TTCT Training – at The Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development

Want to learn more about scoring the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking  (TTCT) Verbal or Figural tests yourself? The Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development at the University of Georgia offers training for scoring the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) at your school as well as periodic workshops onsite at the University of Georgia.

Once individuals reach mastery, they will be issued a personalized certificate of proficiency by the Torrance Center.

Click here to learn about scoring the TTCT, scheduling, and prices.

Springtime Sheltering at STS

Thoughts from our Managing Editor and new Homeschool Administrator Traci Johnson.

Hello STS customers and friends:

Like many of you, STS employees are sheltering in place at home with our families while we deal with the Covid-19 virus. In my case, I’m an editor and a brand new homeschool administrator for a 6, 11, and 15 year old.  Here are a few of the things that are helping me juggle work and school right now.

• Create a brand new schedule. I am 4 weeks into the work/school juggling act. In the beginning I had a grand ideas of the kids waking up at seven-thirty and being done with their work by noon. All that got me was three grumpy kids. So we adjusted. My kids have their weekend bedtimes unless they have an early meeting with a teacher.  We also allow them to linger in their pjs in the morning.  They are much happier and it gives me time to focus (alone) on my work in the morning.
• Create some accountability (and make it fun).  Our district has an online grading system where parents can view grades and assignments. I also have my kids keep an informal log of what they did each day. If they make it through the week without me hounding them about assignments, they get a reward. My kids like Chipotle and Starbucks so they get to place an order weekly.
• Go outside. We live in the Chicago area and last week was our first 80 degree day. I told my 6 year old to read outside and then she spent the rest of the day happily playing in the yard.  All of us walk, ride a bike or ride a scooter outdoors every day. Because we’re stuck inside most of the time, that outside time has become a welcome release.
• Find some help online. My older kids have regimented school assignments and meeting times, but my little one has tons of free time. Finding websites that offer her something to do has been a godsend. Attractions like the Shedd Aquarium offer virtual tours. My daughter has also done virtual safaris with the Cincinnati zoo. Some zoos even offer live feeding sessions on Facebook. Scholastic.com also has free learning resources for all grade levels that include books and videos.
• Have fun. The Corona virus is awful and sheltering in place is not how any of us planned to spend the spring. But I’ve found that it is important to plan some fun for your family. We’ve done movie nights, game nights, lip sync challenges, formal dinners. Anything to break up the monotony of quarantine. We don’t do this every day – parents are not camp counselors and kids do want some alone time. But we will never spend this much time together again so we want our kids to have some good memories of this tough time.
• It’s OK if you’re struggling. Actor Drew Barrymore said on the Today show that Corona parenting is not good days and bad days. It’s good hours and bad hours. That rang true for me. This is hard. Kids get bored. Parents and teachers are stretched thin. We’re all new at this quarantine thing. Last week my youngest daughter had movie day and watched Trolls all afternoon. Every day will not be equally productive.

So while the world is a lot quieter these days, all of us at STS are working hard at home. Call us if you need us. We’re still answering the phones and happy to assist you however we can.

Traci Johnson
Managing Editor
Scholastic Testing Service, Inc.
1.800.642.6787
www.ststesting.com

We invite feedback or sharing of your own ideas and experiences on this topic.

International Torrance Creativity Awards 2017

The International Torrance Creativity Awards 2017 will be coming to an end soon.  Center for Gifted Directior, Joan Smutny has reported “we are beginning to have some very fine submissions …we have four categories:

• creative writing,
• visual arts,
• music composition,
• and inventions.

This flyer will give further information: (http://www.centerforgifted.org/torranceAwards2017.pdf). It is an inspiration to see the quality of material that comes in to us. The beauty of material submitted, the strength and quality of the submissions, the originality, creativity, and imagination all point to students of obvious talent who genuinely wish to submit high quality material. We are grateful to have such submissions from students ages 8–18, from the United States and abroad.”

The 2016 International Torrance Legacy Creativity Awards magazine is available for review.  Are your students creative?

 

Test Preparation and the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking

Test preparation is a hot topic with teachers and parents because the costs of student failure seem huge. So it seems to be a good time to write about test preparation and our Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) ­– Thinking Creatively with Pictures and Thinking Creatively with Words.

The immediate question is – should we prepare students to take a creativity test? The author of the TTCT, Dr. E. Paul Torrance, believed the answer was no because test prep may help students achieve entrance into a creative class or gifted program, but preparation could not increase a student’s creativity or determine how creative they can be.

We also believe that students should not be “prepped” prior to taking the TTCT for three reasons.

(1) One of the features of test preparation is that students often learn about how to take a test without increasing their ability to master test content. As a result, students who participated in test prep courses might receive spuriously high test scores that will cause them to be misplaced in a program for which they are not well-suited.

(2) The TTCT is a standardized test. Standardized test situations are prescribed so that all students taking the tests have the same opportunity. In other words, all students should be seeing the test for the first time, and they should all be prepared to do their best without any extra pretest help. On the TTCT, “doing their best” requires focusing on showing the examiner something creative that has never been seen or thought of before. When standardized testing is completed, prescriptive and diagnostic teaching should be used as a means to follow-up with students. In fact, we believe that any standardized test scores should be followed up with explanation and more directed teaching.

(3) When people ask us for test prep materials, we suggest that students and parents review the student’s current test scores and identify areas for improvement. Based on this review, students can focus on acquiring educational materials that will help them succeed in areas where they currently struggle. This kind of preparation will help students become better students not just better test-takers.

For more information on the TTCT, visit our website www.ststesting.com.

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Related:

Books by E. Paul Torrance and Torrance Scholars

• Learning and Using Primes, Fractions, and Decimals Creatively
• Learning to Use Place Value Creatively
• Learning to Solve Mathematics Word Problems Creatively
• The Future of Creativity
• Gifted and Talented Children in the Regular Classroom
• E. Paul Torrance, “The Creativity Man” an authorized biography
• Everyday Creativity

In Memory of Dr. John D. Kauffman

The Scholastic Testing Service family is mourning the recent loss of Dr. John D. Kauffman.  John began his journey at STS in 1974 and was serving most recently as our Vice-President of Marketing. During his time at STS, his efforts helped products like the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking and the High School Placement Test become bestsellers.

John was known nationally and abroad as an advocate for gifted education and an expert in creativity assessments. He tirelessly promoted the Torrance Tests by co-sponsoring creative competitions; engaging in long-term research studies; and teaching scoring workshops.  John’s scoring workshops were always in great demand because he knew how to combine his expertise and sense of humor to insure that his sessions were as much fun as his whimsical neckties.

John also had great relationships with the administrators and admissions directors who used HSPT. He loved to travel across the country to meet personally with administrators, and was always responsive to their needs and concerns.

Dr. Kauffman will no longer be answering the phones here at Scholastic Testing Service. But his presence will remain with us. In his honor, we will continue our commitment to gifted education and assessments, and every customer will receive the personal service that he insisted upon.

Comic Books as a Writing Tool?

Why do a great number of students have trouble writing words on the page? Is it a problem with language, underdeveloped literacy skills, or just a reluctance to write?  To counter these difficulties, some educators are using the art of comic books to give young authors a creative new way to dive into literacy learning.

Although generations of kids grew up with the impression that comic books don’t make the grade with parents and teachers, comic books are gaining new-found respectability in the learning community.  Increasingly popular creative programs boost kids’ literacy skills and self-esteem through the creation of their own fantasy-based characters and comic books. Kids love comic books and superheroes, and educators are exploiting the genre to teach literacy skills with material that students are fully invested in.

Arts-based literacy and learning programs such as the Comic Book Project are allowing students to create, develop, and publish their own comic books. The 12 Comics Learning Support program offers literacy services to organizations through creation of comic books and short films to support development of literacy, math, science, history, and oral communication skills. These thoughtfully designed programs are fine examples of using an art-based genre as the common tool to spark a child’s creativity while enhancing their learning potential.

Other organizations like 826NYC offer support to students with their writing skills by providing free tutoring and after school workshops in their writing center.  826NYC is also home to the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company, where 100% of the proceeds from the sale of capes, x-ray glasses and crime fighting novelties goes directly back to funding 826NYC educational programs.

Click the image to view a short video about 826NYC hosted on MSNBC.com.

Through these new visionary programs, educators have taken notice of the vital benefits an arts-based literacy and learning program can provide.  Do you think comic books and superheroes have a place in the classroom?

Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults (ATTA) – Spanish Version

The ATTA is now available for purchase from Scholastic Testing Service, Inc. Much like our TTCT® with Spanish language directions, the ATTA can be purchased online, via the phone at 1.800.642.6787, fax at 1.866.766.8054 or by mail [Scholastic Testing Service, Inc. 480 Meyer Road, Bensenville, IL 60106–1617]. Visit our store website for pricing.

Comments from our Colleagues – Creativity Crisis

We welcome and encourage comments from educators who have something to share about the recent Newsweek article, The Creativity Crisis.

Comments are moderated by our editorial staff and will be published soon after you submit. Be sure to include links to related sites.

Thank you,

Scholastic Testing Service, Inc.

Click on the comments link below to read the following comments from:

Dr. Donald Treffinger, Center for Creative Learning

Dr. Scott Isaksen, President and CEO of The Creative Problem Solving Group

Phyllis Stenerson, Paideia LLC, ProgressiveValues.org

Is Creativity on the Decline?

View the recently published Newsweek article, “The Creativity Crisis” to read how authors Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman ask and answer this question.

NurtureShock – Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman

Should parenting come naturally for most of us who are in the thick of it? Your instincts may be telling you that love and support is all that is needed to help your child succeed. You may also want to consider a different, research based perspective on this topic. Authors Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman discuss their parenting research on their NutureShock blog.

The blog also features a new Newsweek article exploring the science of creativity. Visit this link to read more and participate in their creativity tasks partly inspired by the STS’ Torrance® Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT).

To explore more about “the father of creativity”, visit this link E. Paul Torrance at STS’ dedicated Torrance website.