Teaching Creativity in Primary Education

"You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have".

- Maya Angelou

I want to start off this blog post with creativity being witnessed in front of myself and my thoughts on it. I was sat looking after my nephews, aged 3 and 7, on a Sunday afternoon. As I was sat behind my laptop, working on one of the many assignments I have due in for University before the Christmas celebrations begin, I took a moment to remove myself from the computer screen and watch them as they both played. The creativity and imagination they showed whilst they played showed me that creativity can come into play in any circumstance. My 3-year-old nephew played with his toy car, imagining he was dropping the car off to park with his play figures. The innocence he had whilst playing in his own little bubble, despite not knowing how imaginative and creative he was being in that moment. Whereas my 7-year-old nephew has a big love for drawing, and he created a 'masterpiece' of Santa Claus, just in time for Christmas. The pride on his face when he showed me his picture, showed how simplistic being creative can be, but can have a lasting effect on someone. Creativity does not have to be taught by teachers or parents, but children can teach themselves to be creative whether it is through physical or mental play or learning without them even knowing it. As fine artist, John Paul Caponigro said, "You're a lot more creative than you think". 

What is creativity? It has been widely acknowledged that creativity is a complex concept for which there is no one particular definition (Prentice, 2000). We all live in a world that is surrounded by creativity. It allows us to invent new ways to do things, whether it is through play or learning, or being able to discover new things as we grow and become better human beings. Creativity is essential to the vitality of every school subject (Barnes, 2018). It allows children's inner abilities to come out and their imagination to be broaden beyond learning. Teaching creativity within primary education is vital for a child to become their own person and for their learning to go above the set standards. I will be discussing in today's blog post the importance and how creativity can be taught throughout primary education. As Barnes (2018) said “If you want to define and understand creativity in might be useful to understand and value creativity in ourselves.”

Donaldson (2015) and his 'Successful Futures' proposal for the new Welsh Curriculum have as apart of the 4 purposes 'Enterprising, creative contributors'. This means they want children to be ready to play a full part in life and work. In order for children to follow this purpose through education, they show be able to do the following:

• think critically to reframe and solve problems
• identify and grasp opportunities 
• connect and apply knowledge and skills to create ideas and products
• take measured risks
• lead and play different roles and teams effectively and responsibly
• express ideas and emotions through different media
• give of their energy and skills so other people will benefit

Donaldson (2015) also recommends that the curriculum is organised around six 'Areas of Learning and Experience', which included Expressive Arts. This entails drama, art and design, which is seen to be more creative subjects. However, can more creative subjects be seen to be considered as less important compared to compulsory subjects?

There has been debates about schools 'killing' creativity within learning environments. It has been seen for compulsory subjects like English and Maths to play more of an importance compared to more creative subjects. Sir Ken Robinson, an educationalist, spoke at a TED conference back in 2006 discussing the topic 'Do schools kill creativity?', and argued schools are only teaching education and not creativity. It is an eye-opening video to watch, making you think about whether creativity is being taught enough in schools. If any of you readers are interested in watching the TED talk, the video is down below. 

Robinson (2006) states 'creativity now is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status'. Creativity as an important component within academic growth for children and should be made just as important as teaching children English and Maths. Teachers are essentially involved in changing children's minds (Gardner, 2004) and are a fundamental tool in the nurturing of creativity in students (Renzulli (1992). Creative teaching strategies can enable teachers to bring out a more enhanced learning in children, which will bring out their strengths and encourage to have a deeper level of thinking in different academic subjects. Aside from 'Expressive Arts' subjects, I believe teachers can incorporate creativity into all of their lessons, no matter what the subject is. 

To ensure teachers aren't as described "killing creativity", they can make sure they are promoting creativity inside their classrooms. For example, they can plan experiences for children rather than lessons (Dewey, 1938), they can take teaching outside of the classroom and possibly plan a trip that is relevant to the topic they are teaching their pupils. Forest School is also another great way for teachers to plan experiences for children if the facilities are available, as it enables children to 'develop confidence, greater self-esteem, better team work and communication skills' (Creative Outdoor Learning, 2013). Another example of promoting creativity is for teachers to establish a positive, secure, predictable and comfortable atmosphere in which to learn (Bowlby, 2012). Reaching all these points can be done by allowing children to have input in how the classroom is displayed. As a large amount of a children's time is spent sitting in a classroom (Hannah, 2013), allowing them to be creative with what is displayed on the walls, what resources they find best and most helpful to use during lesson time and how the tables are arranged can enable a more positive learning environment and allows children to feel more comfortable because it is a classroom they put creative input into. The last example is to ensure learning is relevant and emotionally engages the child (Damasio, 2003).  Engaging the child in their learning to me is a vital part of enabling a good overall holistic development, and they should be a part of the learning process alongside their teacher. Allowing children to be creative when setting their own personal goals in their learning will enable them to have a more positive learning attitude and give them the encouragement to achieve the goals they have set themselves. 

Teaching creativity in primary education I believe to be an important part of the learning process, as us as future educators need to ensure to keep creativity alive in our future classrooms. I will be ensuring to apply creativity into lessons where and best I can, will you? After all, creative teaching can enhance learning (Fasko, 2001).

References:

Barnes, J. (2015). Creativity and promoting wellbeing in children and young people through education. Oxford Textbook of Creative Arts, Health, and Wellbeing: International Perspectives on Practice, Policy and Research, 201-210.

Bowlby, J. (2012). A secure base. London: Routledge.

Creative Outdoor Learning (2013)., Forest School, Retrieved: https://www.creativeoutdoorlearning.co.uk/forest-school/

Damasio, A. R. (2003). Looking for Spinoza: Joy, sorrow, and the feeling brain. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Dewey, J. (1938). 1963. Experience and education. New York: Macmillan.

Donaldson, G. (2015) Successful Futures: Independent review of curriculum and assessment arrangements in Wales., Retrieved: http://gov.wales/docs/dcells/publications/150225-successful-Futures-en.pdf 

Fasko, D.J., 2000-2001. Education and Creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 13 (3&4), pp.317-327.

Hannah, R. (2013), "The Effect of Classroom Environment on Student Learning". Honors Theses. Paper 2375.

Prentice, R. (2000). Creativity: A reaffirmation of its place in early childhood education. The Curriculum Journal, 11(2), 145–158

Renzuli, J., 1992. A General Theory for the Development of Creative Productivity Through the Pursuit of Ideal Acts of Learning. Gifted Child Quarterly 36: 170-182.

Robinson, K., (2006) 'Do schools kill creativity?' Retrieved : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY

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