TAA member Dr. Olga Zbarskaya, OZCREDO President, is both a textbook and academic author. Her most recent publications include Brainstorm!: Practice for Unrestricted Imagination and Original Thought and Mind Booster Art.

What are you currently working on?
I just finished the children’s book/textbook on creative thinking Unbelievable Adventures of Dr. Credo. Parents and educators alike will appreciate this book for the way it creates a fun learning experience involving technology, astrology, physics, and even psychology, making it an ideal complement to many school lessons and a great addition to classroom libraries. I also founded OZCREDO: Center for Creative Thinking and Unlimited Possibilities, a consulting company that provides comprehensive tools, training, workshops, and coaching on creative decision-making and problem solving.

Share a recent accomplishment.
My textbook Brainstorm!: Practice for Unrestricted Imagination and Original Thought became a unique resource for mental health professionals to help their patients to overcome multiple issues as well as a text for students in fields such as psychology, art, leadership and development, educational leadership, early childhood education, and structural organization. I have been invited to many colleges, institutions, and academic settings to present on the topic. This textbook is used internationally (10+ countries) by academia and various professionals.

Laurence Haughton (researcher and writer of six bestsellers including It’s not the big that eat the small small it’s the fast that eat the slow, wrote to me: “For twenty years I’ve researched and written about leaders who can think faster, change faster and make speed their competitive advantage. The best of the best are, without exception, more creative, more original and incredibly imaginative. Now in your new book Brainstorm you explain what to do to help every person and every organization be more creative. Brainstorm is loaded with specific, measurable, actionable, relevant and timely advice in short it’s totally SMART. Congratulations and thank you.”

What is your favorite textbook writing tip or strategy?

• Trust your curiosity and capture your ideas
• Build conflicts into your concept
• Tailor ideas to the specific attributes and interests of your students
• Provide reliable references. Use real places, evens, conversations, and research trips
• Engage your students with your thoughts by leaving room for imagination
• Encourage your students to see different perspectives on a concept or issue
• Promote scientific curiosity, logical problem solving, higher-level thinking questions, invention, cooperative problem solving, respect for other cultures, and believing in yourself.

What is your best TAA experience so far?
It’s a privilege to be part of an organization that cares about the quality of academic and scientific books/textbooks. Thank you!

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