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This book offers a comprehensive guide to ideas on creativity in education, along with the major theories related to creativity.
The Creative Classroom presents an original, compelling vision of schools where teaching and learning are centered on creativity. Drawing on the latest research as well as his studies of jazz and improvised theater, Sawyer describes curricula and classroom practices that will help educators get started with a new style of teaching, guided improvisation, where students are given freedom to explore within structures provided by the teacher. Readers will learn how to improve learning outcomes in all subjects—from science and math to history and language arts—by helping students master content-area standards at the same time as they increase their creative potential. This book shows how teachers and school leaders can work together to overcome all-too-common barriers to creative teaching—leadership, structure, and culture—and collaborate to transform schools into creative organizations. Book Features: Presents a research-based approach to teaching and learning for creativity. Identifies which learning outcomes support creativity and offers practical advice for how to teach for these outcomes. Shows how students learn content-area knowledge while also learning to be creative with that knowledge. Describes principles and techniques that teachers can use in all subjects. Demonstrates that a combination of school structures, cultures, incentives, and leadership are needed to support creative teaching and learning.
A study of creativity in the context of education, an issue of great importance for teachers and students alike. It considers just how creativity "works" and how it can be encouraged. The book has an international and an historical sweep, and features many examples.
Creativity and critical thinking are key skills for complex, globalised and increasingly digitalised economies and societies. While teachers and education policy makers consider creativity and critical thinking as important learning goals, it is still unclear to many what it means to develop these skills in a school setting. To make it more visible and tangible to practitioners, the OECD worked with networks of schools and teachers in 11 countries to develop and trial a set of pedagogical resources that exemplify what it means to teach, learn and make progress in creativity and critical thinking in primary and secondary education.
The purpose of this handbook is to demystify art for parents and teachers and to help them understand what the art experience is like for the child/adolescent. The book discusses visual art concepts in simple terms and presents art as a vehicle for educationally transformative experiences. The book also provides sample dialogs between adults and children for parents and teachers who wish to help children approach art projects creatively. The "I can't draw syndrome" is explained and stages of artistic development are discussed from scribbling to adolescent art. The text also offers ideas and projects to help adults support the authentic vision of the child/adolescent throughout all the stages. Major sections include: the art experience, creativity and the child, stages of artistic development, keeping creativity alive, art projects for children ages 2 to 12, and art projects for adolescents ages 12 to 17. Also provided are an appendix on art materials and safety information and a glossary. At the core of this book is the belief that children are born artists and that artistic talent emerges from the interplay of proclivity, cultural enrichment, and nurturance. This exceptional handbook will raise consciousness and foster understanding about the nature of the art experience, and it will help adults find ways to keep the creative process alive at home and in the classroom. Visit Author's Web site.
Developing Creativity in the Classroom applies the most current theory and research on creativity to support the design of teaching and learning. Creative thinking and problem solving are at the heart of learning and application as students prepare for innovation-driven careers. This text debunks myths about creativity and teaching and, instead, illustrates productive conceptions of creative thinking and innovation, including a constructivist learning approach in which creative thinking enhances and strengthens conceptual understanding of the curriculum. Through models of teaching that support creativity and problem solving, this book extends the idea of a creative pedagogy to the four core curriculum domains. Developing Creativity in the Classroom focuses on explanations and examples of how creative thinking and deep learning merge to support engaging learning environments, rising to the challenge of developing 21st-century competencies.
A science-backed method to maximize creative potential in any sphere of life With the prevalence of computer technology and outsourcing, new jobs and fulfilling lives will rely heavily on creativity and innovation. Keith Sawyer draws from his expansive research of the creative journey, exceptional creators, creative abilities, and world-changing innovations to create an accessible, eight-step program to increasing anyone's creative potential. Sawyer reveals the surprising secrets of highly creative people (such as learning to ask better questions when faced with a problem), demonstrates how to come up with better ideas, and explains how to carry those ideas to fruition most effectively. This science-backed, step-by step method can maximize our creative potential in any sphere of life. Offers a proven method for developing new ideas and creative problem-solving no matter what your profession Includes an eight-step method, 30 practices, and more than 100 techniques that can be launched at any point in a creative journey Psychologist, jazz pianist, and author Keith Sawyer studied with world-famous creativity expert Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Sawyer's book offers a wealth of easy to apply strategies and ideas for anyone who wants to tap into their creative power.
This informative book brings together theory, research and practice examples of creativity in primary schools, providing a scholarly yet accessible introduction. The book offers an overview for teachers looking for a concise guide to current thinking about creativity, particularly if your school is thinking of introducing or extending its practice. The book considers recent developments in the creative curriculum, and techniques embedded in approaches such as Philosophy for Children, Mantle of the Expert and Enterprise Education. Ideas for personalising teaching and creating independent and motivated learners are incorporated. Other key features of the book include: Examination of the major theories of creativity How to develop your own creativity as a teacher Focus on the difference between developing group and individual creativity Innovative ideas for creativity in subject teaching Practical examples and 'Creative Challenges' throughout The book draws on the author's many years of experience of working with children in schools, working on Creative Partnerships and Higher Education in the Arts (HEARTS) projects and ideas developed through working in initial teacher training. This book is essential reading for students in the early stages of their teacher training course as well as for practising teachers looking for innovative ideas and guidance on developing creativity in themselves and their classrooms. "This is an interesting book, which explores theory, practice and policy of creativity in the primary classroom. Jill Jesson links five key creative behaviours drawn together initially by (then) policymakers QCA, with what she identifies as six areas of creative endeavour. Primary teachers committed to developing a 'creative curriculum' will find much material in this lively book that supports their personal and professional creativity, as well as suggestions for classroom practice in developing individual and group work." Professor Anna Craft, University of Exeter and The Open University, UK "This is a compulsory read for all those interested in developing the creative potential of young people in primary schools. It includes a useful overview of previous thinking on creativity and makes a convincing case for its importance across the curriculum. Above all, this book is jam-packed with practical ideas. Whether you are interested in creative approaches to maths or modern languages, developing group or personal creativity, or the challenges of assessing creative endeavour, you will find a host of strategies that have been tried and tested in the classroom." Hilary Hodgson, Director, Ormiston Trust
Creative teaching as well as teaching creativity are cutting edge issues in psychology today as recent academic and popular media coverage has shown. This volume expands on that interest with chapter authors drawn from interdisciplinary areas. It includes examples of creatively teaching across the education system, including preschool, K-12, undergraduate, and graduate level education. The variety of subjects covered by the chapters include psychology,math, science, and reading. In addition to creative teaching which may lead to enhanced learning and achievement in students, as well enhanced creativity,another focus is teaching with the objective to enhance creativity.
