Creativity in Secondary School - Essay Example

Creativity in Secondary School How can art and creativity be used to enhance a child to overcome their barriers to learning? Institute How can art and creativity be used to enhance a child to overcome their barriers to learning? Learning is a dynamic process. In this practice different parts of the brain communicate with each other, and learning depends on this interaction. The visual, auditory and memory sections of the brain interact to understand and solve a problem. In simple terms the brain has two basic segments. The right side is creative and passionate, the left side is logical. Fusing these together can be extremely beneficial for any learner. This simple principle of fusion of different parts of the brain should be incorporated into teaching, especially in the secondary schools. Implementing such a model where arts and creativity are used to overcome learning barriers can be used to help improve the learning process. Parents and teachers can help students in devising thinking patterns and problem-solving skills by utilizing creativity. It includes giving the students the choice and the liberty to learn by trying and making as many mistakes as they safely can. It also implies that the teachers will have to drown their rigid normative thinking and respect the creative ways that the students pursue. It must be noted that this type of parental encouragement and education requires creative teaching processes as well, which is hard to practice in secondary schools considering their rigid subjects. The learned curriculum is everything that students learn in school (Fautley and Savage, 2010). The selection of words communicated in language and encouragement to experiment without the fear of failure are the two crucial aspects in achieving such a goal. To use creativity the students have to look at a problem through various angles. It also implies that there cannot be a rigid solution to a problem. Artful activities have been proven to help students overcome learning barriers (Cochran, 1996). This is important because when a student comes up with a creative solution that doesnt not strictly match the predetermined result it can discourage him from further experimenting, especially when the result translates into bad grades. The teachers should be aware that this pattern can be incredibly negative that weeds out the creative process from their students’ psychology. To encourage children to think creatively the teachers and parents should make efforts in asking them to observe their surroundings in a different way. An artist sees a way when there is an ‘aha!’ moment (Jalongo, 1999). Secondary schools education should be based around this principle where the students figure things out for themselves through their ‘aha!’ moment. Connecting the right and the left side of the brain can help learn better. The students should look for cues for getting inspirations from various processes, designs and objects in their surroundings. The focus should be on creating links between two apparently disconnected objects or ideas. Creativity does not exist in thin air, it stems from a seed (idea) or inspiration. Left and Right Brain Illustration (huffingtonpost.com, 2014) The link between different concepts is important in learning. When teachers ask students to critique arts the question about the social background and its history in which it grew comes into question (Capel, Leask, & Turner, 2005). The students connect one concept with another. In theory, giving secondary school children more choices can significantly enhance their creative abilities. An immediate impact would be that they will appear distinct from those children that are given a script for their decisions. Their ‘choices’ are limited. To give them more options and the freedom to choose will encourage them to make more connections between apparently disconnected objects, and they overcome learning obstacles through creative process. Secondary school children need to have a physical environment that stimulates their creative juices. It is a little harder to reshape the physical environment and the teaching methodology for secondary school children compared to elementary school children Arts and creativity form a core concept in the basic development of children. They ‘play’ with building blocks and ‘figure out’ possibilities of constructing a structure. The teacher would ask them questions about the possibilities of using an object. In secondary schools the curriculum and the subjects are relatively rigid. Usually it is assumed to have narrow learning pattern. The process of arts and creativity needs to be encompassed within subjects such as science, technology, mathematics, engineering etc. Arts and creativity infused in such skill sets can help the students in the long run regarding their career and personal fulfilment. Teaching assistants or TAs can be helpful in bolstering creativity. They work alongside teachers assisting students on individual and group basis (Hughes, 2009). Singapore and Korea offer great education models where the focus is on creativity and critical thinking (Vincent-Lancrin, 2013). The general criteria is that the students and teachers contribute around 10% of the school time towards creative projects and activities geared toward stimulating creativity. The outcomes that the Singaporean education system seeks is the critical and inventive thinking along with emotional competency (Vincent-Lancrin, 2013). Such results can be achieved through redesigning the curriculum and the overall teaching methods. A simple technique of holding brainstorming sessions in the classes can help generate different ideas. It can also give the teachers an insight as to how the students think. It also helps build rapport between the teachers and the students. Such creative activities promote effective communication when it comes to learning. Student Engagement (Sacredheart.edu, 2015) Creativity is an essential skill for the future that pervades the school life and the curriculum (Baker & Fisher, 2011). A common notion among educators, policymakers and art specialists is that arts education stimulates creativity in children and young people. The objective of arts education in pre-primary students is to seek an outcome that stimulates childrens creative and imaginative thinking and encourages them to enjoy participation in creative works (Tan, 2013). Similarly, the objective in the visual arts curriculum for primary and junior secondary students encourages developing creativity and imagination. However, some researchers have remained critical of the notion that arts stimulates and encourages creativity among students. The results deduced so far from the experiments on the subject have yielded mixed and inconclusive statistics on the relation between arts learning and if and how it triggers creativity (Tan, 2013). Even though the positive results are considered there is much required research in measuring how the gains are possible. For instance, a large-scale study of 2406 students from grades four, five, seven and eight in four different states of the US endorses this claim (Tan, 2013). The creative thinking abilities were measured through the Torrance Tests for Creative Thinking. The correlation between the arts learning in the classroom and the scores on the creative scale were positively correlated. However, the problem was the link between arts and the perception of Self-Concept measured through Self-Description Questionnaire remained insignificant. Also, the causality relationship between arts learning and creativity among elementary and secondary school students could not be established. In another study on school-based arts education programs conducted in Australia the results were different. Communication, planning problem-solving and teamwork were discovered to be crucial learning results among participants of arts and music groups compared with the results from non-art and art music groups (Tan, 2013). Creativity, motivation and student engagement were enhanced among the students of arts education programs. All in all similar positive effects were observed across the board. To formulate an education model the Renaissance period can be a source of great inspiration. The greats such as Leonardo da Vinci combined arts and creativity, with rigid knowledge fields such as mathematics, astrology, astronomy. Geniuses like him were not only adept at scientific knowledge but they were also master painters and sculptors. The art was seen as the dynamic facilitator in creative thinking. Artistic activities are not merely stages for people to show their creativity. When put in the context of education, art is a channel for catharsis that showcases creative talent (Joubert, 2008). Arts education incorporates both the formal instruction as well as informal exposure. Graffiti painting on the walls is a highly casual but expressive art form. Creativity & Arts Soiree Graffiti Wall (emory.edu, 2015) High-performing individuals need creativity to express their exceptional talents. Creativity refers to application of knowledge and skills in novel ways to obtain a goal. Gwen Goodhew (2009) identifies four key qualities in order to do that; The ability to identify new problems instead of depending on a pre-existing script that defines the problems The ability of transferring knowledge in one area to other apparently irrelevant areas in solving a problem A belief system that learning is incremental and repetition leads to success Focusing attention to pursue goals A teaching methodology based on fundamental concept of creativity is paramount to overcome learning obstacles in secondary schools. When subject barriers are removed (be it in primary or secondary schools) the students, creative approaches to learn arise (Goodhew, 2009). Identifying the main obstacles towards creativity can help achieve that. Five main obstacles in creative thinking are (Goodhew, 2009); Lack of time Complex or content heavy syllabus Exam structure that inherently depends on pedagogy Classroom environment that is unsupportive of creative thinking Fear of failure Students that surprise others with strange questions and out-of-the-box thinking or exhibit extraordinary skills of humour in their communication are assumed to be creative. Creative imagination usually breaks norms and rules of the rigid classroom environment. The conventional teaching or pedagogy might find itself agitated by this constant rules-breaking behaviour. No one should ever underestimate the incredible power of creative imagination. The education personnel need to understand that the use of arts and creativity can be extremely beneficial for the society. They should encourage their out-of-the-box thinking. These students, when turned into professionals, can provide solutions to the problems of the society.   References Baker, G., & Fisher, A. (Eds.). (2011). Arts and Humanities Academics in Schools: Mapping the Pedagogical Interface. A&C Black. Cochran, J. L. (1996). Using play and art therapy to help culturally diverse students overcome barriers to school success. The School Counselor, 287-298. Capel, S. A., Leask, M., & Turner, T. (Eds.). (2005). Learning to teach in the secondary school: A companion to school experience. Taylor & Francis. Debord, K. (2010) Child Development: Creativity in young children. North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. [Accessed online 5 June 2015] http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/fcs/pdfs/fcs470.pdf Eger, J. M. (2014) Arts Integration Works Says Portlands "Right Brain Initiative". Huffington Post. [Accessed online 6 June 2015] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-m-eger/arts-integration-works-sa_b_5716221.html EMORY (2015) Emory College Center for Creativity & Arts. Emory.edu [Accessed online 6 June 2015] http://arts.emory.edu/about/institutions/center-for-creativity-and-arts.html Goodhew, G. (2009). Meeting the needs of gifted and talented students. A&C Black. Fautley, M. and Savage, J. (2010) Cross-Curricular Teaching and Learning in the Secondary School... The Arts: Drama, Visual Art, Music and Design. London: Routledge. Hughes, P. (2009). Breaking barriers to learning in primary schools: an integrated approach to childrens services. Routledge. Jalongo, M. R. (1999). Editorial: On Behalf of Children “How We Respond to the Artistry of Children: Ten Barriers to Overcome”. Early Childhood Education Journal, 26(4), 205-208. Joubert, L. (Ed.). (2008). Educating in the Arts: The Asian Experience: Twenty-four Essays (Vol. 11). Springer Science & Business Media. Sacred Heart University (2015) College of Arts and Science. scaredheart.edu. [Accessed online 6 June 2015] http://www.sacredheart.edu/academics/collegeofartssciences/ Tan, A. G. (2013). Epilogue: Toward an Integrative Understanding of Creativity, Talent, and Excellence. In Creativity, Talent and Excellence (pp. 263-271). Springer Singapore. Vincent-Lancrin, S. (2013) Creativity in schools: what countries do (or could do). Educationtoday.com. [Accessed online 6 June 2015] http://oecdeducationtoday.blogspot.com/2013/01/creativity-in-schools-what-countries-do.html Read More