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Creativ it y in the
Primary Classroom
SAGE was founded in 1965 by Sara Miller McCune to support
the dissemination of usable knowledge by publishing innovative
and high-quality research and teaching content. Today, we
publish more than 850 journals, including those of more than
300 learned societies, more than 800 new books per year, and
a growing range of library products including archives, data,
case studies, reports, and video. SAGE remains majority-owned
by our founder, and after Sara’s lifetime will become owned by
a charitable trust that secures our continued independence.

Los Angeles | London | New Delhi | Singapore | Washington DC


S EC O ND ED ITION

Creativ it y in the
Primary Classroom
Juliet Desailly
SAGE Publications Ltd  Juliet Desailly 2015
1 Oliver’s Yard
55 City Road First edition published 2012
London EC1Y 1SP
This second edition published 2015
SAGE Publications Inc.
2455 Teller Road Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or
Thousand Oaks, California 91320 private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this
SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in
B 1/I 1 Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area any form, or by any means, only with the prior permission
Mathura Road in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic
New Delhi 110 044 reproduction, in accordance with the terms of licences
issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries
SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd concerning reproduction outside those terms should be
3 Church Street sent to the publishers.
#10-04 Samsung Hub
Singapore 049483

Commissioning editor: James Clark


Assistant editor: Rachael Plant
Production editor: Nicola Marshall
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015932286
Copyeditor: Audrey Scriven
Indexer: Author
British Library Cataloguing in Publication data
Marketing executive: Dilhara Attygalle
Cover design: Naomi Robinson
A catalogue record for this book is available from
Typeset by: C&M Digitals (P) Ltd, Chennai, India
the British Library
Printed in Great Britain by Henry Ling Limited
at The Dorset Press, Dorchester, DT1 1HD

ISBN 978-1-4739-1255-7
ISBN 978-1-4739-1256-4 (pbk)

At SAGE we take sustainability seriously. Most of our products are printed in the UK using FSC papers and boards.
When we print overseas we ensure sustainable papers are used as measured by the Egmont grading system.
We undertake an annual audit to monitor our sustainability.
CONTENTS

About the author vii


Acknowledgements ix
Teachers’ Standards reference table xi
Subjects and skills reference table xv

Introduction 1

Part 1: What is Creativity? 9


1 The key elements of creativity 11
2 Creativity in education: History and theoretical background 28

Part 2: A Creative Child in a Creative Classroom 43


3 Building the skills to work creatively 45
4 Establishing the ethos 60

Part 3: A Creative Teacher 77


5 What makes a creative teacher? 79
6 Key skills for the creative teacher 93
vi CONTENTS

Part 4: A Creative Curriculum 113


7 Planning for and assessing creative outcomes 115
8 Medium-term planning for creative outcomes 134
9 Case studies: Creativity in practice 149

Conclusion and forward planning 163


References, websites and further reading 167
Index 172
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Juliet Desailly has worked in Education for over thirty years. Having trained
originally as a specialist drama teacher and then working in Theatre-in-Education,
when she became a primary teacher she brought a range of different teaching
and learning methods to her work.
Juliet worked in Inner London primary schools for over twenty years,
refining and adapting the primary curriculum to suit the children she taught –
integrating social and emotional skills within the curriculum, emphasising the
children’s identity and culture, and raising self-esteem by providing an inclusive
curriculum for all learners.
As well as her teaching and work in Theatre-in-Education Juliet has been a
Humanities adviser and a deputy head teacher. After seven years as a lecturer
at the Institute of Education on the Primary PGCE course, she now works as
a consultant in creativity and curriculum planning.
Juliet has written a large amount of educational material, including two
series of Infant History for BBC Radio and materials for the Education
Department’s Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) resource. Her
viii ABOUT THE AUTHOR

first children’s book, Ma’at’s Feather, a story set in Ancient Egypt, and a set
of accompanying cross-curricular lesson ideas, were published in 2008, and
Juliet travels the country offering talks and practical workshops to primary
school classes based on the book.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It has been an interesting task updating this second edition. So much has
changed in schools in recent years and yet, at the time of writing, there
seems to be a sense of primary schools holding their breath and waiting to
see what will happen next. I sincerely hope that what does happen is that
teachers can look towards the future confident that exploring and extending
their own and their pupils’ creativity will improve that future for everyone.
Yet again I need to acknowledge the enormous help, encouragement and
support of my family. More thanks than I can say are due to my husband,
Alan, and daughters, Rossy and Nancy, for their patience when I was stressed,
for reading and commenting wisely on the manuscript, for their interest and
enthusiasm, and not least for their huge moral support.
Primary school teachers are by nature borrowers and adaptors of ideas and
information. I have spent over thirty years in the company of other teachers
and students, listening, watching, discussing and always picking up ideas to
try to adapt to my own uses. As such, I cannot possibly remember or give
credit individually to all those amazing teachers young and old whose crea-
tivity and inventiveness have contributed to the ideas in this book. All I can
say is a blanket ‘thank you’ to every child I have taught, every student I have
observed, and every colleague I have worked with for all I have gained from
x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

you. I hope I have passed it on usefully in my turn. To John Cook and Jill
Bonner, the head teachers who particularly fostered and valued my creativity
as a teacher, many thanks.
All my former colleagues at the Institute of Education were generous
with their interest and support. Particular thanks go to Anne Robertson, the
Primary PGCE course leader, for giving her time so generously, particularly
on the ideas for the Further Study sections.
Finally, many thanks to James Clark, Rachael Plant and all the staff at SAGE
Publications for their patience, advice and hard work in the production of
this book.

SAGE would like to thank the following reviewers, whose comments helped
to shape this new edition:

Emese Hall, University of Exeter


Karan Vickers-Hulse, University of the West of England
Pauline Palmer, Manchester Metropolitan University
Yvonne Rennalls, Birmingham City University
TEACHERS’ STANDARDS
REFERENCE TABLE

Where this book


Teachers' Standards
helps you meet
A teacher must: these standards
1 Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and
challenge pupils
1a establish a safe and stimulating environment for pupils, Chapter 4
rooted in mutual respect
1b set goals that stretch and challenge pupils of all Chapters 4, 7
backgrounds, abilities and dispositions
1c demonstrate consistently the positive attitudes, values Chapters 4, 5, 8
and behaviour which are expected of pupils

2 Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils


2a be accountable for pupils’ attainment, progress and
outcomes
2b be aware of pupils’ capabilities and their prior Chapter 7
knowledge, and plan teaching to build on these

(Continued)
xii TEACHERS’ STANDARDS REFERENCE TABLE

2c guide pupils to reflect on the progress they have made Chapters 3, 4


and their emerging needs
2d demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how By taking part in the
pupils learn and how this impacts on teaching individual, group and
further study activities
2e encourage pupils to take a responsible and conscientious Chapters 3, 4
attitude to their own work and study

3 Demonstrate good subject and curriculum


knowledge
3a have a secure knowledge of the relevant subject(s) and
curriculum areas, foster and maintain pupils’ interest in
the subject, and address misunderstandings
3b demonstrate a critical understanding of developments Chapters 1, 2, 5
in the subject and curriculum areas, and promote the
value of scholarship
3c demonstrate an understanding of and take
responsibility for promoting high standards of literacy,
articulacy and the correct use of standard English,
whatever the teacher’s specialist subject
3d if teaching early reading, demonstrate a clear
understanding of systematic synthetic phonics
3e if teaching early mathematics, demonstrate a clear
understanding of appropriate teaching strategies

4 Plan and teach well structured lessons


4a impart knowledge and develop understanding through Chapter 3
effective use of lesson time
4b promote a love of learning and children’s intellectual Chapter 5
curiosity
4c set homework and plan other out-of-class activities to
consolidate and extend the knowledge and
understanding pupils have acquired
4d reflect systematically on the effectiveness of lessons and Chapter 7
approaches to teaching
4e contribute to the design and provision of an engaging Chapters 8, 9
curriculum within the relevant subject area(s)
TEACHERS’ STANDARDS REFERENCE TABLE xiii

5 Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and


needs of all pupils
5a know when and how to differentiate appropriately, using Chapters 3, 6
approaches which enable pupils to be taught effectively
5b have a secure understanding of how a range of factors Chapter 4
can inhibit pupils’ ability to learn, and how best to
overcome these
5c demonstrate an awareness of the physical, social and Chapter 4
intellectual development of children, and know how to
adapt teaching to support pupils’ education at different
stages of development
5d have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, Chapters 4, 6
including those with special educational needs; those of
high ability; those with English as an additional
language; those with disabilities; and be able to use
and evaluate distinctive teaching approaches to engage
and support them

6 Make accurate and productive use of assessment


6a know and understand how to assess the relevant Chapter 7
subject and curriculum areas, including statutory
assessment requirements
6b make use of formative and summative assessment to Chapter 7
secure pupils’ progress
6c use relevant data to monitor progress, set targets, and
plan subsequent lessons
6d give pupils regular feedback, both orally and through Chapter 7
accurate marking, and encourage pupils to respond to
the feedback

7 Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good


and safe learning environment
7a have clear rules and routines for behaviour in classrooms, Chapter 4
and take responsibility for promoting good and
courteous behaviour both in classrooms and around the
school, in accordance with the school’s behaviour policy
7b have high expectations of behaviour, and establish a Chapter 6
framework for discipline with a range of strategies, using
praise, sanctions and rewards consistently and fairly

(Continued)
xiv TEACHERS’ STANDARDS REFERENCE TABLE

(Continued)

7c manage classes effectively, using approaches which are Chapters 3, 4


appropriate to pupils’ needs in order to involve and
motivate them
7d maintain good relationships with pupils, exercise
appropriate authority, and act decisively when necessary

8 Fulfil wider professional responsibilities


8a make a positive contribution to the wider life and ethos Chapter 8
of the school
8b develop effective professional relationships with
colleagues, knowing how and when to draw on advice
and specialist support
8c deploy support staff effectively
8d take responsibility for improving teaching through By taking part in the
appropriate professional development, responding to individual, group and
advice and feedback from colleagues further study activities
8e communicate effectively with parents with regard to
pupils’ achievements and well-being
Source: DfE (2011)
SUBJECTS AND SKILLS
REFERENCE TABLE

The classroom ideas and classroom examples boxes and case studies include
practical teaching ideas, examples and lesson plans to use in the following
subjects or skill sets:

Subject/skill Relevant pages


Cross-curricular 105, 141–142, 143, 150–154
Design and technology 15, 50
Drama 155–160
English 86, 125, 132, 152, 155–158
Geography 125, 132, 155–158
History 30, 55, 107, 132, 139
Learning skills 15, 47, 50, 66, 68, 69, 73
Mathematics 116–118, 158–160
PSHE 63, 65, 87
Teaching skills 84
Thinking skills 51, 55, 86, 101
INTRODUCTION

What do we want a classroom in a primary school in the second decade of


the twenty-first century to look like? Children sat in rows looking at the
board? Children involved in investigations and experimentation? Children
working silently and alone? Children debating enthusiastically in groups? Or
perhaps all of these things at different times? And what do we mean by a
‘classroom’? Could the learning be happening outside, in the community or
a natural environment?
As teachers, we need to help prepare young people for life in a rapidly
changing society where they can be innovative, responsive and fulfilled. We
will need the ability to use methods of teaching and learning within a cur-
riculum that will make that possible.
Many schools have been adapting what and how they teach and how the
learning is organised to make it more holistic, more engaging, more personal-
ised, and more creative. The White Paper that heralded the arrival of the new
National Curriculum promised ‘scope for teachers to inspire’ and envisaged
‘teachers taking greater control over what is taught in schools, innovating in
how they teach and developing new approaches to learning’ (DfE, 2010: 40). As
the curriculum embeds there will be consequent opportunities and challenges
for teachers to provide the best and most appropriate learning opportunities for
the children they teach. The aims of the new National Curriculum state that it ‘is
2 CREATIVITY IN THE PRIMARY CLASSROOM

just one element in the education of every child’ and that it ‘provides an outline
of core knowledge around which teachers can develop exciting and stimulat-
ing lessons’ (DfE, 2014: 6). In criticising the previous National Curriculum for
‘squeezing out room for innovation, creativity, deep learning and intellectual
exploration’ (DfE, 2010: 40) the White Paper implicitly supported these aspects.
With less content and these assurances this is surely the time for teachers to
take the opportunity to develop and practise teaching methods that will inspire
young people and allow for deeper learning.
To strike a balance between all the constituent parts of both the National
Curriculum and the broader curriculum, to find teaching methods that inspire
and motivate young people to learn deeply and well will be a challenge for
teachers joining the profession, and for more experienced teachers as well.
They will have to be flexible and to learn new skills in the way they plan and
teach, but it will also give the opportunity for teaching and learning that are
exciting and fulfilling for children and teachers alike.

Defining creativity

Creativity has always proved hard to define, both in education and in its
wider contexts. However, it has also been something that has been thought
valuable and worth promoting. A search for ‘benefits of creativity’ on the
internet will result in countless examples of business, psychology, health,
philosophy and education claiming the importance of encouraging creativity.
The first aim of the 1999 National Curriculum (known as Curriculum 2000)
states, ‘… the curriculum should enable pupils to think creatively and criti-
cally, to solve problems and to make a difference for the better. It should give
them the opportunity to become creative, innovative, enterprising and capa-
ble of leadership to equip them for their future lives as workers and citizens’
(DfEE/QCA, 1999). During the first decade of the twenty-first century there
were several developments designed to foster and promote creativity, includ-
ing a joint-department review called Nurturing Creativity in Young People
(DCMS/ DfES, 2006) and the report and teachers’ resources Creativity: Find it,
Promote it (QCA, 2005).
Teachers have long been aware of the importance to children’s learning
of the spark of creativity in children’s descriptions and art work: ‘It’s like a
rainbow was caught and shining in his eye’. They see how children invent
methods for problem solving or find patterns in data or images. They relish
the enthusiasm and intense concentration children show when involved in
exploring materials or mixing ingredients, but these moments of classroom
magic have often seemed at odds with the drive to raise standards. The
research and understanding of the benefits of creativity and creative learning
are still often sidelined or ignored.
INTRODUCTION 3

In the final report of the Cambridge Primary Review, which was published
in 2010, the director of the review, Professor Robin Alexander, commented
that in submissions to the review ‘the words “creative” and “creativity”
appeared ... more frequently than almost any others’. He continued that
the words ‘invariably were regarded positively. The words were also used
somewhat loosely’ (Alexander, 2010: 226). This ‘loose’ terminology sees the
term ‘creativity’ used to describe arts subject areas, cross-curricular plan-
ning, working without preconceived outcomes, creative teaching, children’s
creativity ... and this list is not exclusive.
Mathilda Marie Joubert agrees that ‘creativity is a very elusive concept to
define, and even when defined, it is interpreted in a variety of different ways’
(2001: 29), and argues that we do not have a shared language for creativ-
ity. Despite these difficulties, creativity returns again and again in both what
schools and teachers want to provide for their pupils and what industry and
successive governments want in the workforce.
Defining terms in education today is a matter of some significance; there
have been countless debates as to what is meant by domains and subjects,
knowledge and understanding, skills and concepts, to name but a few. The
politicisation of education has led to the polarisation of viewpoints and vari-
ous ‘camps’ have emerged. In the discourse, creativity has often been equated
with progressivism or even ‘sloppiness’.
However, educational theorists in recent years, working alongside psy-
chologists and neuroscientists, have actually defined quite clearly where
creativity sits within education and it is far from its connotations as lacking
rigour or ‘anything goes’. Joubert states, ‘We have to reclaim the meaning of
the word “creativity”. Creativity should be rigorous, it is grounded in knowl-
edge and skills and there should be a balance between freedom and control
in all creative activities’ (2001: 30). This is not to say that scholarly debates
do not continue, but even if we are still not decided as to whether creativity
is an ‘intelligence’ or a ‘state of mind’ (Lucas, 2001: 40), we are able to cate-
gorise creativity in education into its three distinct parts – teaching creatively,
learning creatively and teaching to develop creativity – and to recognise the
key elements, strengths and benefits of these three approaches and how to
acquire and develop the knowledge and skills to use them appropriately in
the classroom.

Effective teaching and learning

There is a strong argument (see Jeffrey and Craft, 2001) that creative teaching
is actually ‘effective teaching’. Amongst the ‘noticeable characteristics’ of
outstanding student teachers in the Ofsted criteria published in 2008 are the
following:
4 CREATIVITY IN THE PRIMARY CLASSROOM

• ‘… take risks when trying to make teaching interesting, are able to deal
with the unexpected’;
• ‘… show innovative and creative thinking’;
• ‘… have the ability to reflect critically and rigorously on their own
practice to inform their professional development, and to take and
evaluate appropriate actions’.
As will be seen from the subsequent chapters in this book, these are key
elements of creativity themselves. Becoming a teacher who is able to teach
creatively and encourage pupils to learn creatively and develop their own
creativity is also to become a highly effective teacher.
Anna Craft also argues that ‘in a constructivist frame, learning and creativ-
ity are close, if not identical’ (Craft, 2005: 61) and that teaching for creativity
is ‘learner empowerment’. The (2010) Ofsted report, Learning: Creative
Approaches that Raise Standards, focused on schools that used creative
approaches to teaching and learning and their effectiveness in raising stand-
ards of education. The report was clear that effective creative teaching and
learning were rigorous and well organised: ‘Careful planning had ensured
that the prescribed curriculum content for each subject was covered within
a broad and flexible framework and key skills were developed. These exam-
ples were accompanied by better than average achievement and standards
or a marked upward trend’ (2010: 5). Ofsted reported that for ‘schools in this
survey with a wide ability range, a focus on creative learning was driven by
the need to break down barriers to learning and improve achievement. In all
cases, the survey found that this was effective’ (2010: 15).

Benefits of creativity

Teaching creatively and to develop creativity brings many benefits to both


teachers and learners. A creative teacher will challenge, engage and moti-
vate pupils, placing learning within contexts that have relevance for the
children they teach. A creative learner will be developing intellectual and
academic skills that will last a lifetime. Being creative involves both gener-
ating new ideas and synthesising a variety of other peoples’ ideas into a
new understanding. It also involves reflection and evaluation as part of the
process so that creative learners are constantly asking themselves questions
as to the best way to proceed. Creativity involves finding patterns, research-
ing, hypothesising and generalising. As well as being investigative and
enquiring, a creative person will be reaching conclusions and able to argue
‘I think this because ... ’.
Much is made at the present time of comparing our educational ‘perfor-
mance’ with that of other countries. It is interesting that in those that are hailed
for their superior achievements, factors include being able ‘to generalise and
INTRODUCTION 5

creatively use information based on their own investigations and modelling


of complex problem situations’ (OECD, quoted in a speech by Michael Gove,
January 2011) and ‘increasing the emphasis on deep understanding, the abil-
ity to apply knowledge to solving new problems and the ability to think
creatively’ (OECD, 2011). Creativity provides exactly this.
A creative learner will also be developing social and emotional skills. The
need for persistence, determination and an understanding of delayed grati-
fication is necessary for creative approaches, and teachers will need to help
children develop these skills as they foster and enhance other skills that are
necessary for working creatively. Although creativity can be a solitary way of
working it is often at its most effective when working with others. Learning
to work well in a group situation, listening, debating, working in a com-
munity of enquiry and being able to disagree, agree and move others’ ideas
forward in a constructive way, are all integral skills for working creatively.
Creativity can also involve expressing personally held views and opin-
ions or sharing ideas in expressive media. As such, it involves a measure of
self-confidence and the ability to be a risk taker.

About this book

Aims
Creativity in the Primary Classroom is designed to be of use and interest
both to trainee teachers and to qualified teachers at any stage in their careers
who want to understand better what creativity in the primary classroom
looks like, its value, and how it can be achieved.
The book’s intention is to be accessible and full of practical ideas to use
in the classroom, based on and referencing key texts and research by experts
in the area. It encourages a flexible approach to suit the very different needs
of teachers with various experience and styles of teaching in a variety of
different schools.
The text aims to reflect what creativity in a primary classroom can look like
and the activities that teachers and children might be engaged in. As such,
it includes examples and descriptions from classroom practice, ideas to use
straightaway, and some longer case studies to show the theories in practical
situations. Visualising what one would actually see, hear and do in a class-
room situation can be extremely difficult. Hopefully, this book will demystify
the subject and make practical solutions readily available.
Rather than being organised on a subject-by-subject basis this book exam-
ines creativity as a generic entity, and as such demonstrates how the key
elements of creativity can be applied to any and every subject and across
the curriculum as a whole. There is, however, some guidance in finding and
using the elements of creativity in specific subjects.
6 CREATIVITY IN THE PRIMARY CLASSROOM

Organisation and structure


The book is organised into four sections. The first, What is Creativity?, has
two chapters. In Chapter 1, ‘The key elements of creativity’, the definition of
creativity and the three different types of creativity in education are outlined
and discussed. The potential benefits and drawbacks of a more creative
approach in the classroom are considered for both teachers and their pupils.
In Chapter 2, ‘Creativity in education: History and theoretical background’,
the changing place of creativity in the primary school curriculum over the
past decades is outlined and the reader is introduced to the work of some
of the key researchers and theorists in the area. The place of creativity in
primary schools at the present time is examined in this context.
Part Two, A Creative Child in a Creative Classroom, unpicks the skills
children will need to develop in order to work creatively and the techniques
teachers can use to develop those skills. In Chapter 3, ‘Building the skills to
work creatively’, learning and thinking skills crucial to working creatively
are considered, including learning stamina, trial and improvement, generat-
ing ideas, group-work and communities of enquiry. Chapter 4, ‘Establishing
the ethos’, considers how a creative classroom ethos is established, looks
at the influence of classroom layout and organisation, and examines the
importance of relationships, motivation and autonomy to learning creatively
and learning to be creative. Supporting and scaffolding creative learning are
also considered.
The skills and attributes a teacher will need, both to teach creatively and
encourage the development of creativity in their pupils, are the subject of Part
Three, A Creative Teacher. In Chapter 5, ‘What makes a creative teacher?’,
the key knowledge, skills and interactions that a teacher needs to teach effec-
tively, both creatively and to foster creativity, are examined. These include
the teacher modelling creative working processes personally and being able
to identify, foster and encourage creativity in others. Chapter 6, ‘Key skills for
the creative teacher’, looks in more depth at particular skills that are useful to
the creative teacher, including facilitating, questioning, using a sketchbook/
scrapbook approach, motivating and using drama techniques. It also includes
issues such as knowing when to follow children’s interests and when to ‘stick
to the plan’, the importance of good subject knowledge, and being able to
manage time and make time for extended pieces of work.
Part Four, A Creative Curriculum, examines in two chapters how to plan
for creative outcomes and how to plan in cross-curricular ways, including
how to plan with parallel learning objectives, knowing when to make links
and when to teach subjects discretely. Chapter 7, ‘Planning and assessing for
creative outcomes’, looks in particular at using key elements of creativity in
planning individual lessons. It shows how creative elements can be added to a
more standard lesson and highlights additional considerations from research.
Chapter 8, ‘Medium-term planning for creative outcomes’, extends this to
INTRODUCTION 7

medium-term planning. It looks at how a teacher can assess what creative


learning is happening and includes a checklist of questions to inform the
planning process. The final chapter in this part, ‘Case studies: Creativity in
practice’, examines a range of different case studies analysing the creative
techniques used. These include 6 and 7 year olds going on a quest, maths in
a shoe shop, and a year-long exploration of culture and identity.
A final section of the book, ‘Conclusion and Forward Planning’, will briefly
round up the main points and offer activities to reflect, set goals, and forward
plan to achieve these.

Additional features
Alongside the text there are ideas for the reader to reflect on, examples of
classroom practice, and activities for use either individually or in groups.
These activities are designed to be used either as self-study or in workshop
or INSET sessions and are aimed at Honours (H) level.
At the beginning of each chapter there are links to identify which of the
Teachers’ Standards are addressed in the chapter: 21 of the 35 standards in
the ‘Teaching’ section are covered by the book and taking part in the activities
throughout the book would cover another two. At the end of each chapter
there is a summary of the chapter content and a section for further study
outlined below. Full lists of references can be found at the end of the book.
Concluding each chapter is a section for further study. This section aims to
offer the reader who wants to explore the subject in greater depth the oppor-
tunity to do so. It is aimed at Master’s (M) level and will provide a progressive
and cumulative exercise in critical reflection. The activities will be based on
the content of each chapter throughout the book.

Making a start

Personal thought and reflection

An internet search for quotations on or definitions of creativity will produce


scores of results. They can themselves be a stimulus for creative thought,
making connections or challenging your preconceptions. Try a search and see
what you find. Do the quotes connect with your ideas about education in any
way? How do they make you feel? Which excite you and which do you want
to argue with?
(Continued)
8 CREATIVITY IN THE PRIMARY CLASSROOM

(Continued)

After reading this book, return to this activity and see if you think differently
about the quotes. Do any of them connect with theories you have read about?
Do they provide a challenge to you to change your practice or reaffirm changes
you are already making?
Here are some to start with:

‘I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened
of the old ones’. John Cage
‘Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire’.
William Butler Yeats
‘You cannot use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have’.
Maya Angelou
‘Imagination is more important than knowledge’. Albert Einstein
‘Some look at things that are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were
and ask why not?’. George Bernard Shaw
PART 1

WHAT IS CREATIVITY?

Chapter 1 The key elements of creativity


Chapter 2 Creativity in education: History and theoretical background

This section introduces the whole area of creativity to give you a clear
understanding of what it is and how it can be applied in primary education. The
key elements of creativity are identified and we begin to explore the way they
might manifest themselves in a primary classroom. The three different types of
creativity in education are outlined and discussed, and the potential benefits and
drawbacks of a more creative approach in the classroom are considered for both
teachers and their pupils. The changing place of creativity in the primary school
curriculum over the past decades is outlined, and you will be introduced to the
work of some of the key researchers and theorists in the area. The place of
creativity in primary schools at the present time is examined in this context.
CHAPTER
2 1

THE KEY ELEMENTS


OF CREATIVITY

Learning objectives in this chapter:

•• To understand the three different types of creativity in education


•• To know how creativity has been defined
•• To recognise the key elements of creativity
•• To consider the potential benefits and drawbacks of a more creative approach
in the classroom

Relevant Teachers' Standards for this chapter


A teacher must:
3 Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge
3b demonstrate a critical understanding of developments in the subject and
curriculum areas, and promote the value of scholarship
12 CREATIVITY IN THE PRIMARY CLASSROOM

Ask a group of teachers what they mean by creativity and you will get a huge
range of responses. Creativity means very different things to different people,
and in terms of the primary classroom teachers can often find it hard to
envisage what it actually looks like, let alone plan to encourage or foster it.
This chapter will clarify the concepts so that we can be sure we are under-
standing creativity in the same way.

Individual or group activity


(Potential activity spoiler! Cover the paragraph beneath this box.)
In just two minutes, think of as many words or phrases as you can that mean
‘creativity’ to you. Think of creativity in its widest meaning, not just in terms
of schools.
If you were working in groups, share what you came up with. Can you recognise
any common themes that have emerged?

When groups of teachers are asked to do the above activity their lists often
contain the following: thinking ‘outside the box’, self-expression, having new
ideas, being a risk-taker, imagination, fun, making something new, music,
dance, art, drama, inventing, working together, innovation, individuality.
Already, certain strands will be appearing. Firstly, there is the element of
newness – of making or thinking something for the first time. Much of the early
research into creativity was undertaken by considering genius, and obviously
the great names of innovation in art or science demonstrated their creativity by
being the first in their field ever to do or discover something. In children it is
more likely that their creativity will show the first time for them that they have
done or discovered something. Having said that, one of the joys of working with
primary age children is that sometimes they will say or do something so new
and so fresh that they will make you look at the world in quite a different way.
Anna Craft (2000) has used the terms ‘big c’ and ‘little c’ creativity to differentiate
between the types of creativity that change the world’s perceptions in significant
ways and the types that everyone can practise in their everyday lives.
Another strand is that of creativity in expression or of communicating
ideas in creative ways. Perhaps here the ideas are not necessarily new but
are being presented in new and original ways. Linked here may well be the
idea that creativity gives something of the self, that the ideas are personal and
individual. Creativity is not, however, the domain for either strictly individual
or exclusively group work. It can cover both of these and we will be looking
at this in later chapters.
The elements of individuality and newness also imply a ‘difference’ to the
status quo. People who are creative are, by definition, not conforming to tried
THE KEY ELEMENTS OF CREATIVITY 13

and tested ways of doing things. This can be hard for primary age children to
deal with and there are issues of conformity and risk-taking that teachers will
have to address in their classrooms.
Many people would equate creativity mainly, or even exclusively, with the
arts. Although the arts media are highly creative areas there is huge potential
for creativity in all the other subject and curriculum areas.
Finally, the word ‘fun’ often emerges. While, hopefully, much creative work
and working creatively will be fun, there will, by its very nature, also be times
when this is difficult and frustrating, and for some children more open-ended
activities can be extremely stressful. All of the above issues will be dealt with
in subsequent chapters in more depth.

Definitions of creativity

After sharing first thoughts about what creativity means to us, let us consider
the definitions of creativity that have been most prominent in recent years.
In 1998 the government set up the National Advisory Committee on
Creative and Cultural Education (NACCCE). Its report, All Our Futures:
Creativity, Culture and Education (NACCCE, 1999), proved to be one of the
most significant contributions to the debate about creativity, and its impor-
tance will be looked at further in the next chapter. This report was specific
in its definition of creativity and that definition was subsequently used in a
number of government initiatives and other publications:

Imaginative activity fashioned so as to produce outcomes that are both


original and of value. (NACCCE, 1999: 30)

This definition, as can be seen, has four distinct parts:

• Using imagination.
• Pursuing purposes.
• Being original.
• Judging value.

When using the term ‘imagination’ in relation to creativity the implication is


that it is more than fantasising. It incorporates all the aspects of ‘newness’ in
what people see as creativity, including originality. So, it is not only about
envisaging completely new ideas but also seeing things in a new light, seeing
alternatives to the way things are usually done, or combining things in unu-
sual ways. We often use the term ‘creative cook’ about people who do not
necessarily invent entirely innovative dishes but do not follow a recipe slav-
ishly, who put in a dash of this or a sprinkle of that to give something a new
‘twist’. You might also recognise this kind of approach in visual terms, for
14 CREATIVITY IN THE PRIMARY CLASSROOM

example there are many people who can put together a ‘look’ in the way
they dress by combining elements you might not usually think would go
together, or in home furnishing where selecting and positioning things in
particular ways give a sense of style that other people might never be able
to achieve. We can look out for this sort of imaginative approach in children
in a variety of contexts.

Individual activity
Think about a group of children you have observed. Have you noticed children
who see things in a fresh, new way? Have you been surprised by the method a
child has used in a maths investigation, or the way a child has described some-
thing that worked well but was out of the ordinary?

Anna Craft calls this kind of imaginative activity ‘possibility thinking’


(Craft, 2000: 3). It involves the sort of thinking that asks questions such as
‘What if ... ?’, ‘What would happen if ... ?’, ‘Suppose she ... ?’.
This leads us to the idea of creativity having distinct purposes or outcomes.
Creativity doesn’t happen in a vacuum, a creative act happens when some-
one wants to try something or make something happen. It might, of course,
turn out that other ideas occur during the process or that the ultimate out-
come differs from what was first envisaged, but there is always the intention
to do something or make something or try something out. This process can
be very playful. Many a great discovery has been the result of playfulness
with ideas or materials by the inventor. In the realm of the classroom this has
many implications for time management and planning, which we will return
to in later chapters.
Creativity happens in a particular medium or combination of media. It
therefore demands skills in those media to be creative with. So, a child’s
great idea about building a model of a tower to fit a particular land site will
come to nothing if they don’t have the skills to join the component parts
together strongly enough. A group wanting to create a piece of music rep-
resenting the sea will not be able to communicate their ideas if they cannot
use their instruments to make the sounds they imagine. Creativity maintains
a balance between structure and freedom, between the linear and logical
and the random or chaotic.
Being original involves putting oneself on the line, so to act creatively neces-
sitates having a range of personal attributes. A measure of self-confidence is
also essential: we must be able to be prepared to have a go at things, and to
recognise that our attempts may not work out and to have persistence and the
ability to bounce back if things do not go to plan. Although things can be cre-
ated in solitude at some stage they have to see the light of day and be shared
THE KEY ELEMENTS OF CREATIVITY 15

with their audience – this requires risk-taking too and the confidence to accept
feedback. Even accepting praise and being the focus of attention can be hard
for some people.
The final part of the NACCCE’s definition is of judging value. This is a par-
ticularly difficult area to judge in a primary classroom. It begs questions such as
valuable to whom? What sort of value? Who is to be the judge? The report itself
makes the point that just being original is not enough as this may be impractical
or not fit for purpose: ‘The outcome of imaginative activity can only be called
creative if it is of value in relation to the task at hand’ (NACCCE, 1999: 33).
However, history is full of acts of creativity that were not valued at the time and
disregarded. In the classroom what is needed is to foster and develop methods
of critical evaluation. Firstly, ideas and outcomes can be evaluated as to whether
they met the criteria set at the outset. Depending on the type of creative activ-
ity, this may involve whether it is fit for purpose: is it useful or enjoyable, does
it communicate particular ideas or feelings? Different points of view can and
should be taken into consideration, and even if a particular outcome is deemed
not to meet the original intention, the process of evaluation should go on to
consider whether it has properties that could be useful in another situation.
You might hear statements such as:

‘I didn’t see it was a snail, I thought it was a dragon breathing fire.’


‘It was meant to be a snail but it came uncurled. I like the idea of it
being a dragon; I’m going to paint it with scales and fire.’
‘I think we put in too much water so it’s not vegetable stew any more,
it’s vegetable soup.’

Children need to be able to ask these questions of themselves as they are


working, they need to become their own ‘first marker’, to trust their own judge-
ment and to discard, adapt or pursue ideas as they think fit. Self-evaluation
should be a constant process throughout a piece of work.

Classroom idea
Learning skills, design & technology
It is always worth sharing stories with children about pieces of developmental
work that appear to fail but turn out to have other uses. One good example here
is Post-It notes. The glue on these, which is ‘low-tack’ and allows repositioning
that leaves no mark or residue, was discovered by accident. Its use on small notes
was invented by another colleague, who had initially envisaged Post-Its being
used as bookmarks.
(Continued)
16 CREATIVITY IN THE PRIMARY CLASSROOM

(Continued)

Other inventions have come from looking at waste. Children in a UK primary


school won a competition by inventing an extension tube that could be easily
added to the end of pencil stubs to make them reusable.
Encourage children to think about the things they might usually throw away.
Is there any way these could be used? What do they look like? What are their
properties?
Accustom the children to using ‘three stars and a wish’ when evaluating any
piece of work. They should say three things they like about the piece and have
one piece of advice as to how it could be improved. Children should be encour-
aged to apply this to their own work too. Even if they feel it has failed, what
positive elements can they find or what features might be useful when applied
to another situation?

Anna Craft (2000) describes the process of creativity as a cycle with five
stages. The first is preparation and involves getting into an appropriate
physical or mental ‘space’ where creativity can happen. She then describes
a state of ‘letting go’, of making an empty space where ideas can come,
‘surrendering control’. This is followed by germination where the buzz of
creation kicks in and ideas abound and there is energy and excitement. The
fourth part of the cycle is assimilation. This is an internal stage where ideas
take root and gestate, and may happen while doing other things over a
period of time. The final stage is completion, where the ideas are honed and
brought to fruition (2000: 32, 33).
Individuals may not be aware of all these stages and working in a group
may change some of them, but what can be seen is that it is very difficult to
expect someone to create something to order at a specific time in a specific
place, and yet this is what we tend to do in schools. As teachers we need to
see how we can build in time for reflection, for ideas to germinate, and also
how we can accommodate an individual who has reached a stage where an
idea really needs to be worked on.

Creativity in the classroom

Having looked at the most prevalent definitions of creativity we may be


clearer about what is involved, but when people talk about creativity in
terms of the primary classroom they can mean several different things.
They may mean teaching creatively. This phrase is defined in the NACCCE
report as ‘using imaginative approaches to make learning more interesting and
effective’ (NACCCE, 1999: 89). It is often linked with a ‘creative curriculum’
and used to signify a teacher who may work in the following ways:
THE KEY ELEMENTS OF CREATIVITY 17

• Putting the learning within authentic contexts, using real-life situations


wherever possible.
• Making links and connections between different subject areas where these
occur naturally.
• Using a variety of teaching methods, including some that might involve
working in role or as a facilitator.
• Using time flexibly within the day so that children may be less aware of
particular ‘lessons’.
• Expecting children to work in a variety of different groupings and with a
variety of different outcomes.
• Being flexible in approaches, listening to children’s ideas, and being willing
to follow them when appropriate.
• Using a variety of approaches to assessment at different levels.

Using some or any of the above doesn’t necessarily make you an effective
teacher; there are any number of considerations about purpose, context,
content, progression and appropriateness to take into account.

Individual or group activity


What is the difference between ‘creative teaching’ and a ‘creative curriculum’? Can
you teach creatively within a more formal curriculum? What implications are there
for pedagogy if a school wants a ‘creative curriculum’? Have you seen examples of
schools where this works well or not so well? What were the features?
Hold on to these issues as they will be returned to later.

Individual or group activity


Look at a couple of different medium-term plans. Ask yourself the following
questions:

• Is there any way of ascertaining the aims or values of the school from the plan?
• Is there an attempt to make links and connections between subjects? How
successful do you think these are?
• Does the plan give any indication of preferred teaching and learning styles?
Have you seen any planning at this level which does?

If you wanted to teach creatively using one of these plans, would any be prefer-
able? Why? What are your first ideas about what you might teach and how you
might teach it?
There will be much more detail about teaching creatively in subsequent
chapters – this is just to start you thinking.
18 CREATIVITY IN THE PRIMARY CLASSROOM

Learning creatively is a relatively new consideration in the literature on


creativity in education (see Craft, 2005; Jeffrey and Craft, 2004). It is strongly
linked to ideas about pupil autonomy and pupil voice. A child who learns
creatively will be involved in understanding how they learn and how they
learn best. They will use and develop that knowledge to be involved in devis-
ing some of their own learning experiences; they will make suggestions about
what the class might do and how they might do it. They will be developing
skills in self-evaluation and the evaluation of others’ performances.
So, from a creative learner you might hear:

‘Can I draw it out first? I think it would be clearer like that.’


‘Would an exploded diagram be better? We could write notes on it.’
‘If we did a survey we could be sure how many people think that. We
can’t just assume everyone agrees with us.’
‘Will we get a chance to find out about the ships they used? Could I
make a model of one? If I made it to scale could I show it in relation
to a modern cross-channel ferry?’
‘I really like the way he’s set it out, it makes it easy to see the connections.
I’m going to try it like that.’

The third way creativity may appear in a primary classroom is teaching to


develop creativity. There is some debate as to whether if you teach crea-
tively you are necessarily also encouraging creativity in the children you
teach (Craft, 2005; Jeffrey and Craft, 2004), but it seems most likely that the
two will often happen simultaneously. However, when starting out as a
teacher or deliberately trying to develop more creativity in your teaching and
the children you teach, it would be useful to separate the two in your mind.
This is especially important when you are planning so that you can be aware
of the elements of creativity you want to foster and develop in the children
you teach and plan an appropriate stimulus and activities to achieve this.
This takes us back to the key elements of creativity and our task will now
be to find ways that we can foster and develop these elements both within
ourselves as teachers and in the children we teach.

The key elements of creativity

Taking ideas from the definitions of creativity and the sharing of teachers’
own experiences, we can identify a list of the key elements of creativity:

• Generating new ideas.


• Applying known skills and ideas in different contexts.
THE KEY ELEMENTS OF CREATIVITY 19

• Taking other people’s ideas or starting points and moving them on or


personalising them.
• Communicating ideas in interesting or varied ways.
• Putting different or disparate ideas together to make something new.
• Working towards a goal or set of goals.
• Evaluating their own or others’ work.
• Adapting and improving on their work in the light of their own or others’
evaluations.

Let’s now put these in the context of a primary school classroom by considering
how they may appear in practice.

Generating new ideas


These ideas may be in any subject area and need only be new to the child
themself. Think about ways of moving differently in PE; composing a melody;
drawing a conclusion from evidence in a science investigation or from his-
torical evidence; making a generalised statement from individual observations,
maybe in a maths investigation; designing an implement or a recipe; thinking
up a plot for a story and so on. In Chapter 3 we will look at some methods
to help children develop their own ideas.

Applying known skills and ideas in different contexts


This may involve using something you have learned and applying it to a
completely different subject or situation. For example, children may have
real-life experience that cooking a sloppy mixture of flour, egg, sugar and
liquid can make crunchy biscuits, but will never before have applied this
knowledge to a scientific understanding of reversible and irreversible
changes. Observing mini-beasts might lead to their applying the way these
move to a dance or the way a moving vehicle is designed, and features of
their appearance might be used to design a suit of clothes.

Taking other people’s ideas or starting points and


moving them on or personalising them
This can often happen naturally when working in a group. You may hear
children’s ideas tumbling over each other so that it is not clear exactly who
had the original idea:

‘We could make it like a battle.’


‘Yeah, but in slow motion.’
20 CREATIVITY IN THE PRIMARY CLASSROOM

‘Nobody actually touches anyone else.’


‘With spins and kicks, like kung fu.’
‘But really slow.’

In the above conversation about a proposed dance only the final comment
is not actually moving on the idea – all the other participants were adding
their own creative contribution.
Sometimes longer has to be spent getting to know another person’s meth-
ods or ideas before they can be personalised. Peter Dixon is rightly scathing
about the value of ‘rows of six-year-olds copying rather obscure paintings by
Kandinsky, for no other reason than they have been told to do so’ (quoted in
Alexander, 2010: 227). However, there is a place for examining and practis-
ing the techniques of ‘masters’ before using and perhaps adapting these in
creating a new work. In Chinese culture there might be years of imitation of a
master artist before a student was considered skilled enough to develop their
own ideas. We tend, in the West, to value individuality more and earlier, but
should not underestimate the creative possibilities of building on ideas and
techniques of others, be they acclaimed in their field or by our peers.

Communicating ideas in interesting or varied ways


As teachers we tend to ask children to communicate their ideas and knowl-
edge mostly in words and more often than not in written words. It is not
unusual when asking a colleague about a child’s ability in science to be told
about their difficulties in reading and writing. If that teacher only assesses
children’s learning through their written work they cannot see past the dif-
ficulties in writing to recognise what the child knows and understands about
the science concepts. In some cases a child may be very able in science and
this may not be being recognised. This is just one of the reasons that com-
municating in different ways can be valuable.
Try asking children to illustrate either a passage of fiction or non-fiction
including as much information as they can from the passage in their picture;
this shows you clearly what they have understood. Can they use movement
to demonstrate the action of molecules in solids, liquids and gases? Can they
make a model of a Roman town or a diagram to show how to make something?

Putting different or disparate ideas together


to make something new
This is similar to applying knowledge in different contexts but in this case
two or more things are combined to make something new. Some forty years
ago there was a new invention called ‘splayds’, which were essentially forks
with a cutting edge on one side enabling you to eat with one implement.
THE KEY ELEMENTS OF CREATIVITY 21

They never caught on, but someone had had the idea of combining the two
features. Or what about composing fusion music combining two different
genres or designing a dish that incorporates food from two different cultures?

Working towards a goal or set of goals


Of course almost everything that happens in a classroom will have some sort
of goal or expected outcome. In this context, though, we are thinking about
setting children a challenge that they have to work towards. That challenge
will involve a number of different stages and necessitate the children planning
various activities to achieve their goal. This will often mean that they identify
for themselves what they need to learn as they go along and therefore are
highly motivated to achieve that learning. It also often places the learning in
authentic ‘real-life’ contexts. For example, challenges might involve planning
a party for their class, producing 200 copies of a school newspaper on a cer-
tain day, starting and maintaining a recycling scheme. These challenges will
generally involve learning and applying skills in a number of different subject
areas and will also require a variety of different learning and social skills.

Evaluating their own or others’ work


This was discussed earlier in terms of judging value. It is really important that
this becomes an integral part of how children work and think at all stages.
If it is only done at the end of a piece of work then it can just feel like an
‘add-on’ activity and the possibility of changing direction more fruitfully will
be lost. From the moment ideas are generated they have to be evaluated to
determine which are to be selected and worked on further.

Adapting and improving on their work in light of


their own or others’ evaluations
This is strongly linked to the point above and shows a commitment to
improving their work as they go and in the future. Obviously it is important
for teachers to judge at what stage stopping and celebrating their achieve-
ments is appropriate for individuals, groups or the whole class. Celebrating
success and knowing what that feels like are just as important as recognising
how you can improve.

Creativity in the Early Years

One of the best places to see all these key elements of creativity in action
is in an Early Years setting. Young children are naturally creative and the
strong interrelationship between play and creativity has meant that Early
22 CREATIVITY IN THE PRIMARY CLASSROOM

Years provision has fostered creative learning strongly. As Paulette Luff


points out in her chapter ‘Play and Creativity’, ‘Neither ‘play’ nor ‘creativity’
can be easily defined but qualities of imagination, exploration, freedom
and flexibility are common to both, and this accounts for their significance
within Western traditions of early years education’ (Luff, in Waller and
Davis, 2013: 129).
In recent decades the influence of the Reggio Emilia approach to pre-
school experiences has become more evident with many Early Years
practitioners adopting the principles. Amongst these principles are those
of seeing the child as someone who is already capable and has skills and
competence; the cooperation and collaboration between the child, its par-
ents and the teacher; seeing the learning environment as the ‘third teacher’,
a strong participant in the world of learning being created; the pursuit of
often long-term projects which are generated by the children’s interactions
and enquiries; and the careful observation, documentation and analysis of
each child’s learning in a number of different ways. There are many articles
online or published which discuss the Reggio Emilia approach to Early Years
learning and these are well worth looking at. You might try The Hundred
Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Childhood
Education edited by Edwards et al. (1993, Ablex).

Individual or group activity


Spend some time observing in an Early Years setting. Which of the key elements of
creativity can you see in action? How do the adults interact with the children? It
may help you to take a list of the key elements of creativity with you as you observe.
When you reflect on your observations discuss or list which of the key ele-
ments of creativity you saw in action. What were the main features of the way
learning was happening?
You may well have observed a very playful environment with children having
time to experiment with ideas, equipment and materials without a set ‘outcome’.
Learning will most likely have crossed subject boundaries and children will have
been applying knowledge and skills from one area to another. There was probably
a carousel of activities so that staff could concentrate on some small groups at
times. The setting was more than likely a rich educational resource with indoor
and outdoor areas and many interesting things to touch, feel, see and interact
with at the children’s level.
Take some time to consider which of the elements you observed you could
adapt for older children. How would this make their learning more interesting
and effective?
As you continue through this book you will find many points which relate back
to Early Years practice. Make as many opportunities as you can to continue your
visits to the youngest learners – these can often help us clarify what is important
about how children learn and the experiences which can best help this.
THE KEY ELEMENTS OF CREATIVITY 23

What are the benefits and potential drawbacks


of creativity in the classroom?

It is probably evident by now that there are a lot of different aspects to con-
sider if you want to teach more creatively or help children become more
creative. Before we continue to look at those aspects it is worth considering
why we value creativity and what we believe it can achieve for young people
and for ourselves as teachers. It would also be unwise to ignore the fact that
working creatively or to encourage creativity can have drawbacks or involve
difficulties that will need to be overcome. Looking at those drawbacks clearly
can help you either to deal with them straightaway or to decide to wait until
you are more experienced before tackling that particular aspect.

Individual or group activity


(Potential activity spoiler! Cover the paragraphs beneath this box.)
Draw two columns (one for positives and one for negatives) and list as many
positives and negatives as you can for both teaching creatively and teaching to
develop creativity.

Group activity
Choose one positive and one negative and prepare to communicate these to the
other groups. You should try to communicate in ways other than explaining in
words. You could do a role play to share your idea or use modelling material to make
a symbolic representation, you could draw a poster or a picture, create a short dance
or a poem. After a short preparation time, share your different positives and nega-
tives. The group sharing should try not to explain what they have done until the
audience has had time to discuss what it could mean. Often, the audience will come
up with points that were not intended by the performers but are valid and useful.
Discuss and ‘unpick’ the points raised plus any from your original lists that
were not illustrated in the sharing activity.

Below are some of the points that often come up when students and teach-
ers undertake this activity. Note that these lists are not exhaustive.

Positives/Benefits
• Children tend to remember things better if they learn them in creative,
interactive ways.
• It caters to different learning styles, children can access learning in a variety
of ways.
24 CREATIVITY IN THE PRIMARY CLASSROOM

• It allows children to demonstrate their learning in ways that are not just
through reading and writing.
• It raises the self-esteem of children, particularly those for whom reading
and writing are difficult.
• It is more fun.
• Children have more autonomy over their learning and get more personal
fulfilment.
• It is useful. Creativity is valued in society and it builds skills for future learning.
• It puts learning in authentic or ‘real-life’ situations. It is meaningful to
children.
• It enhances motivation and builds skills in ‘learning to learn’.
• It is more fulfilling for teachers.

Negatives/Drawbacks

(with some brief comments – these issues will be dealt with in subsequent
chapters)

• Time management. This is a very real issue on a number of levels. How do


you manage to find the time for extended pieces of work? How do you cope
when some children have finished but others are still involved in meaningful
exploration? How do you find any time within the constraints of the curriculum?
• Unconventionality. Being creative involves encouraging thinking that is
not just following the crowd and behaviours such as relishing doing things
in different ways. How does this fit with the peer pressure to conform? Or
knowing when you have to do things exactly the same as other people
and when you are expected to be individual?
• Mess. Lots of teachers worry that working creatively is inherently messy!
Hopefully from your reading thus far you will realise that creativity is more
about ways of thinking and enquiry than glue and sequins. However, if
mess is involved, you can train children to care for resources and be good
at tidying up.
• Parents and/or senior managers not understanding; a lack of writ-
ten work in books. Hopefully you will be working within a school that
values children learning in this way and has an outward-looking policy to
help parents understand how their child is learning. There are lots of ways,
however, of recording and assessing creative work in different media, of
focusing on metacognition so that the children recognise what and how
they are learning and don’t go home saying ‘We just played today.’
• Making sure you have ‘covered it all’. Teaching creatively is not an
easy option and a creative teacher needs to know the curriculum well, be
able to make decisions about when and how it is the right time to explore
something, and be responsible for making sure there is a balance between
structure and flexibility.
THE KEY ELEMENTS OF CREATIVITY 25

• The ‘blank sheet’ moment. Being asked to come up with your own
individual ideas, often at a moment’s notice, can be very threatening.
Learning creatively needs to be structured and scaffolded in exactly the
same way as any other method of learning. There are skills involved in
being creative that have to be learned and teachers need to build these
skills and children’s confidence gradually.

Final thoughts

Being creative in one way or another is a human characteristic. We all have


the potential to be creative: we make things, we solve problems, we want to
understand how things work or make them work better. We may have natu-
ral propensities to learn better in certain areas but we can all learn to
improve our skills across the board. Teachers are creative, it is part of the
job, but outstanding teachers are highly creative.

Chapter summary

In this chapter we have examined our own ideas about what creativity is
and some definitions of creativity in education, particularly the very influen-
tial definition in the NACCCE’s (1999) report. We have identified that there
are three types of creativity at work in a primary classroom, namely teaching
creatively, learning creatively, and teaching to develop creativity. The key
elements of creativity were identified and introduced and possible benefits
and drawbacks to teaching more creatively or encouraging more creativity
in the classroom were identified prior to looking at these in more detail in
subsequent chapters.

Personal thought and reflection

•• In what ways are you personally most creative?


•• Who is the most creative teacher you have observed so far? What were the
features of their practice?
•• Did you or your group come up with more positives or negatives in your
listing activity?
•• Do you personally feel there was more ‘weight’ to one side or the other? Can
you identify why that is?
26 CREATIVITY IN THE PRIMARY CLASSROOM

Further study
This section aims to offer readers who want to explore the subject in greater
depth the opportunity to do so. Completing the activities in this section for each
chapter will provide a progressive and cumulative exercise in critical reflection.
Each activity is based on the content of the chapter.

About critical reflection


Critical reflection involves a number of different strands which will be intro-
duced in the activities following each chapter. This might involve writing a
synthesis of a paper – namely summarising, pulling out or drawing together
the main message. It might involve evaluating either a research paper, your own
teaching, or a child’s learning. The evaluation could involve assessing strengths
and weaknesses, how valid the judgement is or how reliable the evidence. It
might also involve analysis: for example, parts of a problem might be broken up
to look at solutions. You might test out ideas or interpretations and extrapolate
various ways of looking at a situation, challenge the assumptions or hypotheses
suggested, or speculate on a solution.
Reflection is a vital skill for teachers, enabling theoretical ideas to be brought
together with all that is seen, heard or experienced in practice. For example,
seeing someone actually helping a child to learn something new by using a sup-
portive technique may lead to understanding ‘scaffolding’ learning from a
different perspective from that of the understanding gained when reading
Vygotskian theory or Bruner’s work on the subject.

Critical reflection: Activity 1


Allow an hour for this activity.
In one short paragraph identify the three different types of creativity discussed
in this chapter.
Identify one occasion when you have been in a position of learning creatively.
In a few sentences describe objectively the context of this experience. Explain
why you consider this to be a situation where you were learning creatively.
Take time to remember this experience. Where were you? Who was with
you? What were you doing? What were you feeling as you were learning?
Now write a brief evaluation of this experience. One way of doing this is to
identify what helped you. What was useful? What was positive?
Now identify and examine what changed in you as a result of this experience
or what you see differently and how it will make you change some aspect of
your classroom practice. It may be appropriate here to take time with some
aspect of the experience that was challenging or that you found unhelpful and
write a paragraph about what was challenging, why it was challenging, and
what you learnt from that.
THE KEY ELEMENTS OF CREATIVITY 27

Remember:

•• Reflection should take you forward. Ruminating or dreaming goes round in


circles whereas reflection moves you on – you ‘see’ something in a new light.
•• Writing after a time of reflection can help you crystallise your learning and
move your thinking on to a new stage.
•• Reflective writing is not very descriptive – you provide just enough description
to set the context for your analysis.

Further reading
Craft, A. (2000) Creativity across the Primary Curriculum. London: Routledge.
Edwards, C. et al. (eds) (1993) The Hundred Languages of Children: The
Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Childhood Education. New York: Ablex.
Jeffrey, B. and Craft, A. (2004) ‘Teaching creatively and teaching for creativity:
distinctions and relationships’, Educational Studies, 30 (1): 77–8.
NACCCE (National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education)
(1999) All Our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education. London: DfEE.
CHAPTER 2

CREATIVITY IN
EDUCATION:
HISTORY AND THEORETICAL
BACKGROUND

Learning objectives in this chapter:

•• To understand the changing place of creativity in the primary school curriculum


over the past decades
•• To be introduced to the work of some of the key researchers and theorists in
the area
•• To consider the place of creativity in primary schools at the present time

Relevant Teachers' Standards for this chapter


A teacher must:
3 Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge
demonstrate a critical understanding of developments in the subject and
3b curriculum areas, and promote the value of scholarship

In the past few decades creativity has been both out of and in fashion in educa-
tional theory, policy and practice. In this chapter we look at the place creativity
has occupied both today and in past decades in the primary school curriculum.
Another Random Document on
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felice 1 50
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