.

I appreciated your publications and methods as DSD much and used them in my education. Now I am retired but often engaged in social outreach among people in both public and private sectors. Still I value your research and education much. Have you been to Japan, prof Hokanson? By the way I live now in Stockholm, Sweden since my wife is a Swede. I suppose your name suggests that your ancestors came from Sweden or Scandinavia? Best regards and tack Kazuhiko Kawasaki

By Kopal A G

Jun 10, 2020

Creativity is important for people working in all kinds of fields and not just in the creative areas. This course delivers powerful insights into developing divergent thinking and thus better ideas. The instructor is really well-versed with the topic and keeps the learner hooked with great lecture delivering skills. The Doing Something Different Challenges helps the learner to experience being creative in a practical sense and not just theoretically. I would recommend this course! 10/10

By Maria-Elisa D

Jul 11, 2020

Even though I am an artist-painter and I have always considered myself to be very creative, this course made me realize what it really means to be highly creative: it means to try to create new ideas daily in our day to day life; it also means to try to solve problems in different ways, or using objects in non-traditional ways; all those daily exercises will increase our creative skills because creativity ought to be exercised just as we exercise the muscles in our bodies. Thanks!

By Sebastian A

Jan 14, 2021

Creativity is one of the most important and useful capacities of the human being. This is so because it allows you, precisely, to create and invent new things and objects from what already exists in the world. And that and more is what this course gives you by providing you with tools and different and unique ways of thinking and using your mind and thoughts.

By Benedict C O

Dec 22, 2020

This is a very wonderful course. The practical aspect was what inspired me most as it was daring and sometimes it made one shy. But nonetheless, it made me grateful for doing the tasks as it enhanced my creativity a whole lot.

Thank you so much for this course, I will definitely keep on with the "somethings different" to jeep improving my creativity.

By hee j

Sep 14, 2022

It was enjoyable while I was going over every week with the professor. It was delightful and the professor is making the course entertained and light mood. Eventhough I had some amount of school work, I could finish this completely because there was no burden to finish this course. I definitely recommend this course for everyone :)

By anchana b

Sep 10, 2020

Received email recommended this course from Coursera. It is my 1st right brain course. The instructors are wonderful and the assignments are all fun and exciting. I have learnt many techniques such as DSD, mind map, divergent thinking every time brush your teeth, etc. I also receive the unexpected certificate. Thanks Coursera.