CREATIVE

TEACHING:
Its Neccessity&
Its Affects

standardized testing
and accountability has
undoubtedly played
a part in diminishing
teacher and learner
creativity
The Call to Action
The current state of education simply
cannot be ignored. Despite being a highly so-
phisticated and developed society, Americas
rank in education worldwide is plummeting
fast. With all the technological and education-
al advancements, how could America be facing
such demise?
Education is no longer an immersion in
information or a honing of creativity; instead, it
has become a years of preparation for standard-
ized testing. Rinkevich states, the current em-
phasis on standardized testing and accountabil-
ity has undoubtedly played a part in diminishing
teacher and learner creativity (2011). Rinkev-
ich goes on to further state, the exclusion of cre-
ative teaching is an unfortunate occurrence con-
sidering it has been indicated that creativity not
only is conducive to learning, student achieve-
ment, and cognitive development but also is a
predictor of academic success (2011).
Creativity is the reason we have experi-
enced the advancements we are afforded today.
It is our responsibility as educators, parents,
and mentors to ensure our youth are afforded
the opportunity to explore learning in a creative
manner and environment.
What is Creative Teaching?
A

wealth of resources and curriculums ex-
ist today on best practices in the classroom. Its
easy to lose sight of the importance of a success-
ful student experience with the focus of most of
this material being geared towards standardized
testing. Creative Teaching focuses on just thata
successful student experience.
A successful student experience encom-
passes developing creative, ingenious, innova-
tive, conceptual skills. All teachers, including
technology educators, should examine what is
being taught, how it is being taught, and growth
of creativity should be woven into the education-
al fabric of teaching and learning (Warner, S. A.,
& Myers, K. L. 2009). With an ever-evolving so-
ciety, simply learning material and regurgitating
it for standardized testing will no longer suffice.
Educators must foster creativity through teach-
ing.
Growth of creativty should be
woven into the educational fabric
of teaching and learning
Teaching isnt
black and white,
or right and
wrong answers...
Enviromental
Circumstances Blocking
Creativity(NAWAF ALBARI, Q., SMADI, S., BANI YASSIN, M., & TRAD ALSHAMMARI, W. 2013)
THE ROLE OF BOTH SEXES:

Such specifc roles of boys
and girls tie up those children to be
unable of doing specifc behaviors
whenever discriminating between
them according to their sex. Tis
will take away the chance to grow
up as normal individuals. Adults
expect the males to be positive and
independent, whereas the females
are passive, dependent and very
sensitive. According to such roles,
those children lose their right in
practicing quiet expressive activi-
ties and in particular the girls lose
practicing strong activities.
THE COMMUNITY, CULTURE
AND TRADITIONS:
It is distinguished concepts
for each there are a specifc col-
lection of behaviors, values and
attitudes which the children get at a
very early age in a form of expecta-
tions. But the creative children have
diferent and not familiar behaviors
which cause them problems when-
ever the adults have all answers
and expect those children to carry
out special types of such behaviors.
What suits some children do not
suit others, but it is important to
respect the efect of the expectations
in relation with traditions and the
individual's culture without sacrifc-
ing his/ her individuality.
THE SCHOOL:
Te teacher might not under-
stand or appreciate the creative child
and then the child is demanded to
be identical of others and to focus
on academic sides in the lower ba-
sic stage, whereas a small amount of
time is available for practicing the
creative activities. Te creative chil-
dren might feel being oppressed to
attend some uncreative classes and
might reject to keep their creativity.
Te teacher should understand, ap-
preciate and encourage the creativ-
ity of those children by supporting
them by non- curricular activities
which develop their creativity.
THE PARENTS:
Te creative children might
question the authority, rules and
the adult's logic and interpretations
and so, the behaviors of such chil-
dren might be diferent. Te parents
might think that such behaviors
could be bad and their reactions
would be treating those children as
abnormal children, naughty and not
sensible. Tose parents should know
more about the nature of creativity
by having special session discussing
the creativity and sharing in the cre-
ativity process by themselves.

Te focus on an arts-based curriculum certain-
ly changed the dynamics of the classrooms in this
project. Children responded enthusiastically to the
more real-world content, and felt able to demon-
strate and use the skills they pos- sessed within the
active learning environment. Teachers comment-
ed on how children looked forward to the creative
sessions and were especially excited on the days
when they were joined by the creative profession-
als. One teacher summed up the value of teaching
through the arts by claim- ing that such experiences
were helping her reach the unreachable children.
Parents, too, related how their chil- dren were now
keen to attend school and how they ofen talked
about and even carried on work begun in school at
home.
Children learned skills specifc to a given art form
but, in doing so, they were also developing academ-
ic and social skills they expressed their thoughts
and feelings, commu- nicated and demonstrat-
ed their understandings in oral and written form.
Further, they showed that they could compare and
contrast their work and ideas with that of others.
Tey experienced the benefts of working collabo-
ratively with their peers and, moreover, were able
to interact similarly with adults rather than do so
in a power-based relationship. Children responded
to this sharing of power by displaying high levels of
motivation when engaged in learning encoun- ters
rather than being reluctant recipients of the taught
curriculum (Hirsch, 2007b, p. 1). Teachers noted
improve- ments in social interactions in children
and also among the
adults. Improvements in interactions appeared to be
the result of the shared learning experiences and the
equality of the assessment outcomes. Teachers also
commented on an important change in the feelings
of success within their classrooms associated with
the shif in participation in the creative curriculum,
and related a growth in self-esteem, self-confdence
and self-discipline among children. LOUGHREY,
D., & WOODS, C. (2010).
Te Sparking the Imagination Project Findings CREATIVE TASKS DEFINED
BY TEACHERS
Role-play
USing fashcard games
Making posters
Doing pupil-led investiga-
tions
Making things e.g. models
News reports
Walking outside for inspira-
tion for poetry
Imagining they were
somewehere else
Tasting diferent foods
Using plasticine
Turner, S. (2013).
PUPILS DEFINITION OF CREATIVITY:
expressing youself thinking outside of the box but sensibly using your imagination
engaging in personal thoughy Turner, S. (2013).
Can Creative Teaching
Truly Impact Learning?