About Leonardo's Inventci

At the heart of CreativeThinking.ai is Leonardo's Inventci — a collection of guided creative thinking challenges designed to spark imagination, encourage original problem-solving, and deepen understanding through play.

Inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's blend of art, science, and invention, these exercises are grounded in cognitive science and educational psychology. Each activity asks students to generate imaginative solutions to open-ended prompts, often incorporating design constraints, visual thinking, or storytelling.

Cartoon Leonardo explaining

Why This Works

Research shows that creativity is not a single skill, but a network of cognitive habits — including divergent thinking, analogical reasoning, and the ability to shift perspectives. When students engage in Inventci challenges, they practice these habits in rapid cycles.

  • ✏️ Encourage generative thinking: Students brainstorm multiple ideas quickly, strengthening fluency and flexibility — two core dimensions of creativity.
  • 🧠 Build cognitive connections: Inventing or reimagining something based on abstract prompts helps link prior knowledge with novel applications — a key feature of constructivist learning.
  • 🎯 Promote meaningful choice-making: Students must evaluate, adapt, and pitch their own ideas, building metacognition and intrinsic motivation.
  • 🎨 Integrate visual expression and storytelling: Drawing and labeling inventions taps into dual coding theory — combining images and language to reinforce deeper memory and comprehension.

What Makes This Different

Unlike typical classroom activities that reward a single right answer, Inventci challenges celebrate originality, relevance, and clarity. AI feedback helps guide students toward more thoughtful iterations, and optional academic tie-ins allow you to extend creativity into science, history, and more.

You don't need special materials or an art degree to run these exercises — just a willingness to make space for creative thought. They work beautifully in short bursts (5-10 minutes) or as full-class collaborative sessions.

Backed by Research, Designed for Real Classrooms

Leonardo's Inventci is informed by decades of research in creativity and learning science — from J.P. Guilford’s original studies on divergent thinking, to more recent frameworks from educators like Ron Beghetto andYong Zhao.

But it's also shaped by hundreds of hours spent in real classrooms. Every feature is built with teacher time and classroom flow in mind.

Whether you're warming up your students' minds, closing a lesson with reflection, or encouraging invention in STEM or art, these challenges give students a joyful and meaningful way to practice creative confidence.

🤔 Curious who's behind this? Learn about John Fox here.