In This Issue Creativity In The Classroom: Schools Of . - Arts Ed Collab
No.In this IssueCreativityin the Classroom:Schools of Curious DelightAn ARTS EDUCATION COLLABORATIVE Series4
Creativity in the Classroom: Schools of Curious Delightis a book by Alane Jordan Starko, a professor ofeducational psychology at Eastern Michigan University.The book, which was updated with a new editionin 2014, summarizes a large body of creativity researchand offers practical strategies for applying researchfindings in support of student creativity in the classroom.While the focus of the book is on fostering creativity inK–12 settings, its recommendations are applicable to awide range of learning environments and experiences—particularly in areas related to the arts. All quotes forthis Translations piece are taken from Creativity in theClassroom unless otherwise noted. Additional sourcesare cited below. Copies of Creativity in the Classroomare available through major literary providers. For more,please see Professor Starko’s blog at creativiteach.me.ADDITIONAL SOURCESBrookhart, Susan M. “Assessing Creativity.”Educational Leadership 70.5 (2013): 28–34.Burkus, David. The Myths of Creativity: The Truth about How InnovativeCompanies and People Generate Ideas. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2014.Sawyer, Keith. “The Cognitive Neuroscience of Creativity: A Critical Review.”Creativity Research Journal 23.2 (2011): 137–154.Sawyer, R. Keith. Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation.New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.Szekely, George E. Encouraging Creativity in Art Lessons.New York: Teachers College, 1988.
No.ABOUT THE ARTS EDUCATION COLLABORATIVE TRANSLATIONS SERIESThe Arts Education Collaborative is committed to strengthening educationby making the arts central to learning through collaboration, research,and advocacy. To that end, the Translations Series provides arts educatorswith highlights of prominent research pieces in education and ways in whichthat research can be realized in their classroom, school, district, or arts andculture environment in a practical way. Copies of the entire Translations Seriescan be found online at www.artsedcollaborative.org.For more information or to provide feedback, please contact theArts Education Collaborative at info@artsedcollaborative.org or 412-201-7405.Scan to join our mailing list.4
WHAT THE RESEARCH SAYSWHAT IS CREATIVITY?There are many definitions of creativity, but mostare built on two basic concepts: originality andappropriateness. Originality refers to novelty—usingone’s imagination, thinking outside the box, makingsomething never before seen. Originality is often whatfirst comes to mind when people think about creativity,especially in the context of the arts. To be thought ofas creative, however, an idea also has to be appropriateto a particular task, meaning it is useful or valuable,serves a purpose, or solves a problem. An idea canbe considered creative, for example, if it offers a novelsolution to a problem encountered in everyday life orprovides a new answer to a question within a disciplineof study; in many cases, creativity is needed to seea situation in a way that allows a new question to beasked. In the context of the arts, creativity scholarsoften focus on the usefulness of works of art as a formof self-expression, allowing an artist to communicatehis or her thoughts and feelings with an audience.More broadly, some view usefulness as meeting a goalor solving a problem as defined personally by the artist,which could simply be a desire to manipulate andexplore the aesthetic qualities of a medium or art form.It is important to remember an idea must be bothoriginal and appropriate to a task in order to beconsidered creative. It is possible for something tobe well crafted or attractive, but it may just repeatsomething that has been seen or heard before.On the other hand, it is possible for something tobe imaginative, but not especially useful or valuable—there may be many good, practical reasons whysomething has not been done before.HOW DOES CREATIVITY WORK?When we think of creativity, we often think of a suddenflash of insight. Research, however, suggests a muchmore complicated process at work. Creativity is believedto flow from a balance of complementary thoughtprocesses. Some authors, for example, note creativityrelies on primary thought processes—which areuninhibited, impulsive, and free of censorship—as well as secondary thought processes—whichare realistic, practical, purposeful, and guided byconventional restraints. Creativity is also believed toinvolve episodes of divergent thinking, in which manyideas and many solutions are generated, interspersedwith periods of convergent thinking, which focuseson using existing knowledge to make judgments aboutwhich idea might provide the best answer.In fact, recent research has invalidated the commonlyheld notion that creative people are “right brain”thinkers, while “left brain” thinkers are more logical.Researchers have found areas in both hemispheresof the brain are activated while people are engaged increative tasks, and there is no evidence of a single areaof the brain used for creativity alone. After reviewingthe research, Starko concludes: “Such studies providesupport for the notion that the cognitive processes usedin creative thinking are not unique, nor do they representa specialized area of the brain. Instead, they are likelyto be combinations of ordinary cognitive processesutilized to do extraordinary things.” (69)Contemporary conceptualizations of the creativeprocess integrate divergent and convergent thinking.A recent model, which creativity scientist Keith Sawyerdeveloped based on a synthesis of models and research,breaks the process into eight stages—which can overlap,cycle over again, or occur out of order:1 Find the problem2 Acquire the knowledge3 Gather related information4 Incubation5 Generate ideas6 Combine ideas7 Select the best ideas8 Externalize ideasThis model emphasizes the role of convergent thinking—using knowledge and experience, thinking critically,manipulating and evaluating ideas—in the creativeprocess. According to this perspective, creativity resultsfrom long periods of hard work and involves a numberof incremental, mini-insights into how to solve a problemrather than a single “magical moment of insight.”(Sawyer 2012, 140) The model also highlights howcreativity occurs within a specific context, which requiresa base of knowledge and understanding of the facts,concepts, and skills used within a particular discipline.It is important to note there is no universallyaccepted theory of creativity and, as Starkosuggests, “there remains the questionof whether any single theory, or even anyconception of creativity, can encompass themultiple creative activities of human beingsacross many cultures.” (94)ARTS EDUCATION COLLABORATIVE
There is basic agreement, however, among severalmajor theorists about a number of important points.Starko identifies three key areas of agreement:1 Creativity requires time, persistence,and motivation.2 Creativity builds upon a foundation of knowledgeand skills related to a particular discipline.3 Creativity is supported by strategies, processes,and habits of mind—which, at least to someextent, can be taught and improved.WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICSOF CREATIVE PEOPLE?Research has also examined traits commonly foundamong creative people. Here again, there is no formulafor what makes someone creative. Traits vary fromindividual to individual, as well as from one area of studyto another. Similarly, no single trait leads to high creativity.Instead, creativity results from complex interactionsof personal characteristics as well as other factors,including elements in the surrounding environmentand one’s own past experiences. Despite this complexity,research has identified a number of common personalcharacteristics that are believed to contribute toindividual creativity:CURIOSITY – Creative people tend to wonder aboutthe world and how it works. A strong sense of curiosityis particularly important in some of the early steps inthe creative process, especially finding an interestingproblem to solve.CONNECTEDNESS and METAPHORICAL THINKING –Creative people are often skilled at making somethingnew by taking an idea from one context and applyingit to a seemingly unrelated area. Thinking about howsomething in one area is like something in a completelydifferent domain can lead to new insights andperspectives for solving a problem.FLEXIBILITY – Creative people are often able to escapefixed ways of thinking to look at problems from multiplepoints of view and to generate a wide range of possiblesolutions. Less flexible thinkers are more likely to fixateon a single solution, which may not lead to a productiveapproach.INDEPENDENCE IN JUDGMENT – Independentdecision-making is essential for generating ideas thatdiffer from others’. Creative people are able to applytheir personal standards to evaluate which of their ideasare best suited to a particular situation. Independentthinking can be particularly challenging for youngpeople. Starko observes that students can sometimesbe particularly susceptible to others’ influences; manyyounger students look for approval from their teachers,while older students may seek to conform to their peers.WILLINGNESS TO TAKE RISKS – Creative people mustbe willing to deal with negative consequences whenpursuing ideas outside of the norm. They risk investinghuge amounts of time and personal resources in ideasthat may not be successful or accepted by others.Handling these challenges requires confidence, courage,and willingness to risk failure.PERSEVERANCE, DRIVE, and COMMITMENT –When creativity is understood as a lengthy processinstead of a single moment of inspiration, the need forperseverance, drive, and commitment becomes moreevident. First ideas tend not to be the most creative,requiring commitment to a process of generating andevaluating more remote ideas. Creative people oftenneed to persevere through the emotional ups and downsof the creative process, the outcomes of which remainambiguous while in the midst of it.Starko emphasizes “we have a specialobligation to dispel the common notion thatreally creative or really smart people do nothave to work hard, or that if you are goodenough ideas will come quickly.” (112)Perseverance, drive, and commitment relate closelyto intrinsic motivation. Research shows that motivationstemming from an individual’s personal interests,enjoyment, and engagement supports creativity.Conversely, some forms of extrinsic motivation—suchas competition and conditional rewards—have beenfound to impede creativity under certain circumstances.LOGICAL THINKING SKILLS – Systematic thinkingsupports several steps in the creative process, includingfinding the problem, gathering related information,and selecting the best idea. Logical thinking helps toensure that ideas are not only original, but appropriateand useful to the situation at hand.www.artsedcollaborative.org
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR EDUCATORSStarko recommends three overarching strategies fordeveloping creativity:1 Teach the skills and attitudes of creativity2 Teach the creative methods of the discipline3 Develop a creativity-friendly environmentTEACH THE SKILLS AND ATTITUDES OF CREATIVITYStarko recommends teaching explicitly about whatcreativity is, including the nature of the creative process,the lives of creative people, and strategies and techniquesuseful for generating creative ideas. One group ofstrategies, for example, facilitates divergent thinking.Teachers can focus learners’ attention directly on thefour types of divergent thinking: thinking of many ideas(fluency), thinking of varied ideas (flexibility), thinkingof unusual ideas (originality), and adding to ideas tomake them better (elaboration). As a way of encouraginglearners to engage in different types of divergent thinking,Starko suggests using questions such as “How manyways can you think of to ” to encourage fluency or“How can we build on this idea?” to promote elaboration.Another group of strategies serves to support creativitythrough the use of metaphors and analogies in which“ideas from one context are transferred to another ina search for parallels, insights, fresh perspectives,or new syntheses.” (171) Starko recommends invitingstudents to make simple comparisons between likesubjects (such as how a bird is like an airplane), thenprogressing to observations about more dissimilar objects(such as how a feather is like grass), and finally, makingconnections between concrete and abstract concepts(such as how happiness is like fire). (173)TEACH THE CREATIVE METHODS OF THE DISCIPLINEIn addition to teaching the facts and concepts of a fieldof study, help learners find and solve authentic problemsusing methods appropriate to their discipline. Starko,using artist George Szekely’s book Encouraging Creativityin Art Lessons for inspiration, highlights several strategiesthat support identifying and investigating problems ofinterest for individual learners:EXPLORE the ENVIRONMENT – Create a rich learningenvironment with diverse resources and stimuli forlearners to explore. Ask questions to promote focusedobservation and investigation of the larger world outsideof the learning space. Model the process of findingproblems for learners by being an active participantwithin the discipline and sharing stories about one’s ownwork, including both struggles and successes.INVESTIGATE IDEAS and MATERIALS – Provide timeto experiment and play before selecting a problem forfurther exploration. Encourage learners to identify arange of possible ideas for further development, even ifonly some of them can be pursued immediately.RECORD IDEAS – Invite learners to maintain a journalof ideas to illustrate how ideas can evolve over time andto demonstrate how many ideas never lead to a finishedproduct.Starko stresses it is vital for learners to practiceidentifying problems to solve and ideas to explore aspart of the creative process. As she writes, “If the teacherselects the problem and how it should be solved, the endproducts (although potentially providing the opportunityfor students to practice artistic techniques) are more areflection of the teacher’s creativity than the students’.It is the teacher’s idea, the teacher’s selection of materials,and the teacher’s clear set of instructions; the studentsmerely provide the labor. In such a class, students donot experience art. When teachers present preplannedproblems and designated solutions, they shortcut one ofthe keys to creativity: finding important and interestingproblems to solve.” (202) Within the context of the visualarts, for example, these ideas are comparable to theprinciples of Teaching for Artistic Behavior, a choicebased approach to arts education that regards studentsas artists and offers authentic choices for exploring theirpersonal needs and interests. In these settings, studentsare given substantial time and space to pursue their ownideas and freedom to select the materials with which toexplore. (See teachingforartisticbehavior.org for moreinformation.)DEVELOP A CREATIVITY-FRIENDLYLEARNING ENVIRONMENTCreate an atmosphere that encourages flexible thinking,seeking and solving problems, risk taking, and intrinsicmotivation. Promoting intrinsic motivation is especiallychallenging in classroom settings. Research shows thatconstraints such as evaluation, surveillance, reward,competition, and lack of choice can reduce intrinsicmotivation and negatively influence creativity. Whilethese factors are prevalent in classroom settings, thereare ways to minimize their negative impacts. Evaluation,for example, can help students improve their creativitywhen the criteria for judging the work is clear, feedbackoffers specific information about the strengths of the workand opportunities for improvement, and the entire processhappens within an environment that is supportive ofchange and improvement.ARTS EDUCATION COLLABORATIVE
As a start, originality can be incorporated into scoringrubrics as one of the criterion used to assess studentwork. At a more advanced level, assessment expertSusan M. Brookhart (2013) has developed a scoringrubric that provides feedback ranging from “imitative”to “very creative” along multiple dimensions, includingthe variety of ideas that a work explores, the varietyof sources that a work draws upon for other ideas,how ideas are combined, and the degree to which thework communicates something new. Understandingthe criteria by which a work is judged is a step towardself-evaluation on the part of learners, which is animportant part of the creative process.WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE ARTS EDUCATION COLLABORATIVE AND ITS CONSTITUENTSCreativity in the Classroom explores how to supportcreativity across the curriculum in multiple contentareas, including language arts, social studies, science,and mathematics. The arts are addressed but are notthe sole focus. Given the broad scope of the book,it is remarkable how consistently the recommendedstrategies for promoting creativity in the classroomalign with the principles of high quality arts educationput forth in Qualities of Quality: UnderstandingExcellence in Arts Education, a research study conductedby Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School ofEducation. (See www.artedcollaborative.org to downloada Translations issue that covers Qualities of Quality.)According to the arts education experts interviewedin that study, one of the primary purposes of qualityarts education is to foster broad dispositions and skills,especially the capacity to think creatively. Respondentsviewed creativity as a prolonged process involvingperiods of forming ideas, exploring possibilities,and reflecting critically—a perspective supportedby current research.While the arts obviously offer rich opportunities tonurture creative attitudes and skills, it is also cleareducators must design arts experiences with theseoutcomes in mind. Simply demonstrating technical skillin an artistic medium or following a set of narrowlyproscribed instructions requires little or no originalityon the part of the learner. Arts activities designedprimarily for enjoyment lack the necessary level ofpurpose and process to allow learners to practice truecreativity. A singing game, for example, may be funand provide learners with practice in matching pitch,keeping a steady beat, and working to achieve a goal.While these are common objectives in a musicclassroom, we can’t assume the activity fosterscreativity. The activity would have to changesignificantly, possibly to include a component wherestudents experiment and then evaluate the merit oftheir choices.In response to the Qualities of Quality report, the AECdeveloped a list of questions to ask when evaluating anarts education program. Several of these questions alignclosely with the theories and recommended practiceshighlighted in Creativity in the Classroom; the questionsoffer a starting point for reflection on the degree towhich arts experiences are designed to foster creativeskills and attitudes:Are students encouraged to take risks andmake mistakes?Are students encouraged to participate inartistic decision-making?Are students solving real artistic problems?Does the educator empower students to findinformation, synthesize it, and experimentwith artistic processes to present it in a newway?Does the educator encourage students to beengaged in the investigation of ideas, issues,feelings, aesthetics, and other aspects of thehuman experience?Do students raise questions, offer ideas,consider others’ ideas, express feelings,share work, engage in constructive critique,and reflect on processes and products?www.artsedcollaborative.org
We strengthen education by making the arts central tolearning through collaboration, research, and advocacy.401 Liberty Avenue, Suite 1840Pittsburgh, PA 15222www.artsedcollaborative.orgIn this IssueCreativityin the Classroom:Schools of Curious DelightArtwork:Stephanie Armbruster, Hungry Ghosts XI. Encaustic on panel. 36 x 36 inches. c. 2013. 2013 Stephanie Armbrusterstephaniearmbruster.com
Educational Leadership 70.5 (2013): 28-34. Burkus, David. The Myths of Creativity: The Truth about How Innovative Companies and People Generate Ideas. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2014. Sawyer, Keith. "The Cognitive Neuroscience of Creativity: A Critical Review." Creativity Research Journal 23.2 (2011): 137-154. Sawyer, R. Keith.
Opera performance', 'creativity in Chinese Arts', 'creativity in Cantonese Opera scripts', 'creativity in Cantonese Opera music', and 'creativity in transmission of Cantonese Opera'. Local and oversea scholars and representatives of Cantonese Opera performers, together with several other enthusiasts, all shared their precious .
In the 26 years since 有iley publìshed Organic 1于ze Disconnection Approach 色y Stuart Warren，由自approach to the learning of synthesis has become while the book Ìtself is now dated in content and appearance' In 唱Tiley published Organic and Control by Paul Wyatt and Stuart 轧Tarren. Thís muc如柱。okís as a
Social Psychology of Creativity: A Consensual Assessment Technique Teresa M. Amabile Brandeis University Although personality research has made much progress in developing an indi-vidual-difference psychology of creativity, the nature of this phenomenon can only be fully illuminated if a social psychology of creativity is developed as well.
Creativity, voice, and knowledge sharing wedescribeempirical evidence regarding the role of employee voice and knowledge shar-in fostering creativity and innovation. 2.1. Creativity and innovation Creativity is the generation of novel and useful ideas or solutions to problems (Amabile, 1983; Sternberg, 1988; Weisberg, 1988). On the other hand,
early childhood setting in relation to creativity (see 9, 13, 15–18). Both creativity and play require imagination, insight, problem solving, divergent thinking, the ability to experience emotion and to make choices (19). This does not mean that all play involves creativity. Prentice (18) suggests that active
Journal of Creative Behavior and the Creativity Research Journal – several handbooks (e.g., Sternberg, 1999), and even a two-volume Handbook of Creativity (Runco & Pritzker, 1999). Although some psychologists might argue that the creativity still deserves more research than it currently
75 Quotes about Creativity and Innovation 1. “There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progre
DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY Telangana University Dichpally, Nizamabad -503322 (A State University Established under the Act No. 28 of 2006, A.P. Recognized by UGC under 2(f) and 12 (B) of UGC Act 1956)
