Recognizing creative thinking talent in the classroom

The goals of this study were to find some simple activities which could be set up in regular class periods to encourage creative talent to emerge and to help teachers recognize it. Over 600 grade‐7 children were tested both on two intelligence measures and on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT). The top 3% on the TTCT, 24 subjects, were matched with a group equal in intelligence who had very low creative thinking scores. These 48 young people attended Western Australian College for a full day of activities during which 13 measures were obtained. There were significant differences between the two groups on five activities designed to facilitate creative performance.