What is the value of the Welsh language in primary education?

The importance of creativity

 

So, just to begin with what is creativity and why do we need it?

Theorists have many different views on what ‘creativity’ is, many agree that it includes: Imagination. Originality, Productivity, Problem Solving and Producing an outcome of value or worth (Sharp (2004, p.5). According to Sir Ken Robinson, 2015 Creativity can be defined as “the process of having original ideas that have value.” However, that’s just one viewpoint and opinion of defining creativity. Although I agree with Sir Ken Robison about using our ideas, I feel everyone has their own definition of creativity. To me, creativity is massively influenced by the use of our imagination and the ability to see things through different viewpoints. For example, if you asked a group of children to draw something simple like a pencil not all the drawings would look the same. This is because the children have used their own imagination, ideas and different viewpoints to create their own pencils including the pencils colour, shape etc, therefore completing the task by being  imaginative and of course creative.  Now that’s just a simple way of looking at creativity and throughout this blog I will be delving into it more.

When I was in primary school of course creativity was significant within the curriculum however its use was far more limited than it is today. Creativity was shown through more practical subjects such as art, music, school plays and forest school. Like many children today, forest schools allowed us to engage with nature in a creative way. We would use natural resources found within the forest to create dens and different images as well as drawing our surroundings. Today, with the new upcoming curriculum being enforced creativity will now be seen across the whole curriculum. This is because Professor Graham Donaldson, 2015 has reaffirmed the importance of creativity in the development of our children and young people.  It’s clear from my time spent volunteering and current studies within university that there is no longer limitations of creativity and it is seen far more significantly than it used to be as like I said it will be used throughout cross curricula with the new upcoming curriculum.

Although creativity is becoming cross-curricula its important that teachers ensure they use it but also don’t over use it for a more basic way of learning. Teachers can be at risk of trying to use creativity all the time which some children may struggle with. Its been largely debated that some individuals are born to be creative and some aren’t. Personally, I feel that everyone has their own way of being creative. Its accepted that no single ability or trait is the key to creativity. Indeed, creativity involves a combination of cognitive, conative and emotional factors. These further interact dynamically with the environment by doing this it stimulates the expression of creative potential (Besançon and Lubart, 2008).  However, there are different factors and environments that could affect a child’s creativity such as how intellectual a child is. For example, a child who has a higher level of intellect may have a better understanding of creativity and how to use it compared to a child with less intellect. So, its important that teachers are aware of this and allow the children to explore creativity in their own ways which they can understand and are also well suited for the child rather than expecting them all to share the same level of creativity and understanding. Another is economic. For example, if a teacher asks the children to get creative and create projects at home, they must be aware that some parents may not be able to afford crafts for their children so there will be different levels of work produced.

Creativity within the classroom doesn’t just involve using arts and crafts its far broader than that, Teachers can use techniques such as involving children in different scenarios to incorporate role play. They can also use encourage creative expressions such as ‘Gratitude Practice’. According to  Sansone, 2010 Gratitude thinking is the appreciation of what is valuable and meaningful to oneself and represents a general state of thankfulness and/or appreciation. An example of this in the classroom could be children having to close their eyes and think about different things that they are grateful for in their lives. The child then has to think of a movement that shows the things they’re grateful for or describe how they make them feel and further preform it to the class.

To summarise, it’s clear that creativity is important both in and out of education and is essential to broadening children’s learning. We must be aware that everyone has their own way of being creative and creativity is not just restricted to art although some find it easier to display their creative minds more than others.

 

 

 

 

 

The pictures shown above are from my local Primary School. These photos are a great example of creativity by focussing on a certain topic then using resources in this case to create poppy's for remembrance day.

References

Sharp, C. (2004) Developing young children’s creativity: what can we learn from research? Topic (32) pp.5-12. (Accessed 27/11/18)

 https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/40217/sir-ken-robinson-creativity-is-in-everything-especially-teaching (Accessed 27/11/18).

Department of education and skills (2015) Creative learning through the arts – an action plan for Wales. Cardiff: Welsh Government. (Accessed 27/11/18).

Besançon, M., & Lubart, T. (2008). Differences in the development of creative competencies in children schooled in diverse learning environments. Learning and individual differences, 18(4), 381-389. (Accessed 28/11/18)

Randy A. Sansone, MD, and Lori A. Sanson (2010) GRATITUDE AND WELL BEING: The Benefits of Appreciation. Psychiatry (Edgemont) 7(11):18–22. (Accessed 28/11/18)