ESP 103 Creativity Exam Study Set

What was the theme for week two?

Ambiguity and Curiosity

How did you feel about ambiguity?

Ambiguity was annoying at first, because I really like having a set of rules or directions to guide me in a task. The parameters seemed to be too broad when I initially learned about it, but I got clarification through office hours with Professor Zoeckler. He explained that there is a balance to guidance and ambiguity. Using an example of a box, He explained that if you have 3 sides, there is still one opening that is ambiguous and can lead wherever you want. The guidance and the ambiguity both contribute to creating something great. I also learned that it is important to try to move out of the comfort zone and into the growth zone to get the best results in creativity. Ambiguity is the mindset that I struggle with the most, and I am still inclined to want specific directions over an ambiguous prompt.

What did you do for mini-project for week three?

Canva presentation looking back on the habit changes I made.

What was the theme for week one?

Case for Creativity

Looking back on your third mini-project, how do you think you did?

Changing and adding my habits for a weekend was more difficult than I had thought. I used ideas that I came up with and ideas from my friends through social media. Using all my resources, I quickly accrued 25 ideas and selected a few to try. I listened to a podcast while walking, tried a new dining hall on the other side of campus, tried to study in a different location and a few other. These were interesting changes that were exciting, but also felt a little pointless at some points. For my presentation, I used Canva, which was a cool tool that added aesthetics to a normal text style presentation. This added to wow factor and professionalism, but the small areas in the pre-made templates limited my depth of reflection.

What did you do for your mini-project for week two?

Designed a website that presented the findings of my genius hour and my personal reflection from the assignment.

What was the theme for week Three?

Divergent Thinking

What was the theme for week four?

Failure and Resilience

Looking back on your fourth mini-project, how do you think you did?

I didn't have a problem with small rejection failure because I don't care a lot about what strangers think about me. However, the project itself didn't seem to truly build a stong resistance to failure. By providing a grade for failing, it turns failing into a cost-based analysis instead of just embracing failure. In essence, it said that in order to succeed in the that important class you have to fail at things that don't matter. This does build a resistance to basic rejection failure but is very proof that people are afraid to fail in more important areas. I did enjoy doing stupid things like swiping people into meal halls and enjoyed using adobe spark as a great presentation tool. My final project submission impressed me with the way it was able to cover my reflection and still be more interesting and draw in the viewers attention.

What did you do for your mini-project for week four?

I made an Adobe Spark video that illustrated how I failed and my personal thoughts on the outcome of the assignment.

What did you think about divergent thinking?

I often go with the first idea that comes to mind when working on projects, but divergent thinking challenged my presuppositions. To try to think of many different ideas before choosing the seemed like a waste of time. Through in class exercises, like 103 types of pizza, I quickly learned the value of divergent thinking. This conclusion was reinforced though the mini-projects that came after where I focused on using divergent thinking. Unfortunately, I am not great about applying divergent thinking to other areas of my life, and still use quicker thinking. In some cases, I believe that this is best, but I have areas in my life, such ad other classes, that would improve with the use of divergent thinking.

Looking back on your first mini-project, how do you think you did?

I tried to use a medium that I hadn't used before, and that wasn't commonly used. The poem was good because it allowed me to show the depth and reflection of creativity and try a tool that I hadn't used in a while. I do think this mini-project could have had a better wow factor to grab the reader's attention in some way.

What did you think about failure and resilience?

I would say I have a fear of failure, especially in important areas such as school or jobs. The deeper look into failure helped me to understand that failure can benefit me in the long run if I can learn from it. Through looking through the difference between the different levels of failure, I learned that certain failure can actually lead to innovation. Most, if not all, great innovators failed on their paths to success. I am still not entirely comfortable with failure, but I am confident in my ability to learn from it because of the teachings in this class.

How did you feel about curiosity?

My first experience with the curiosity thinking was working on the genius hour, and thus, I started out loving the idea of curiosity. When fueled by something I was interested in, I put more effort into and had more enjoyment in the work I was doing. Curiosity is a base that leads to successful creativity and innovation.

What did you think about the case for creativity?

My interest was sparked during the first week of class because of the stats on the growing need of creative people in business. I also liked the idea of studying creativity because it was something new and different in an academic setting. Throughout the week, I got a little overwhelmed from all the new information and impressive outliers for the introduction project. This pushed me to put more effort in my everyday assignments for the class and mini-projects.

What did you do for your mini-project?

Poem reflecting on workbook pages and in class discussion.

Now what do I do?

Since you have reviewed, you are ready for the exam. (This was a physical submission turned into the office.)

Looking back on your second mini-project, how do you think you did?

This started as the most difficult for me, because of my injury, but turned out to be my favorite of all the mini-projects. I was still recovering when I did this mini-project and ended up completing it before I was officially taught on ambiguity and curiosity. I went through multiple mediums when trying to report on my genius hour, and in the end, I designed a website. This was a very effective tool that helped me organize my thoughts and learn more about building websites. The final draft was the most professional looking project and I had a lot of fun working on the strength programing I created though my research.

Website where I found the maze on my exam.

https://www.planetminecraft.com/project/the-impossible-maze-3847996/