CREATIVITY

ITS PLACE IN EDUCATION

By Wayne Morris

Creativity Its Place in Education

The roots of a creative society are in basic education. The sheer volume of facts to be digested by the students of today leaves little time for a deeper interrogation of their moral worth. The result has been a generation of technicians rather than visionaries, each one taking a career rather than an idea seriously. The answer must be reform in our educational methods so that students are encouraged to ask about know-why as well as know-how. Once the arts are restored to a more central role in educational institutions, there could be a tremendous unleashing of creative energy in other disciplines too. Source: OnArts: Creative New Zealand. Michael D. Higgins the !or"er #rish Minister !or Arts Culture and $aeltacht But is it enough to !ocus on the arts as the source o! creativity in education% #s there a "uch &roader role !or creativity in education% 'All our !utures: Creativity culture and education( the )* National Advisory Co""ittees re+ort ,D!-- .///0 de!ines creativity as: First, they the characteristics of creativity! always involve thinking or behaving imaginatively. "econd, overall this imaginative activity is purposeful# that is, it is directed to achieving an ob$ective. Third, these processes must generate something original. Fourth, the outcome must be of value in relation to the ob$ective. 1his !ro" the )*. 2ro" the )S 3 the Creative Classroo" 4ro5ect was a colla&oration &etween 4ro5ect Zero and the Disney Worldwide Outreach to +roduce "aterials that hel+ teachers e6+lore and understand: .. the role o! creativity and innovation in teaching and learning 7. the i"+ortance o! develo+ing classroo" and school environ"ents that can &ring out the &est in teachers and students and 8. "ethods !or "a9ing classroo"s "ore engaging +laces 1he !ollowing :uote !ro" one o! the teachers involved in the +ro5ect adds to the )* de!inition. %lthough most people might look for signs of creativity in the appearance of the bulletin boards, student made pro$ects, centers and displays in the classroom, & feel the truly creative classroom goes way beyond what can be seen with the eyes. &t is a place where bodies and minds actively pursue new knowledge. 'aving a creative classroom means that the teacher takes risks on a daily basis and encourages his(her students to do the same. "ource# )ann *alt+ ,uoted in -reativity in the -lassroom# %n e.ploration.

-reativity / &ts )lace in 0ducation

!y s!ould "e #ot!er$

Our school system is a thinly disguised conspiracy to ,uash creativity. 2e are at an inflection point. 2e seem to be re-inventing everything / e.cept the school system, which should in theory! underpin, even leads, the rest. The main crisis in schools today is irrelevance. Our educational thinking is concerned with3 4what is5. &t is not good at designing 4what can be5.

1he a&ove !ro" 1o" 4eter;s &oo9 <e3i"agine. 4eter;s is very critical o! our +resent ways o! educating and although !ocused on A"erican education his co""ents could relate to "ost education syste"s across the world. 4eter;s vision: 3 a school syste" that recogni=es that learning is natural that a love o! learning is nor"al and that real learning is +assionate learning 3 a school curriculu" that values :uestions a&ove answers creativity a&ove !act regurgitation individuality a&ove uni!or"ity and e6cellence a&ove standardi=ed +er!or"ance 3 a society that res+ects its teachers and +rinci+als +ays the" well and grants the" the autono"y to do their 5o& as the creative individuals they are and !or the creative individuals in their charge. #s this a vision that you could &uy into% 6obert Frit+ comments that The most important developments in civili+ation have come through the creative process, but ironically, most people have not been taught to be creative. "ource# 6obert Frit+, The )ath of 7east 6esistance, 899:. #s it i"+ortant to our !utures that creativity &e taught% What +lace should creativity have in our education syste"s% Should we teach creatively or teach !or creativity% *y providing rich and varied conte.ts for pupils to ac,uire, develop and apply a broad range of knowledge, understanding and skills, the curriculum should enable pupils to think creatively and critically, to solve problems and to make a difference for the better. &t should give them the opportunity to become creative, innovative, enterprising and capable of leadership to e,uip them for their future lives as workers and citi+ens. &t should enable pupils to respond positively to opportunities, challenges and responsibilities, to manage risk and cope with change and adversity. "ource# ;< =ational -urriculum 'andbook p 88-81!# Creative students lead richer lives and in the longer ter" "a9e a valua&le contri&ution to society. Surely those are reasons enough to &other. -reativity / &ts )lace in 0ducation >

Creativity in t!e classroo% "!at does it loo& li&e$

When students are &eing creative in the classroo" they are li9ely to: :uestion and challenge. Creative +u+ils are curious :uestion and challenge and don;t necessarily !ollow the rules. "a9e connections and see relationshi+s. Creative +u+ils thin9 laterally and "a9e associations &etween things that are not usually connected. envision want "ight &e. 1hey i"agine see +ossi&ilities as9 >what i!%; +icture alternatives and loo9 at things !ro" di!!erent view +oints. e6+lore ideas and o+tions. Creative +u+ils +lay with ideas try alternatives and !resh a++roaches 9ee+ o+en "inds and "odi!y their ideas to achieve creative results re!lect critically on ideas actions and outco"es. 1hey review +rogress invite and use !eed&ac9 critici=e constructively and "a9e +erce+tive o&servations.

1o encourage the a&ove is li9ely to re:uire a change in the way schools are run and the way teachers teach. The most powerful way to develop creativity in your students is to be a role model. -hildren develop creativity not when you tell them to, but when you show them. "ource# 6obert ? "ternberg, 'ow to develop student creativity

Creative Teac!in'
2e humans have not yet achieved our full creative potential primarily because every child5s creativity is not properly nurtured. The critical role of imagination, discovery and creativity in a child5s education is only beginning to come to light and, even within the educational community, many still do not appreciate or reali+e its vital importance. "ource# %shfa, &sha, &nternational -hild %rt Foundation www.creativity-portal.com Creative teaching "ay &e de!ined in two ways: !irstly teaching creatively and secondly teaching !or creativity. 1eaching creatively "ight &e descri&ed as teachers using i"aginative a++roaches to "a9e learning "ore interesting engaging e6citing and e!!ective. 1eaching !or creativity "ight &est &e descri&ed as using !or"s o! teaching that are intended to develo+ students own creative thin9ing and &ehaviour. However it would &e !air to say that teaching !or creativity "ust involve creative teaching. 1eachers cannot develo+ the -reativity / &ts )lace in 0ducation :

creative a&ilities o! their students i! their own creative a&ilities are undiscovered or su++ressed. @y wife and & went to a kindergarten! parent-teacher conference and were informed that our budding refrigerator artist, -hristopher, would be receiving a grade of unsatisfactory in art. 2e were shocked. 'ow could any child / let alone our child / receive a poor grade in art at such a young ageA 'is teacher informed us that he refused to colour within the lines, which was a state re,uirement for demonstrating 4grade level motor skills. "ource# ?ordan %yan, %'%B 1eaching with creativity and teaching !or creativity include all the characteristics o! good teaching ? including high "otivation high e6+ectations the a&ility to co""unicate and listen and the a&ility to interest engage and ins+ire. Creative teachers need e6+ertise in their +articular !ields &ut they need "ore than this. 1hey need techni:ues that sti"ulate curiosity and raise sel! estee" and con!idence. 1hey "ust recogni=e when encourage"ent is needed and con!idence threatened. 1hey "ust &alance structured learning with o++ortunities !or sel!3direction@ and the "anage"ent o! grou+s while giving attention to individuals. 1eaching !or creativity is not an easy o+tion &ut it can &e en5oya&le and dee+ly !ul!illing. #t can involve "ore ti"e and +lanning to generate and develo+ ideas and to evaluate whether they have wor9ed. #t involves con!idence to i"+rovise and ta9e detours to +ic9 u+ une6+ected o++ortunities !or learning@ to live with uncertainty and to ris9 ad"itting that an idea led nowhere. Creative teachers are always willing to e6+eri"ent &ut they recogni=e the need to learn !ro" e6+erience. All o! this re:uires "ore not less e6+ertise o! teachers. Thousands of years of history suggest that the schoolhouse a we know it is an absurd way to rear our young# it5s contrary to everything we know about what it is to be a human being. For e.ample, we know that doing and talking are what most successful people are very good at / that5s where they truly show their stuff. "ource# Ceborah @eier, in Cennis 7ittkys The *ig )icture Creative teachers need con!idence in their disci+lines and in the"selves. 1here are "any highly creative teachers in our schools and "any schools where creative a++roaches to teaching and learning are encouraged. But "any schools and teachers do not have access to the necessary +ractical su++ort and guidance in develo+ing these a++roaches. Conse:uently there are i"+ortant issues o! sta!! develo+"ent. #t is i"+ortant to reduce or eli"inate the !actors which inhi&it the creative activity o! teachers and learners and give +riority to those that encourage it. 1here are in education e6traordinarily high levels o! +rescri+tion in relation to content and teaching "ethods. 1here are huge ris9s o! de3s9illing teachers and encouraging con!or"ity and +assivity in so"e. We have an interesting +arado6. We have industry co""entators saying that !or a success!ul !uture we need +eo+le who thin9 are creative and innovative and yet our education syste"s see" to &e wor9ing against this. At a national level govern"ent has a

-reativity / &ts )lace in 0ducation

res+onsi&ility to reduce these ris9s and to +ro"ote higher levels o! teacher autono"y and creativity in teaching and learning. 'uman creativity is the ultimate economic resource. "ource# 6ichard Florida The 6ise of the -reative -lass Over the past decade the biggest employment gains came in occupations that rely on people skills and emotional intelligence .. and among $obs that re,uire imagination and creativity. . Trying to preserve e.isting $obs will prove futile / trade and technology will transform the economy whether we like it or not. "ource# @ichael -o., 6ichard %lm and =igel 'olmes 2here the $obs are / =ew Eork Times 8>(FD(F: The past few decades have belonged to a certain kind of person with a certain kind of mind / computer programmers who could crank code, lawyers who could craft contracts, @*%5s who could crunch numbers. *ut the keys to the kingdom are changing hands. The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind / creators and empathi+ers, pattern recognisers and meaning makers. These people / artist, inventors, caregivers, consolers, big picture thinkers / will now reap society5s richest rewards and share its greatest $oys. "ource# Can )ink, % 2hole =ew @ind

Teac!ers encoura'in' creativity

Carolyn -dwards and *ay S+ringate in their article '1he lion co"es out o! the stone: Hel+ing young children achieve their creative +otential( ,Di"ensions o! -arly Childhood0 give the !ollowing suggestions on encouraging student creativity: $ive students e6tended unhurried time to e6+lore and do their &est wor9. Don;t inter!ere when students are +roductively engaged and "otivated to co"+lete tas9s in which they are !ully engaged. Create an inviting and e6citing classroom environment. 4rovide students with s+ace to leave un!inished wor9 !or later co"+letion and :uiet s+ace !or conte"+lation. 4rovide an a&undant su++ly o! interesting and use!ul materials and resources. Create a classroo" climate where students !eel "ista9es are acce+ta&le and ris9 ta9ing is encouraged. A++ro+riate noise "ess and autono"y are acce+ted.

1he )* National Curriculu" in Action we&3site o!!ers suggestions as to how teachers can encourage +u+il;s creativity. 1he site includes short video cli+s o! teachers discussing their a++roaches to encouraging creativity and then de"onstrating these a++roaches. -6a"+les

-reativity / &ts )lace in 0ducation

are given o! encouraging creativity while +lanning introducing activities teaching and revising wor9. 1hey are well worth viewing. ,www.ncaction.org.u9Acreativity0 #ndividual teachers can have a huge in!luence on encouraging students to &e creative &ut !or creativity to !lourish it needs to &e &uilt into the whole school ethos. 1his is the do"ain o! the +rinci+al and other school leaders.

Sc!ool leaders encoura'in' creativity

1eachers can do a lot to encourage creativity in their classes &ut it;s a 5o& only hal! done without the su++ort o! the school leadershi+. School leaders have the a&ility to &uild an e6+ectation o! creativity into a school;s learning and teaching strategies. 1hey can encourage recogni=e and reward creativity in &oth +u+ils and teachers. School leaders have the a&ility to +rovide resources !or creative endeavours@ to involve teachers and +u+ils in creating sti"ulating environ"ents@ to ta+ the creativity o! sta!! +arents and the local co""unity and "uch "ore. 1hey have the a&ility to "a9e creativity art o! the sta!! develo+"ent +rogra""e@ to include creativity in everyone;s +er!or"ance reviews@ to invite creative +eo+le into the school and "ost i"+ortant o! all to lead &y e6a"+leBB

T!e last "ord(s)

"teve ?obs has done more -ool "tuff than anybody else in "ilicon Halley. . . . one of his success secrets is loading every development team with artist I and historians I and poets I and musicians I and dramatists. 'e says he wants to bring to bear, on each pro$ect, the best of human cultural accomplishment. "o how come schools don5t get itA *udget crunchA First programmes to be cutA %rt and @usic. & say I the hell with the math budget & really don5t mean that.! 7et5s enhance the art budget and inflate the music budget. Training in -reativity is important, in general. *ut it is absolutely essential in this %ge of &ntangibles and &ntellectual -apital. "ource# Tom )eters, 6e-imagine Do you agree and are you doing anything a&out it% #;d love to hear !ro" you.

-reativity / &ts )lace in 0ducation

C Wayne Morris 2e&ruary 7DDE Wayne is director o! 2uture -dge Ftd &ased in New 4ly"outh New Zealand. He can &e contacted on !uture.edgeGclear.net.n= or through a we& site he shares with a colleague www.leading3learning.co.n=

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-reativity / &ts )lace in 0ducation