Definition Creative ideation is diverging by hand first, extending with AI, then converging by human judgment, so the result stays original.
The order is the point: people diverge first, AI extends second, and people choose.
Why it matters with AI
Stories written with AI help were rated more creative one by one, yet more alike as a group. Starting from AI pulls everyone toward the same few ideas.
How CIT teaches it: Ten by hand first
Students write ten ideas by hand before opening the AI, compare them with the AI's list and mark the ones that are theirs alone. An originality audit checks how far the final idea sits from existing work and from the AI's suggestions.
What proficiency looks like at each age
- Elementary Produces five or more ideas on one theme in pictures or words and explains the one they chose.
- Middle school Keeps hand-made and AI-made ideas in separate lists and writes the criteria behind the final choice.
- High school Uses an originality audit to show how the final idea differs from existing work and AI suggestions.
Four recorded levels
- 1 Emerging Does it when an adult walks through the steps.
- 2 Developing Does it alone on familiar tasks; needs support on new ones.
- 3 Proficient Shows the grade-band indicator on an unfamiliar task, unaided.
- 4 Extending Teaches it to others or carries it into a new field.
Where this skill is used in the CIT Loop
- 4. Create Build a prototype that works and check that the idea is genuinely the team's own.
Evidence
- Doshi, A. R. & Hauser, O. P. (2024). Generative AI enhances individual creativity but reduces the collective diversity of novel content. Science Advances, 10(28), eadn5290. Stories written with AI ideas were rated more creative individually but were more similar to each other.
- OECD (2024). PISA 2022 Results (Volume III): Creative Minds, Creative Schools. Korea country note. Korean 15-year-olds scored 38 of 60 in creative thinking (OECD average 33), with 46% top performers (OECD 27%), yet reported creative self-efficacy below the OECD average.
Courses that train this skill
No course is linked to this skill yet.
Related skills
C1 Empathy & Human-Centred DesignC3 Builder AgencyC4 Integrative Thinking
First Principles Thinking: Every lesson opens with one first-principles question. Metacognition: Every lesson closes with a teach-back or a calibration check.