Tuesday, Mar 8, 2016
Books by Dr. Don Ambrose are scheduled to be released this spring
Two new books edited by Don Ambrose of Rider University and Robert J. Sternberg of Cornell University examine the dynamic interplay of globalization and its impact on society.
The books stemmed from Ambrose’s interdisciplinary analysis of how globalization impacts creative intelligence in the 21st century. Creative intelligence refers to the notion that creativity can serve as a powerful source of economic and ethical value.
Ambrose, a professor of graduate education, developed the analysis in collaboration with Sternberg, an eminent scholar and past president of the American Psychological Association. Meanwhile, he invited other prominent scholars from across many academic disciplines to join them as contributing authors. Participants included leading thinkers from around the world, including China, India, Peru, Finland, and many other countries.
Participants were asked to analyze how big problems generated by globalization, such as resource shortages, climate change and socioeconomic inequality, altered the development of creative intelligence required to solve these problems. The project also examined how creative intelligence could help society take advantage of opportunities presented by globalization, including advances in science and technology. Ambrose refers to the distance between the current capacity to address these problems and what will be needed to seize on the opportunities as a “creative intelligence gap.”
The two books that resulted from the project — Creative intelligence in the 21st century: Grappling with enormous problems and huge opportunities and Giftedness and talent in the 21st century: Adapting to the turbulence of globalization —will be published this spring.
Three other Rider professors contributed chapters to these books. Teacher Education Professor John Baer wrote about connections between creativity and the Common Core standards. Graduate Education Professor Kathleen Pierce provided a 21st-century vision for creative literacy learning. Assistant Professor of Psychology Catrinel Haught-Tromp described interesting ways in which constraints can facilitate creative thinking.
In his endorsement on the back cover of Giftedness and talent in the 21st century, Jonathan Plucker, Julian C. Stanley Endowed Professor of Talent Development at Johns Hopkins University, writes, "This impressive volume, edited by two of the world’s leading thinkers on these topics, includes the perspectives of many of our best thinkers on issues of talent development and giftedness. They offer an array of provocative perspectives on how we can better address our tremendous need for talent in the 21st century."
Similarly, past president of the National Association for Gifted Children Ann Robinson praises Creative intelligence in the 21st century, stating that the book "is a treat for readers who want to think 'big' and think ‘forward.' Kick back for an imaginative journey that reaches back to early global insights but propels us into the 21st century and beyond."
As a result of his work, Ambrose has been invited to give several keynote presentations on creative intelligence in Croatia, Peru, Florida and Western Canada.