What is 'Creativity?'

In our first lecture for the module ‘The Enquiring Mind; A Creative Approach’ we looked into the question ‘What is creativity?’ A simple question, which proved difficult to answer. Everyone’s definition or opinion was different; however one of the recurring terms used to define creativity was ‘imagination.’  

          When people think of the types of people who are creative, instantly, many would consider poets, engineers, photographers, software designers, musicians, film directors and so on as people who are highly creative (Loveless, 2009). However if you actually think about what creativity is first, it opens up a whole new view on what type of people are seen as ‘creative’. Being creative is such as invaluable trait to possess. The creative people in the world are people who think outside the box, devise different ways of approaching things, and are willing to try out their ideas. I think that we should recognise that all learners have the ability to become creative and imaginative; some just need to be encouraged.
             Today's education system is very focussed on academic ability, leaving little time for those who feel they are not 'academic' but hold talents in other areas. I was shown this picture by one of my lecturers last year:

This picture shows that even if you are not a high achiever academically, then it doesn’t mean you aren't talented; you just have talents in other areas. This is where many people believe the education system can be improved; by focussing on other areas of development other than academic ability. Being creative isn’t seen as a great achievement in schools, and pupils aren’t given enough credit for the way they think and use their imagination.

       In this blog I am going to look into five key areas in which creativity links to reality and education in the 21st century.

“Creativity means connecting the previously unconnected in ways that are new and meaningful to the individual concerned” (Duffy, 2006)

References

Duffy, B. (2006) Supporting Creativity and Imagination in the Early Years. Berkshire: Open University Press. 

Loveless, A. (2009) ‘Thinking About Creativity: Developing new ideas, Making things happen’, Creativity in Primary Education. 2^nd Edition (pp. 22-35).

 

Does Education Kill Creativity?

There’s a big debate about whether Schools in the UK, promote a child’s ‘creativity’ or suppresses it. (NACCCE 1999) considered creativity to be a ‘function of education’; and should be used throughout the curriculum, not just during one lesson.
         According to (Compton 2010), in order to identify the role of creativity in Educational documents, paper or on-line versions of them were searched using the string ‘creat’ in order to locate use of the words create, creation, creative and creativity. All of the documents were also examined for terms related to the creativity pyramid; so that a wide range of creativity could be identified. This search indicated that there were three main documents promoting creativity: The Hadow Report (1931), the Plowden Report (1967) and Excellence and Enjoyment (DfES, 2003). All three reports promote creativity within education, but whether or not schools follow these guidelines and promote creativity in a positive way is what causes many different opinions on creativity within education.
 In the following video, Sir Ken Robinson talks about how school education kills creativity. He believes that creativity is as important in education as literacy and should be treated as the same status. This however is not the case as the Arts are bottom priority in the order of lessons around the world, with maths and languages being at the top and humanities in between. Ken believes that art, music, drama and dance are all being pushed down compared to maths and English, educating people out of their creative capacities.
    

One of the themes Ken talks about is that schools focus too much on educating children’s minds, rather than letting them express what they enjoy learning. Children are imaginative and willing to take a chance, not being frightened of getting things wrong, and being prepared to be wrong is important to be original. Subjects that people like, such as music and art, are often seen as not important in education. People are often steered away from these subjects, being told that in order to get a job they should focus more on subjects like English and maths. The whole education system came into place to meet the needs of industrialism, and therefore is based on the most useful subjects for work being top priority in education.
            Ken also talks about the education system being predicated on the idea of academic ability. He believes that this dominates intelligence, with the system of education revolving around university entrance. This then causes the talented creative people to think that they’re not, as the things they are good at are not valued in schools and education. All people have talents, but within education a lot of those talents are squandered with them focusing on more academic subjects than creativity subjects.
         I agree with some of Ken’s views of how creativity isn’t seen as very important in schools as I do think education is based around educating for work. However the Foundation Phase goes against his views as it encourages children to be creative, learning through play. I think that with the foundation phase it encourages children to use their imagination and show them different ways of learning, and I believe that the way of teaching is developing. I think more creative learning is being put into education, with children now being taught more about living modern life rather than purely academic in order to get into a job; however there is still a lot of room for improvement where promoting creativity s concerned. 


References

Compton, A. (2010) ‘The Rise and Fall of Creativity in English Education’, Educational Futures, 2 (2), (January)

Hadow, W. (1931) Report of the Consultative Committee on the Primary School. London: HMSO.

National Advisory Committee on Creativity and Cultural Education (1999) All our Futures,

www.culture.gov.uk/PDF/naccce.PDF. (Accessed: 4th December 2014).

Plowden Report (1967) ‘Children and their Primary Schools’, Report of the Central Advisory Council for Education in England. http://www.dg.dial.pipex.com/documents/plowden.shtml. (Accessed: 4th December 2014). 

Outdoor Learning

Outdoor learning is now seen as an essential part of learning and physical development to many people. This is because it caters for cognitive, physical, social, emotional and linguistic development, whilst helping children to make sense of the world.
     By learning outside, rather than in a classroom, it makes learning more engaging and relevant to young people by stimulating and improving motivation. This helps to improve a child’s attitude to learning. Children like to get outside as they feel they are free from adult control and instead they are in charge; encouraging independence and confidence (Bilton 2010). The outdoors is a natural learning environment and allows children to feel they have some freedom. It allows the children to experience and encounter boundaries, whilst being able to assess and manage any possible risks. Risk taking improves overall development, enhances learning, improves confidence, encourages self expression and gives children a ‘can do’ attitude.
     An outdoor environment can offer space for children to move freely, allowing their imagination to explore and create play situations. Outdoor learning gives children the opportunity to experience both failure and success, through their ideas and interests, whilst becoming confident in thinking for themselves (Bilton 2010).
       Many teachers often worry about taking a class of children outside due to the open space and the fear that it may be more difficult to get the children's attention; as opposed to being in a classroom where there is limited space and the children are all closely together. Some teachers find it easier to instruct the child whilst they are indoors, and feel that outside a lot of their authority is lost.
       A successful example of outdoor learning is the Forest Schools approach. This is an educational approach to outdoor play and learning in a woodland environment; encouraging children through positive outdoor experiences over an extended period of time. Forest School is a system of learning that allows the environment to do the teaching. The approach promotes sensory child-led outdoor play and is about direct experiential learning rather than theoretical learning.
       Forest School supports participants at their own pace and allows them to initiate the learning as they explore a safe and stimulating learning process (Forest School Wales 2013). The Forest School programme allows all children within the school to get involved, learning in a practical context through exploring, experiencing and developing their natural curiosity (Knight S 2011). One of the main things about this approach to education is self-exploration, allowing the child to initiate the learning. It also means that all the National Curriculum subjects can be taught, but in an alternative and stimulating environment rather than the classroom. The following video explains more about the importance of Forest Schools, and how it benefits children:
    

   I agree that outdoor learning is an important part of education. I have found that when I have been working with a group of children outdoors they are more enthusiastic and are willing to contribute more to the lesson. Children that I have worked with have shown more confidence outdoors, and have all shown interest in their environment. However, I don't believe that there are enough opportunities given for children to be outside and experience this type of approach to education. Being outside allows a child’s imagination to grow. They show their creative side through role play, imagination, and storytelling; whilst exploring the area around them. 




References 

Bilton, H. (2010) Outdoor Learning in the Early Years. Oxon: Routledge.

Forest School Wales. (2013) Benefits of Forest Schools. http://www.forestschoolwales.org.uk/ysgol-goedwigforest-school/benefits-of-forest-school. Accessed: 4^th December 2014. 

Knight, S. (2011) Forest School for All. London: Sage.