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Andrea Puskás
J. Selye University in Komárno - Selye János Egyetem - Univerzita J. Selyeho v Komárne Slovakia
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Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:
KEGA 006UJS-4/2019 Improving creativity and teaching English as a foreign language creatively at primary and secondary schools View project
KEGA projekt č. 002UJS-4/2016 „Web-based aplikácie v transdisciplinárnom vzdelávaní budúcich učiteľov -Web-Based Applications in Transdisciplinary Training of
Teacher Education" View project
All content following this page was uploaded by Andrea Puskás on 24 October 2022.
Košice 2021
Zborník vydaný za podpory projektu: KEGA č. 018PU-4/2018: Inovácia metód a foriem výučby
predmetu biochémia a VEGA č. 1/0783/18: Biochemický, fyziologický a hematologický status
u vybraných druhov poľovnej zveri.
Názov: Inovatívne metódy a formy vzdelávania
Zborník vedeckých prác s medzinárodnou účasťou
ISBN: 978-80-553-3886-6
ODOVZDÁVANIE POZNATKOV Z FARMAKOGNÓZIE A LEGISLATÍVNEHO POZADIA
DOPLNKOVEJ A ĽUDOVEJ MEDICÍNY VO SVETLE NOVÝCH ŠTANDARDOV VO VZDELÁVANÍ
BUDÚCICH UČITEĽOV NA SLOVENSKU
Nagy M., Poráčová J., Balázs P., Konečná M., Povlin I., Kormos S. M., Mydlárová
Blaščáková M., Zahatňanská M., Darvai, S., Tóthová Tarová E., Szencziová I. 129
ANDREA PUSKÁS
Abstract: The author of the paper investigates the role of creativity development in education, the
characteristic features of creative behaviour and presents the assumptions of selected sociocultural
theories supporting the importance of social factors and collaboration in the development of creativity in
education. The move from face-to-face classes to online space during the COVID-19 pandemic has provided
new challenges for those educators, instructors and teachers who intent to continue to develop their
learners’ creativity also in the virtual classroom. By taking a rather constructivist perspective, the author
points at the link between effective learning outcomes and ‘social presence’, the construction of knowledge
by the individual through social interaction and engagement in online class activities and practices.
Building online communities and successful peer interaction have become crucial factors of developing the
creativity of learners. The teacher needs to introduce interactive activities gradually to allow learners to
get acquainted with the new environment, where they can feel safe and supported. The paper offers ideas
for engaging learners in social interaction in the online teaching and learning environment and provides a
list of concrete tasks and activities suitable for learner engagement and the development of creativity,
critical thinking, problem-solving and communication skills in the English as a foreign language classroom.
INTRODUCTION
The importance, role and development of creativity in schools have been examined for a long time
now. Fortunately, more and more schools, educators, teachers and trainers seem to understand
the need for neglecting the mere transmission of content knowledge and are eager to shift their
focus to the development of creativity, critical thinking, communication and problem-solving skills.
These are skills and abilities which have gained special emphasis and attention during the 2020
pandemic, a period when teachers were forced to adapt to the requirements of a completely new
teaching environment, i. e. online space.
Teaching in an online environment definitely requires significant changes in perceiving the roles of
both teachers and learners. The challenges an online environment provides definitely transform
the roles both teachers and learners need to fulfil. Teachers need to be more learner-centred,
they need to become facilitators of knowledge, they have to help learners how to gain knowledge
and how to be autonomous learners. Engaging the learner in the online environment has become
one of the key factors of avoiding high drop-out rates and learner isolation. Using activities and
practices for involving learners in social interaction does not only help to improve learners’
creativity, these also assist them to remain an active participant of their own learning process. The
main aim of the paper is to investigate the main characteristic features of creativity and creative
behaviour and the ways creativity can be improved in an online teaching and learning
environment. The paper offers ideas for engaging learners in social interaction and provides a list
of concrete tasks and activities suitable for learner engagement in the English as a foreign
language classroom.
WHAT IS CREATIVITY?
Theories of creativity have a long history in foreign language education as well and creativity
researchers have offered a set of definitions and classification (Craft 2000, Kozbelt, Beghetto and
Runco 2010, Kauffman and Sternberg 2010, Csíkszentmihályi 2014, Zahatňanská and Nagy 2020,
Inovatívne metódy a formy vzdelávania 159
Árki, Berta and Nagy 2021 just to mention a few). The rise of creativity and the special attention it
has recently received is very closely connected to the shift from the traditional teacher-centred
approach to teaching toward a more learner-centred approach, one that understands learning as a
process rather than the outcome or final product of knowledge transmission.
Creativity has long been studied on the level of the individual with special attention to individual
traits and characteristics which are the features of creative behaviour or which could contribute to
the development of creativity. However, contemporary sociocultural approaches to the study of
creativity emphasise that there are additional factors, other than personality, motivation,
orientation and cognitive factors, which influence the development of creativity. These are the so
called social factors, which are discussed by researchers such as Mihály Csíkszentmihályi and
Rustin Wolfe (2014), who insist on the importance of societal influences on the development of
the individual’s creativity. The social context, the educational environment, interaction with
parents, teachers, mentors and peers, interpersonal relationships can become vital in the
promotion of creativity and the development of creative behaviour.
Educational creativity and the role of schools in the development of the individual’s creativity
need to be re-examined so that learners can be equipped with up-to-date knowledge base and
skills to face contemporary social changes and challenges. Critical thinking, problem-solving skills,
good cooperation skills and the ability to innovate are crucial characteristics of creative individuals
and primary and secondary schools need to be prepared to improve these qualities, especially
during the times of the pandemic, when most schools were forced to move their classes to online
space. This shift has drawn attention to the importance of flexibility, as one of the key elements of
creativity, as well as to the ability to adjust to changed circumstances within a relatively short
time.
Anna Craft (2000) describes creativity as “a state of mind in which all our intelligences are working
together, involving seeing, thinking and innovating” (Craft, 2000: 38). Cremin and Barnes claim
that “Creativity is possible wherever human intelligence is actively engaged and is an essential part
of an effective education: it includes all areas of understanding and all children, teachers and
others working in primary education. Indeed, it can be demonstrated by anyone in any aspect of
life, throughout life” (Cremin – Barnes, 2010: 360). They add that creativity should not be seen as
a product or an event, but as a process or a state of mind, which involves the serious play of ideas
and possibilities (Cremin – Barnes, 2010: 360). Teresa Cremin (2015) defines creativity in the
following way: “Creativity, in essence [is] the generation of novel ideas” (Cremin, 2015: 4), and she
also describes creativity as a process that “involves the capacity to generate, reason with and
critically evaluate novel suppositions or imaginary scenarios. It is about thinking, problem solving,
inventing and reinventing, and flexing one’s imaginative muscles and critical reflexivity” (Cremin,
2015: 4-5). The above definition underlines the fact that critical thinking and the ability to evaluate
processes and phenomena is the crucial part of being creative (Puskás, 2020).
Teresa Cremin and Jonathan Barnes summarize the characteristic features of creating behaviour
and learning as follows:
it is often collaborative
it uses the mind and the body, emotions, eyes, ears and all the senses
it is an effort to face a challenge or solve a problem
it may include physical, social, reflective, musical or visual thinking
it involves learners’ activities that produce new and unusual connections between ideas,
domains, processes and materials
it is a process where learners and teachers step outside the boundaries of predictability
it is a process where learners may be physically engaged1.
The specific features and properties of creative thinking have been outlined by several
researchers. Arthur J. Cropley (1997) summarizes the research results of Torrance and Hall (1980),
Necka (1986) and Sternberg (1985, 1988) and provides the following list of properties describing
creative thinking:
Sensitivity to problems – creative people show high levels of skill in pinpointing problems.
Redefinition of problems – creative thinkers are able to restate a problem in new terms
which provides new insights.
Penetration – creative thinkers can go into the heart of problems discarding or disregarding
irrelevant details.
Analysis and synthesis – creative thinkers are able to break down a problem into its
constituent parts and also to see connections between the elements of a problem and
other areas of experience.
Ideational fluency – creative thinkers are able to generate large numbers of relevant ideas.
Flexibility – creative thinkers are flexible and can change their line of thinking and switch to
a new approach.
Originality – creative thinkers show high levels of ability to generate novel and unusual
ideas (Cropley, 1997: 15-16).
When describing creative individuals, Arthur J. Cropley adds that creative individuals are also likely
to challenge authority, not only in the intellectual sphere, the field of science and scholarly
authorities, but also in the social sphere, where established customs and traditions can be
challenged (Cropley, 1997: 15-18). Cropley adds a list of nine more properties that describe
creative individuals:
Seek change and adventure.
Are sometimes undisciplined, though they are capable of highly disciplined behaviour.
Are ready to accept new ideas.
Challenge rules and authorities on occasion.
Dislike conformity.
Are inclined to be disorganized, though they are capable of paying attention to details.
Prefer loose and flexible planning.
Can adapt to circumstances quickly.
Are friendly, may sometimes be withdrawn or else may talk too much.2
Special properties of creative thinking, the list of cognitive processes associated with creativity
usually include the ability to form associations, recognizing similarities, being able to focus for a
longer period of time, having a longer concentration span, understanding abstract terms and
phenomena, or carrying out transformation (Puskás, 2020).
When discussing the potentials of creativity development in the EFL classroom, Antonia Clare
(2016) highlights that there are four major factors linked with creative thinking that need to be
kept in mind and refers to J. Alvino’s framework (Alvino 1990, quoted in Clare, 2016: 47):
1. Fluency – the ability to generate lots of ideas
2. Flexibility – the ability to shift perspective to have a variety of ideas
3. Elaboration – building on existing ideas, connecting and re-arranging them
4. Originality – the ability to come up with something completely new
Creativity, according to the above scheme, has something to do with the ability to take different
perspectives, being flexible with new ideas and being open to new solutions, previously
uncommon combinations and the ability to apply well-known practices in new ways.
Creativity is many times mentioned together with critical thinking. Clare insists that the two should
be clearly differentiated. She explains that critical thinking involves more convergent thinking, the
kind of thinking that focuses on coming up with one particular answer to a problem, e.g. a
multiple-choice question. On the other hand, Clare claims, creative thinking is divergent, where
many spontaneous ideas are generated and evaluated, several possible solutions are explored
within a short period of time and unexpected connections are drawn. While critical thinking is
more about logic, reason, judgment and critique, creative thinking is rather about idea generation,
intuition and suspended judgement (Clare, 2016).
Creative behaviour is not necessarily the characteristic feature of an individual, the distinction
between individual and group creativity points out that even groups can produce several
manifestations of creativity. On the other hand, groups have the potential to influence individual
creativity, group members, interaction in a group, cooperation and collaboration contribute to the
development of creativity both on an individual level and on the level of group creativity. Social
changes, influences can challenge creativity and foster the development of flexibility and
originality, since the individual is encouraged to come up with new ideas and solutions to adapt to
the new environment.
understood as lecturing, the learner may feel more isolated, since unlike in face-to-face traditional
classes, online platforms have limitations in transmitting body language, eye contact, gestures,
and spontaneous reactions and accessibility are many times restricted. Therefore, a higher degree
of interaction and engagement is necessary in online teaching. Greg Kearsley claims that “the most
important role of the instructor in online classes is to ensure a high degree of interactivity and
participation. This means designing and conducting learning activities that result in engagement
with the subject matter and with fellow students” (Kearsley, 2000: 78).
Palloff and Pratt note that collaborative activity is important in both face-to-face and online
environments since it promotes the following:
Development of critical thinking skills
Co-creation of knowledge and meaning
Reflection
Transformative learning (Palloff – Pratt, 2003: 35-37)
Brookfield explains that collaborative processes support and develop creativity, critical thinking
skills and dialogue on the part of the learners (Brookfield, 1995). Recent studies on the
relationship between online learning and “social presence”, i.e. the connection among learners,
have identified that there is a link between positive learning outcomes, learner satisfaction and
the feeling of community, the connectedness with others (e.g. Palloff and Pratt 2005; Dawley
2007).
Being engaged in the learning process and interacting with peers does not necessarily occur
immediately at the beginning of a course. Online learners might feel uncertain about expressing
themselves and participating in online interaction, especially with peers they have not met before
in person. They might find it difficult to collaborate with peers who can be seen only in the screen
through their cameras or who can communicate only through technological devices. In addition,
most learners are only used to face to face interaction and cooperation, many students might not
have previous experience with online learning and interaction with other students. To release
tension, teachers need to start with introductory, community-building activities, some icebreakers
and activities that help students learn how to interact and work together. Conrad and Donaldson
provide a framework of four basic stages or phases of engagement, each phase referring to a
certain level of cooperation ability. As far as student roles are concerned, the phases are the
following:
1. Newcomer – learners must be provided activities that help them get to know one another.
Activities that can be used at this stage are icebreakers, discussions, individual
introductions.
2. Cooperator – at this stage, learners work in pairs and receive activities that require critical
thinking, reflection and sharing ideas (e.g. peer reviews, activity critiques).
3. Collaborator – learners work in groups, they are given activities that require small groups
to collaborate, solve problems, reflect on experiences (e.g. content discussion, role playing,
debates, jigsaws).
4. Initiator/partner – activities at this stage are learner-designed or learner-led. Discussions
are many times directed by learners, not by the teacher (e.g. group presentations, group
projects, learner-facilitated discussions) (Conrad – Donaldson, 2004).
The above framework supports the idea that online collaboration and interaction are skills that
need to be trained and can be learned and developed gradually. As learners gain more experience
with interaction and collaboration, they become more confident and can be guided through the
above stages
Inovatívne metódy a formy vzdelávania 163
discussion forums can be opened for small groups of students so that learners have more space to
express their ideas and contribute to group discussion.
Small-group projects – working in small groups is the most common way of fostering student
cooperation and collaboration in both face-to-face and online courses. Each member of the group
is expected to contribute to the final project equally, so roles and tasks need to be handed in
clearly and fairly. Groups receive a task to complete, they may choose a leader or main organizer
and may be asked to present their projects to the class. The teacher should display and clarify the
requirements of the project and make sure that groups know which online platform they are going
to use to complete the task and the project.
Case studies – often involve a problem to be solved or a topic to be investigated in details. Cases
may be provided in a variety of ways, however, it is usually presented in a narrative form, these
are usually narratives of situations that students are asked to explore critically (Palloff – Pratt,
2005). Students have to do further research, e.g. do some additional reading to understand the
case and answer some questions. They are usually given more time to complete the case study so
that they can carry out thorough research.
Problem-solving activities – students work in groups and are given a problem to solve. This is very
similar to group projects, however, it can be done in whole class as well, depending on the number
of students. It improves critical thinking and the ability to express clear arguments.
Online debates – students work in groups and need to collect arguments to support a given
standpoint. Groups or teams should always be given enough time to prepare and the rules of the
debate must be set clearly in advance. Students are encouraged to use evidence-based reasoning
in the debate.
Brainstorming – applications such as iBrainstorm, Padlet, GoogleDocs, Trello, Lucidchart help
learners collect ideas together and collaborate on several topics without sending several versions
of suggested ideas by e-mail over and over again. They can collaborate on making diagrams,
charts, adding new notes, visuals, documents, cards and create projects.
Further miscellaneous activities – interactive quizzes, jigsaw puzzles, flashcards, handouts,
worksheets, split whiteboard, games (e.g. Bingo, Hangman, memory games), online crosswords
and word search activities.
CONCLUSION
The development of creativity in the foreign language classroom is an unavoidable part of course
objectives, since learners need to be equipped with skills and competences which help them to
live up to the most up-to-date social expectations. The shift from face-to-face, traditional lessons
to virtual, online classes has underlined the need for creative teachers and learners and the
necessity of improving creativity, critical thinking and social interaction. Activities selected for an
online class should always depend on the desired learning outcomes, however, in case of online
classes, the feeling of connectedness, and interaction with other students, with the teacher and
with the content help to decrease learners’ potential feelings of isolation and discouragement and
help improving creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
The paper was written in the framework of the project 018PU-4/2018 “Inovácia metód a foriem
výučby predmetu biochémia” (The innovation of the methods and forms of teaching the subject
Biochemistry) financed by the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak
Republic.
Inovatívne metódy a formy vzdelávania 165
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Inovatívne metódy a formy vzdelávania 166
First edition
Number of copies: 100 pcs
Pages: 191 pages
ISBN: 978-80-553-3886-6