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| Do we need to be more creative in our schools? |
Prologue – the failure of the
current approach
For
three decades educational provision has been influenced by neo-liberal politics
beginning with the establishment of Tomorrows
Schools. Introduced by the Third Labour Government all schools were made
self-governing controlled by locally elected School Boards of Trustees and
encouraged to compete with each other. No other country has devolved its
schools to such an extent.
A New Zealand National Curriculum was
later introduced that required schools to be able to account for student’s
achievement over a range of learning areas ; essential skills, possibly the most valuable aspect of this new
curriculum ,unfortunately were neglected as schools focussed their energy assessing students against an impossible
number of learning objectives.
The
tasks asked of schools were all but impossible and a more enlightened New Zealand Curriculum 2007 was
introduced by a Labour Government and this was welcomed by schools – the most
interesting aspect was the inclusion of learning
competencies. Unfortunately this new curriculum was all but side-lined by
the National Government’s National
Standards which required schools to focus on testing and assessing students
as on, below or above standards in literacy and numeracy.
Prior to ‘Tomorrows Schools’
teachers played a key role in developing educational innovations but as the
years passed teachers were more asked to ‘deliver’ educational outcomes as
defined by the Ministry of Education.
One
would’ve hoped that all this change might have resulted in students achieving
to a higher degree than in earlier days but sadly this is not the case.
Our education system is failing.
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| Prof Elley |
According
to Emeritus Professor Warwick Elley New Zealand’s education system is failing
an entire generation. In 1990 in a world education literacy survey NZ came
fourth, a decade later NZ came second
only to Finland in reading but Elley says ‘it has all gone downhill ever
since,’ Over PISA’s fifteen year history
NZ’s average score for maths has dropped by more than any other country. – 40
points. In reading has dropped by 20 points.
Anglo-Saxon/American schools all
failing.
The
three nations that have fallen furthest since PISA began are all Anglo-Saxon –
in order Britain, Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand has the widest gaps between top
and bottom students. Our wide gaps are dragging us down.
All the Anglo –American countries
have one thing in common, they all have governments that have implemented
neo-liberal politics.
Requiring
schools to compete and be able to show success in a narrow range of learning
areas – the National Standards in
primary schools and NCEA targets in secondary schools. Professor Elley writes that such an approach
is dragging children down by focussing teaching on what is tested in literacy,
numeracy and writing and ignoring broader knowledge and skills. Schools are
also open to ‘gaming’ the system. The heavy surveillance and assessment culture
does not create a culture that encourages teachers to be creative; that is not
to say there are not creative teachers and schools but they exist in spite of
the system.
There
are a number of other respected educators who are equally concerned about the
direction our system has taken and are concerned about the challenges needed to
improve educational provision for all students to develop a system predicated
on the development of the gifts and talents of all students.
Before the introduction of
‘Tomorrows Schools’ the creativity of teachers was valued and teachers were
involved at all levels of curriculum development and, as well, there was
considerable collaboration between schools and sharing of teacher expertise.
Throughout
New Zealand, prior to Tomorrows Schools, there were well recognised creative teachers and it is to such
teachers we now need to turn to. What is now required is a high trust system that
encourages diversity and risk taking within the framework provided by the all
but side-lined 2007 New Zealand Curriculum.
The alternative, the need to
place creativity central for future learning
With
this in mind it was interesting to read a paper published in the American Teachers College Record (Volume
117 Number7 2015) headed: ‘We teach Who We Are: Creativity in the Lives and
Practices of Accomplished Teachers’. The paper was written with the
knowledge that the current US emphasis on high stakes testing and standard
based teaching has impeded the creativity of teachers and learners.
The premise was there is a strong
sense that creativity should be nurtured in classroom settings yet there is
little understanding how effective and creative teachers function.
Existing research has recognised that
successful/creative people in any discipline use creativity to enhance their
thinking but until now this has not been applied to exemplary teachers. The study focussed on how exceptional
teachers use creativity in the classroom and was based on in-depth interviews
with highly accomplished teachers.
Creativity needs to be nurtured
in our schools
Many
educationalists (including such people as Sir Ken Robinson) recognise the
significance of creative abilities in modern society and that
creativity need to be nurtured in educational environments. The study sought to
investigate how teacher’s beliefs about creativity influence their classroom
practice; what personal interests and passions do creative people have ; and
how personal creativity inspires their creativity in teaching?
Defining creativity.
The
study recognises that creativity can be seen as a fuzzy construct. It can be
described at a general level as the production of useful solutions to problems,
or interesting or novel solutions; creating
original products. Two common factors from all definitions are novelty
(newness, originality, uniqueness) and effectiveness (value, usefulness,
quality).
Recent research in defining
teacher creativity
The
research wanted to define a clearer picture of creative teaching. In what ways is creativity actualised in the
classroom and what are the teaching practices of successful teachers?
Creativity is an attitude towards
life.
Looking
a creativity generally ‘creativity is as much a decision about and an attitude
towards life as it
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| Sternberg |
is a matter of ability’ (Sternberg). This suggests a “rounded”
view of creative people, i.e., creative people would approach matters
creatively even in areas outside their expertise. Creative people combine
knowledge from a wide range of knowledge bases, interests and experiences, from
which a person draws inspiration and suggests creativity is a sustained way of
thinking and living and contributes to the idea of a “prepared mind”. A depth
and variety of interests provide content to make comparisons and draw analogies
similar to the material an artist would use to create an original piece of
work. Creative people, with their range of influences, have an openness to towards
that allows them to move into unexpected outcomes.
Do creative teachers exhibit such
combinational skills?
Are
teachers creative interests central to their classroom accomplishments? The
report researches such possibilities? Creativity is a difficult subject of
research but the decision was to ask creative teachers themselves. Research
honed in to the creative practices, interests and thought process of a
particular group of exceptional teachers across all school age groups.
The main research questions were:
1.
What
do teachers believe about creativity and how do they define it?
2.
How
is creativity instantiated in successful teaching?
3.
Does
the personal creativity of successful teachers impact on their professional
teaching creativity and what kind of interests do they pursue?
All
teachers incorporated universal definitions of creativity (newness and
effectiveness) but they also defined in ways specific to teaching and this
included things such as a student central focus of creativity and that
creativity is accessible to all students.
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| Creative mindset |
Creativity as a Mind-set
The most
persuasive ideas of teachers were their belief in having an ongoing mind-set of
creative teaching – a habit of mind and an openness of thinking and an
enthusiasm for trying new things. Such teachers are always on the lookout for
ideas to apply to their teaching.
How is creativity actualised in
the teachers’ classrooms?
The
first theme that emerged was the notion of intellectual “risk taking as a key
element in their teaching and allows them to approach things differently and
allows them to come up with new and interesting approaches to teaching. The
really god teachers are not rule followers and like to create a classroom
environment where students feel able to make and learn from their mistakes.; to
try out new ideas and manage ambiguity.
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| Real world learning |
Emphasizing real world learning.
Another
theme that emerged was the need to emphasize real world or authentic learning.
The real world component that successful teachers engage in is also integral to
effective teaching suggesting it is critical for students to engage in real
life purposes – “real’ here means real in the lives of students, relevant and
connected to their own lives. Such lessons are both creative and effective.
Cross disciplinary curricular
connections.
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| Science, art, teach and maths study |
Cross
curricular thinking was another theme with the content from one subject
illuminating a totally different subject. The crisscrossing of topics and
subjects is not necessarily something that is easy given rigid subject
timetables and the standardised curriculums of current educational policy.
Integrated teaching is easier at the younger levels but the imposition of
National Standards has made it more difficult. Creative teachers however find
ways to find ways to work cross –curricular thinking into their practice.
Creative teachers have a more fluid approach to subject matter boundaries which
allows them to implement cross curricular teaching.
How does personal creativity
contribute to professional creativity and what kind of creative interests do
they pursue and how do these things influence and connect with their teaching?
The
majority of the teachers included had personal interests that tended to fall
into music and the arts and/or physical realms while others were involved in
such things as writing, gardening, nature, travel, and in particular subjects.
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| Valuing personal interests |
Every
teacher had ways to draw on his or her own creative passions into their
classrooms. Those accomplished in particular creative activities were able to
appreciate the vagaries of the creative process appreciating it is not a simple
linear process and were able to apply such insight to student creativity.
We teach who we are.
Creative
interests in any field are a part of who we are; being creative comes out in
the teachers’ teaching. Insights gained from such interests influenced the
teachers thinking in their classrooms and often play directly into the teaching
process. Many teachers expressed that it is hard to separate their life as a
teacher into compartments.
Conclusions of the research
Teachers
in the study defined creativity in ways that align with traditional definitions
of creativity; teachers felt creative mind-set was important for teaching
to allow “cross pollinating” of
knowledge and to be open to new ideas from other disciplines or experiences.
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| Thinking out of the box |
All
teachers expressed that utilizing real world experiences, cross curricular
connections, and a willingness to take intellectual risks. All these themes
support each other support each other within a rich, integrated, and integrated
approach to teaching. Creative teachers
co-opt their personal interests and creativity, and use them in effective
teaching techniques and that such creative interests had a profound impact on
the ways they teach.
The Challenge for Teaching Today.
The role
of teacher creativity has not been given the importance it deserves. The report
recommends that pre-service training ought to help teachers tap into their own
personal creativity and learn how to infuse this into their teaching practice.
Pre-service teachers need to be involved in cross disciplinary curriculum
development being offered course with a special focus on integrating the
disciplines. Such integrated approaches
are sometimes offered for elementary (primary) pre-service teachers, but given
the nature and structure of our traditional education system, secondary
teachers are often in their own “silos” and such course are rarely offered to
those who might benefit most. The development of “modern
learning
environments”, where teams of teachers work with groups of students, makes this
provision more important.
Implications for Educational
Policy.
The role
of creativity in education is not clear and is interpreted in a variety of
ways. The report recommends the importance of infusing creativity in
pre-service training.
The
report also recommends helping pre–service teachers tap into their own personal
creativity to help teachers see themselves as creative individuals and, not is
often the case, only for the talented few. Teachers should also be helped to
see a link between their creative interests and hobbies with teaching practice
and to appreciate the integrating of cross-disciplinary knowledge.
Pre-training
should also offer students courses with special focus on integrating the
disciplines/ learning areas. This would
be particularly important for secondary trainees as secondary teachers are
often restricted in their subject areas. Such course would be ideal for
teachers who are appointed to teach in the new flexible modern learning
environments.
In
recent decades education policy in the United States (and in such countries as
New Zealand) has
seen a definitive focus on standardisation and accountability with measurable
targets that have the adverse effects of
killing curiosity, creativity, and enjoyment in learning; in short all of the
things that stimulate a desire to learn in school and throughout life. When
teachers are deprived of the opportunity to foster creativity in their
classrooms students cannot begin to develop a mastery of critical or creative
thinking abilities.
There is
little doubt the emphasis of assessment and assessment focused on standards has
impeded the fostering of creativity. This is problematic because society needs
creative thinkers in business, mathematics, technology, and the sciences and to
solve environmental issues as well as in literature, the arts and music. Such
creativity provides the driving force to move society forward.
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| A creative mindset |
Infusing a creative mind-set in
teaching is the best way to ensure progress and makes a creative education
central to continual progress in all areas of life.
The time
is right to move away from the current technocratic accountability education
which does not uphold creativity’s importance or give it appropriate attention
in curriculum initiatives.
The research about
creativity in teaching has illustrated the importance of attracting and
employing creative teachers with an eye towards ensuring that the authentic,
artistic, aesthetic, cross-curricula open minded, and risk taking mind-set of
creative teachers can serve the needs of the future
‘As a parent, I really cannot cover everything I want my kids to
learn from me in the four hours I have them at home. I really like my kids
teachers and I really appreciate all the work they do during the day, but due
to the short amount of time I have my kids at home, I’m going to have to send
some work back to school with my kids to complete during the seven hours they
spend in the classroom. I apologize for the negative impact this work might
have on the teachers and the rest of the class.’
‘While spending anywhere from several weeks t o half a year on a
topic might seem excessive, she said, students are really learning not just
about that particular topic, but about how to study something. They’re learning
that, when studying a culture, they need to look at a variety of features, like
religious beliefs, economy and gender roles. When studying a system or an
organization, they need to look, as Ms. Switzer often says, at “the tools, the
rules, the consumers, and the workers.”’
‘Is it OK for children to count on their fingers? Generations of
pupils have been discouraged by their teachers from using their hands when
learning maths. But a new research article shows using fingers may be a much
more important part of maths learning than previously thought.’
‘Inside the Black Box by Black &Wiliam, should be compulsory reading
for all teachers, trainers and lecturer, so it was a delight to see him give a
masterclass in assessment with solid, evidence-based advice that you can apply
straight from the hip in teaching. Marking may do more damage than most
educators realise. It is a summative assessment technique, all too often
wrongly used in formative assessment.’
‘Existing
research has recognised that successful/creative people in any discipline use
creativity to enhance their thinking but until now this has not been applied to
exemplary teachers. The study focussed on how exceptional teachers use
creativity in the classroom and was based on in-depth interviews with highly
accomplished teachers.’
Sir Ken Robinson: How to Create a Culture
For Valuable Learning
I can really relate to this.
‘These days reading, or better still the language arts ( now called
by a more technocratic title 'literacy') seems to have been taken over by
academics who are pushing a phonemic approach onto schools - 'P' Pushers! This
is an approach that distorts the organic relationship between experience, oral
language, writing and reading - all premised on a need to make meaning and to
communicate.’
