Faculty and staff from the Air Force Institute of Technology’s School of Systems and Logistics participated in a seminar by Dr. Angus Fletcher from Ohio State University on 15 October centered on how to inspire creativity in work and life settings. (Contributed photo)
 

By:  Maj Angie Cox, Air Force Institute of Technology

The Air Force Institute of Technology’s School of Systems and Logistics embarked on an inspiring experience with a seminar by Dr. Angus Fletcher from Ohio State University on 15 October. Fletcher presented three tailored workshops for the school’s faculty and staff centered on how to inspire creativity in work and life settings. The event was a best practice for developing faculty and staff in an environment where cutting edge education is the mission.

"General Brown stated we need to accelerate change or lose by innovating our processes, capabilities, and mindsets. Innovation starts with creativity, and Dr. Fletcher's sessions ignited a creative spark in our School, and illustrated how we can pass that spark along to our students,” said Rick Sugarman, head of the Systems and Software Engineering Management department. “He demonstrated valuable techniques to produce revolutionary ideas, and how those in positions of authority can implement and execute those ideas to realize force-multiplying value."

During the sessions, Fletcher not only motivated creativity but also drove practical application through exercises that can be used for teaching and engagement. He challenged participants to align their leadership principles with creativity and innovation through exchange and consultation. During a session with School leadership, Fletcher focused on ideas to inspire innovation in the organization and its partnerships.

Julliete Trotter, a School of Systems and Logistics faculty member, implemented lessons learned from the seminar into her courses through an activity where students describe a time they stepped into a creative solution role. This exercise gets them to think of a moment they were innovative in a situation.

Trotter also found the discussion on spontaneity in the classroom exciting. “I loved that they encouraged it as well as acknowledged that it takes courage to step out that way,” said Trotter. “When you add student input or open student input, you risk being put on the spot as an instructor. But one of the most encouraging things a student can see or learn from, is seeing an instructor not crumble when put on the spot but approach the moment with excitement.”

Focusing on creativity for military application isn’t a new process, for the Air Force or for AFIT. “Back in the 1940s, the U.S. Air Force pioneered the science of training creativity when Colonel J.P. Guilford discovered divergent thinking,” explained Fletcher. “I was honored and inspired to witness that same pioneering spirit in the AFIT faculty and staff as they helped my research team pilot new techniques for improving creativity, drawn from recent neuroscientific insights into how human brains devise original plans and strategies for overcoming emergent threats and exploiting emergent opportunities.”

Fletcher is a professor of story science at Ohio State’s Project Narrative, the world’s leading academic think-tank for the study of how stories work. He trained in neuroscience at the University of Michigan, and after noticing the powerful effect that films and memoirs could have on the brain’s emotions and imagination, he dedicated his research to discovering the secrets of how stories and other narratives can unlock more human mental performance, making us more courageous, more curious, and more creative. He has published several academic books, a military field guide on Creative Thinking for the Army Command and General Staff College and a few dozen academic and scholarly articles.