Module 18: Problem Solving and Creativity

Name: Yr. & Sec.

Activity (page 200)

1. Answer this match puzzle

ANSWER

Remove 8 matches to leave just two squares, which should not touch.
(retrieved from http://www.mycoted.com/Matches_Puzzle_1)
2. What would happen of humans had one more eye at the back of their head?
Write as many answers and indicate why.

Your answers Why

Humans can be more cautious on their
surroundings
Humans can avoid being back stabbed.
Humans can experience being confused.
We need to cut our hair at the back of our
heads because it will cause irritation and
unpleasant to the eyes.
Because they have a vision to see what is
on the back.
Because they can perceive surroundings
with the help of all the eyes they have.
They can guard themselves from their
back.
Because the sense of sight on the front
and back will mix in the person’s mind.
Because our hair will cover the area of
perception of the eyes from the back.
Synapse Strengtheners (page 204)
1. Make collection of puzzles, riddles and other materials that promote creativity and
problem solving. http://www.mycoted.com is one good source. Enhance your skills by
trying to answer or solve them.

Puzzle #1. John gave his brother James a
box:
About it there were many locks.
James woke and said it gave him pain;
So gave it back to John again.
The box was not with lid supplied
Yet caused two lids to open wide:
And all these locks had never a key
What kind of box, then, could it be?
Answer: As curly haired James was
sleeping in bed,
His brother John gave him a blow on the
head.
James opened his eyelids, and spying his
brother,
Doubled his fists, and gave him another.
This kind of a box then is not so rare
The lids are the eyelids, the locks are the
hair.

2. Read more on convergent and divergent thinking by Guilford.

- https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/divergent-thinking
Done reading.

Name: Yr. & Sec.

Application (page 205)
1. Choose a topic from your field of specialization. Think of an activity to introduce the
topic which will provide an opportunity for your learners to practice creative thinking and
problem-solving skills.
 Formulate questions under the four aspects of creative thinking – fluency,
flexibility, elaboration, and originality.
o Fluency- List down the different natural disasters.
o Flexibility- What do you think is the most dangerous natural disaster?
o Elaboration- What could be the cause of these natural disasters?
o Originality- Compose a poem/song or any method you want to express
your ideas.
Assessment Task/s (page 207)
1. Explain in your own words Torrance’s 4 criteria of creativity.
As a student, I come up with idea that these four criteria of creativity by Torrance
correlate to each other. Flexibility, Fluency, Elaboration, and Originality. In Flexibility a
better categorization of concepts and ideas helps the learner to have a better
understanding and make the learning more effective. Fluency implies understanding
and can be easily achieved of which can help to produce a great number of ideas to
give solution to a problem. Elaboration is the process of enhancing ideas by providing
more details, and clarity to the topic. Originality involves the production of ideas that are
unique or unusual. These four criteria of creativity correlate because it can be use to
give solution to problems we encounter.
2. Practice creative thinking. Do the following.

a. In two minutes, think of as many uses as possible for a spoon.

The test measures divergent thinking across four sub-categories:
 Fluency- how many uses you can come up with?
o 8
 Originality- how uncommon those uses are (e.g. for a paper clip “router
restarter” is more uncommon than “holding papers together)
o very uncommon
 Flexibility- how many areas your answer cover (e.g. for a paper clip,
cufflinks and earrings are both accessories, aka one area)
o 3
 Elaboration- level of detail in response (for a clip, “keeping headphones
from being tangled up” would be worth more than “bookmark”)
o When you misplaced the tools for planting, using spoon to dug is
better than using stick.
5-minute non-stop writing (page 207)

5-minute non-stop writing

(page 281)

From the Module on Creativity and Problem Solving, I

realized that creativity is the key to solve problem. As
a student, I encountered a great number of problems.
This module helps me and provides me a lot of things I
could possibly do to solve problems that I will
encounter. Problem solving has been a headache to
me since high school because my method was finding
the problem and then creating a solution. Heretofore, I
realized that to comprehend this Module is a great help
to individual having difficulty on problem solving.

c. Riddle

A man has married 20 women in a small town. All of the women are
still alive and none of them are divorced. The man has broken no laws.
Who is the man?
 The answer is Priest
d. The Candle Problem
You are given a candle, a box of thumbtacks, and a book of matches. Affix the lit
candle to the wall so that it will not drip wax onto the table below.
 The solution is to empty the box of thumbtacks, put the candle into that box, us
the thumbtacks to nail the box (with candle in it) to the wall, and light the candle
with the match.
4. Apply Problem Solving Skills
(a). There are 20 marbles in a box. All the marbles are either red or blue. If there
are 40 more red marbles than blue, how many red marbles are there in the box?
A. 40 D. 160
B. 80 E. 180
C. 120
 The answer is letter C.
(b). Three times a number is the same as the number added to 60. What is the
number?
A. 15 D. 45
B.20 E. 180
C. 30
 The answer is letter C.
(c). If the length and height of a rectangular box measure 1, 3, and 8,
respectively, what is the total surface area of the box?
A. 24 D. 72
B. 35 E. 144
C. 70
 The answer is letter C.