“Creativity is almost infinite. It involves every sense – sight, smell, hearing, feeling, taste and even perhaps the extra-sensory. Much of it is unseen, nonverbal and unconscious.”
- E. Paul Torrance, PhD
Purpose
The Freddie Reisman Center for Translational Research in Creativity and Motivation (FRC)
The Freddie Reisman Center (FRC) bridges the gap between what teachers know about creative and motivated learners and how their beliefs and practices can either nurture or unintentionally stifle that creativity.
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Modeled after the medical concept of “Bench to Bedside,” the FRC’s “Lab to Learner” approach transforms research into practice. Too often, valuable studies on creativity and motivation remain hidden in academic journals, out of reach for educators and trainers. The FRC changes that by translating cutting-edge research into accessible, practical tools that teachers, corporate trainers, and talent managers can use right away.
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By shortening the time between discovery and application, the FRC ensures that breakthrough insights reach classrooms and workplaces faster—creating real, lasting impact.
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Our FRC Team and Advisory Board, composed of leading researchers and practitioners in creativity and motivation, work collaboratively to collect, curate, and share research and best practices from around the world. We partner with educators, doctoral students, instructional designers, business leaders, and others to deliver tested, teacher-developed lesson plans and ready-to-use strategies.
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Ultimately, the FRC’s mission is simple yet powerful:
To advance human potential by making creativity and motivation research usable, practical, and transformative for those shaping the minds and talents of tomorrow.
Why Creativity and Motivation Emphasis?
The Center’s initial focus on creativity and motivation is intentional. These two forces lie at the heart of how people learn, yet decades of research show that many educators still struggle to recognize and nurture their students’ creative strengths.
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Over the years continuing to this day, creativity research findings underscore a consistent pattern in education, namely, teachers often identify “creative” students as those who are agreeable, well-behaved, and compliant, i.e., students who smile, follow directions, and do not challenge authority (Getzel & Jackson, 1972; Torrance, 1975; Aljughaiman & Mowrer-Reynolds, 2005). Equally disturbing, the studies show that teachers view students who demonstrate creative characteristics, i.e., those who question ideas, take risks, or behave unconventionally, as too often labeled as disruptive or problematic (Dawson, 1977).
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This misunderstanding matters. When creativity goes unrecognized, the potential for deeper learning and innovation is lost. However, research also shows that there is hope on the horizon. Research reveals that teachers who understand and value their own creative strengths are more likely to recognize and support creativity in their students (Whitelaw, 2006; Robinson, 2018). This awareness leads to richer learning experiences and more inspired classrooms.
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By shining a spotlight on creativity and motivation, the Center aims to transform how educators and learners alike see themselves—as capable, curious, and creative problem-solvers equipped to shape the future.
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Why Motivation Matters
Motivation is the driving force behind nearly every human action. It shapes our choices and defines how we approach challenges and opportunities. Whether deciding what clothes to wear in the morning or choosing to apply to medical school, our motivational state profoundly influences not just what we learn, but how deeply we learn and teach it.
Historically, studies on motivation were scattered across disciplines, limiting a comprehensive understanding of what propels people to act. In recent years, however, researchers have begun bridging these divides, recognizing the need for a more holistic and integrated perspective (Braver et al., 2014).
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This convergence has given rise to an exciting new field, Motivation Science, a multidisciplinary and multimethod pursuit that unites insights from cognitive, social, and educational psychology with discoveries from cognitive and social neuroscience (Kruglanski et al., 2015). Today, motivation researchers are able to draw on an array of approaches to illuminate how motivation operates and how it can be cultivated, e.g., behavioral experiments, longitudinal analyses, neuroimaging, computational modeling, and network analysis.
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In placing motivation at the heart of its mission, the FRC recognizes it as the vital spark that ignites creativity, learning, and human potential. Understanding motivation deepens understanding of why people act, as well as the ability to inspire purposeful action, meaningful growth, and innovation that can transform lives.