11/10/2016

TheScience(andPractice)ofCreativity|Edutopia

CRE ATI V I TY

The Science (and Practice) of Creativity

MA RCH 2 6 , 2 0 1 5

ByDianeCadiergue,SeniorChiefEditoratWISE(WorldInnovationSummitforEducation)

"Creativityisn'taboutmusicandartitisanattitudetolife,onethateverybody
needs,"wrotetheUniversityofWinchester'sProfessorGuyClaxtoninthelead
uptothe2014WorldInnovationSummitforEducation(WISE)dedicatedto
creativityandeducation(http://www.wiseqatar.org/guyclaxtoncreativity
education)."Itisacompositeofhabitsofmindwhichincludecuriosity,
skepticism,imagination,determination,craftsmanship,collaboration,andself
evaluation."
Soundsliketheperfectskillsetforequippingyoungpeopletonavigateanincreasinglycomplexandunpredictable
world.Encouragingly,there'splentyofevidencefrombothresearchandpracticethatmostoftheabovecan
betaughtintheclassroom.Infact,innovationandeducationexpertsagreethatcreativitycanfitperfectlyintoany
learningsystem.
Butbeforeitcanbeincorporatedbroadlyincurriculum,itmustfirstbeunderstood.

CreativityStartsintheBrain
Recentresearchincognitivescience,oftenwitheducationinmind,suggeststhatcreativityisanabilitythatwe
allhaveandcancultivatewithpractice.

Complexcognitivemechanismsarerequiredtoproducecreativeideas.
Dr.RonA.Beghetto,cocreatoroftheFourCModelofCreativity
(https://s3.amazonaws.com/jck_articles/Kaufman%2C+Beghetto++2009+
+Beyond+big+and+little+The+four+c+model+of+creativity.pdf)(PDF,332KB),says,"Ihavearealproblemwith
'thinkingoutsidethebox'becauseinrealityweneedtothinkcreativelyinsidemanyboxes."InExplorationsof
Creativity:aReviewforEducatorsandPolicyMaking(http://www.wiseqatar.org/sites/default/files/wisematters
cognitivecreativity.pdf)(PDF,5.6MB),Dr.HelenAbadziexplainsthat,inanutshell,twosetsofcerebralfunctions
areinvolvedincreativity.Oneistheabilitytouseourmemorynetworksefficientlyandrapidly,propelledbyour
abilitytoplanandexecute.Theotheristhebrain'srestingstate(mostlyactivewhenweareatrestor
daydreaming)thathelpsusmakeunusualconnections.

Creativityneedsspaceandtimetoflourishatschool.
Creativitydoesn'tcomeondemand.Italsobenefitsfromconstraint.Asubtlemixofpressureandtimetocome
upwithcreativeideasisneeded.Schoola"creativitykillingmachine"caninfactbecomeanopportune
frameworktosettherequiredconstraintsandstretchthelearnerstofacechallengingtasks.

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NurturingCreativityatSchool
1.Memorizationisanecessity.
Contentmatters,accordingtoDr.Abadzi.It'sthefuelforfuturecreativeideas.Aneducationthatfosters
creativityshouldbuildautomatizedbasicskillsinreading,math,andreasoning.Educatorsmustexercisethe
students'abilitytoretrieveanduseknowledgeinordertogenerateideas,asunusualastheymayseem,andto
dosowithsufficientspeedtoreachhigherlevelsofcomplexity(https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=4g8zZMfWNIY&feature=youtu.be&t=1m12s).Thisrequirespractice.Soitmatterstospendtimeontaskand
repetitionuntilthementaloperationsbecomeeffortless(i.e.automatized).Ifyou'velearnedtodriveorplaya
musicalinstrument,youcaneasilyrelatetohowmuchmustbeautomatizedinordertoperform.

2.Enrichmentexperiencesmakeflexiblethinkers.
Exposuretodifferentcultures,settings,languages,andothernonfamiliarexperiencesstimulateopen
mindednessandhonedivergentthinkingabilities.Suchexperiencesallowyoungmindsto"changedomains
quicklyandflexibly."

PhotoCredit:WISENewshaTavakolian

3.Creativeproblemsolvingshouldbepromotedacrossalldisciplines.
Childrenshouldbeencouraged"totreatataskasaproblemforwhichoneinventsananswer,"saidJerome
Brunerinhis1966paper"TheGrowthofMind."Fiftyyearson,theOECD(http://www.oecd.org/about/)
recognizesthecrucialimportanceofincorporatingthisskillintocurricula(http://www.ei
ie.org/en/news/news_details/2952):"Alloflifeisproblemsolving."
Andcreativeproblemsolvingcanbeguidedinjustaboutanysetting,asProf.Claxtonsuggests
(http://www.wiseqatar.org/guyclaxtoncreativityeducation):

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Ifyouareteachingyoungerchildrenthecoloursoftherainbow,getthemtolookintentlyatapictureofareal
rainbowandargueabouthowmanycolourstheycansee.(Therearen'tsevencolorsinarainbowthatsjusta
convention.)Getthemtocutitupinnewways,andthinkupbeautifulnamesforthenewcolorbandstheyhave
chosen.Thisstretchestheirabilitytolookcarefully,discussaccurately,andthinkimaginatively.

Inthistalk(http://www.wiseqatar.org/program/2014wisesummitprogram/session/focuscognitivescienceron
beghetto),Dr.Beghettooffersfurthercompellingexamplesfortheclassroom,likeencouragingcreativeanswers
tomathequations.

4.Recognizethepowerofpersistence,focus,andsomuchmoreincreativeendeavors.
Musicandtheartsgetlearnerstodiscovernewlanguageswithnewrules,openingthemuptonewformsof
expression(https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/dl.html),leadingthemtoobserveandfocus,andengaging
theiremotionsanimportantfactorinthelearningprocess.InAustralia,TheSongRoom
(http://www.songroom.org.au/)projectprovidesinnovative,artbasedworkshopsforschoolsservingthemost
disadvantagedchildren.
Externalevaluationsshowthatparticipatinginthoseworkshops(foraminimumofsixmonths)impactsthe
children'soverallacademicperformance(includingtheabilitytoconcentrateontasksandtoproblemsolve)as
wellastheirschoolattendance(65percentlessabsenteeism).Italsoimprovestheirwellbeing
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnftOahUm4),whichreinforcestheirabilitytolearn.

5.Creativityfostersengagementinlearning.
Creativity,CultureandEducation(http://www.creativitycultureeducation.org/)(CCE),aU.K.basedorganization,
hasdevelopedanapproachensuringthatpupilsarechallengedratherthandirected,andthattheyarephysically,
emotionally,andsociallyengagedinthelearning.InLithuania,forexample,theyinvitedprimaryschoolpupilsto
listentotheirlocalenvironment(atschoolandaroundthecity)andtakenotes,inventingwordstodescribewhat
theywereperceiving.Theintentionwastohelpthemheartheletterstheywerehavingdifficultylearningin
literacyclass.
Theapproachwasdesignedtooperatewithintheexistingcurriculum,basedonalanguageofcreativitywhich
teachersunderstand.AndCCE'sHighFunctioningClassroom(https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=rHsX5vJza7o&feature=youtu.be&t=13m10s)isusedtotrainteachersaroundtheworldtoengagetheirpupilsin
learningthroughcreativity(likeintheseschoolsinPakistan(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er8pEvJ3n5c)).
Thekeystocreativehabitsofmind(http://www.wiseqatar.org/measuringcreativityeducationpaulcollard)are:
Inquisitiveness
Persistence
Imagination
Discipline
Collaboration
Forgingthesehabitsleadstoevidencedimprovementsinclassroombehavior,motivation,attendance,and
academicattainment.

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Reminder:Creativityandlearningworkhandinglove.
Withthelearners'selfesteemfueledandsenseofagencyencouraged,theyareofteneagertolearnmoreasthey
realizehowmuchtheycandowithwhattheyknow.
It'snevertoolatetostart.

AdditionalResources
TheWISEMatterspublications(http://www.wiseqatar.org/wisematters)mentionedinthisarticlealsoprovide
concreterecommendationsforteachers,parents,andschoolleaders.Theirexecutivesummariesareavailable
inadditionallanguages(Arabic,Spanish,andFrench).
LearnmoreaboutTheSongRoom(http://www.wiseqatar.org/program/2014wisesummit
program/session/spotlightsongroomengagingyoungpeoplecreativity).
Onmotivationandcreativity:UsingMITMediaLab'sScratchtoolwithSyrianrefugeechildren
(http://www.wiseqatar.org/program/2014wisesummitprogram/session/spotlightmotivatingkidsnew
technolgy).
MorediscussionsaboutcreativityineducationtookplaceatWISE2014(http://www.wiseqatar.org/2014wise
summitsessionsreplay),includingempoweringteachers(http://www.wiseqatar.org/program/2014wise
summitprogram/session/debateteachers),rethinkingassessment(http://www.wiseqatar.org/program/2014
wisesummitprogram/session/focusguyclaxton),andaddressingcreativityateducationsystemlevel
(http://www.wiseqatar.org/program/2014wisesummitprogram/session/thematicplenarysession2letsbe
creative).

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CreativityinTeachingPractice
IncollaborationwithAshokaChangemakersandtheLegoFoundation,thisseriesexploreseightcasestudiesthat
willhelpdefinethefutureoflearning.

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