Creative Problem Solving Institute 2026

Narrative is one of the most under-used tools in applied creativity. This workshop introduces Language of Renewal™, a framework that helps participants reframe complexity and ambiguity through metaphor, story structure, and reflective creativity practices. Through hands-on exercises, participants learn how narration can discover insight, reduce cognitive rigidity, and strengthen creative problem-solving. The session blends research and experiential learning to help educators, leaders, and practitioners integrate narrative-based creativity into their work.    

Takeaways

• How to use metaphor, reframing, and story-mapping to enhance creative problem-solving.
• Practical methods for helping students, teams, or clients navigate ambiguity by reshaping the “story” of a challenge.
• A replicable framework (Language of Renewal™) for integrating narrative intelligence into teaching, leadership, and innovation.

This 90‑minute, highly interactive workshop invites CPSI participants to “elevate” their practice by shifting from mastery-as-endpoint to curiosity-as-engine, using improv, design thinking, and AI as complementary tools. Drawing on research with 94 community college students, Betsy Tuma will show how short, guided improv activities significantly elevated participants’ creative self-concept and individual idea generation, then connect those findings to her “Curiosity Over Mastery” framework for creative and critical thinking in the age of AI. AI will be treated not as an answer machine but as a live curiosity partner—something to interrogate, remix, and “yes–and” in service of more original, learner‑driven ideas.    

Takeaways

• Curiosity, not correctness, is the real engine of elevated creative problem solving in an AI‑saturated world.
• Short, structured improv activities measurably boost creative confidence and idea fluency, making groups braver and more generative.
• AI can be designed into sessions as a curiosity partner—something to interrogate, remix, and “yes–and”—rather than a shortcut to the next right answer.    

Elevate Emerging Potential: Using CPS & Innovation Sprints to Build Creative Readiness    Many emerging professionals—and the educators, mentors, and managers who support them—struggle to name themselves as creative problem solvers. This session explores how Innovation Sprints, paired with Creative Problem Solving (CPS), build creative confidence, agency, and adaptability across varied age groups and experience levels. Participants will engage in hands-on activities that elevate voice, encourage collaborative problem solving, and translate across educational, professional, and community settings. Attendees will leave with practical tools to help learners and early-career professionals navigate ambiguity, contribute meaningfully, and thrive in an increasingly complex and rapidly changing world.    

Takeaways

• Strategies for elevating creative confidence and self-efficacy in young and emerging professionals through fast-cycle innovation experiences.
• Adaptable CPS tools that help early-career individuals frame challenges, explore options, and act boldly.
• Sprint-based methods educators and youth leaders can employ in classrooms, leadership programs, and internships.

In this session, participants will learn to create their own personal AI assistant by exploring and applying easy-to-use AI tools in ChatGPT. Attendees will learn to enhance their skills in creative problem solving, productivity, and innovation with the help of their personalized AI assistant. We’ll cover the fundamentals of prompt design for creating customized projects for real-world applications. Attendees will walk away with practical strategies to build AI tools that support their unique role in the workplace. They will use their AI assistant to apply the FourSight™ Collaboration model and CPS to amplify their creative thinking and collaboration skills.     

Takeaways

• Learn how to use ChatGPT to build a personalized AI assistant that supports your unique role, workflow, and creative challenges. 
• Gain practical strategies to leverage AI as a thought partner—enhancing your creative problem-solving, decision-making, and overall productivity.
• Use their new AI assistant to apply the FourSight™ Creative Mind Set Collaboration model and CPS to amplify their creative thinking and collaboration skills.