‘A Critical analysis of the interface between theory and practice in reflecting on creative teaching and learning.’
In education, creativity is a concept that is used essentially as a metaphor. It signifies open-mindedness, exploration, the celebration of difference and originality. (Cullingford, 2007, p. 133)
Creativity has been circulating education for centuries however, being such a multifaceted domain, it is difficult to pin point one meaningful definition. In the context of education, creative becomes even more complex. The module and school experience has outlined the effectiveness that creativity has when interlaced within the educational culture. Creativity and education collide, and together is valued as a core aspect in the development of an individual’s well-being. The last decade has seen a substantial renaissance of interest in creativity in education. (Dominic Wyse, et. al, 2007, p. 181) Why has creativity has become significant within education in the last decade? What has changed? In this essay I will seek answers to these questions. Firstly, I will analysis the progression of creativity from the 20th century to the 21st century and how educational policies have moderated through these decades. Secondly, I will evaluate the arguments surrounding creativity in relation to education. Thirdly, I will examine ways and means of teaching creatively, teaching for creativity and integrated theory and practice interface. Fourthly, I will analyse my own school based experience of teaching a creative and integrated curriculum, evaluate my planning, teaching and define my own strategies I employed to model creativity. Finally, I will conclude by highlighting the importance of creativity in teaching; however I will evaluate the effectiveness for me as a student teacher.
“Change’ is one of the concepts that gained importance in twenty first century. Change brought about innovation and learning. Embracing concepts like upbringing of individuals for information society, innovation, creativity, growth, and self-realisation constitutes the basis of change” (Sahin Zeteroglu; et.la, 2012, p. 3153)
Education is a continuous cycle of revolution, evolving with many aspects of human life, i.e technology, society, economy. The last decades have recognised a worldwide revolution so that in many places creativity has progressed from the borders of education to being seen as an essential feature of learning (Wilson, 2009, p. 67). Arguably creativity is “no longer seen as an optional extra, it is seen as [a tool to aid] generative problem-identification and problem-solving, across life” (Craft, 2002, p. 7). Craft (2005) outlines the progression of creativity within education in three key waves. The Plowden Report sparked the first wave in the 1960s, depicting child-centred philosophy, policy and practice. The second wave began in the late 1990s about ten years after the introduction of the National Curriculum. Introducing advisory groups and policies as, ‘The National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education’ (NACCCE) in 1999 promoted, “effective approaches to creative and cultural education”. The Early Learning Foundation Stage Curriculum highlighting the main target being ‘creative development’ (2000) and finally ‘Creative Thinking’ outlined in the National Curriculum as a ‘key skill’ (1999). Finally, creativity was reinforced by the updated curriculum in (2010) which valued an “integrated framework or learning”. Creativity is presented as a key theme of learning within the new curriculum, encouraging children to “use their imaginations, experiment and develop creativity” (The National Curriculum Primary Handbook, 2010). Four features of creativity have been highlighted by NCCCE (1999) as; ‘using imagination’, ‘pursuing purpose’, ‘being original’, and ‘judging value’ (p. g 31). As student teachers, the definition of creativity for ‘Creative Week’ was understood to be; encouraging imagination to investigate
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