Creativity How, When

8/13/2019 Creativity How, When

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/creativity-how-when 1/13

Put together by Shetland-Kat

Creativity, creative teaching and a creative curriculum are phrases and words which

we are hearing often. But, when I ased on the !"S forum#So how do you now what you are doing is creative$% it proved to be a hard &uestion

but one that got a lot of discussion flowing'

http())www.tes.co.u)section)staffroom)thread.asp*$story+id/0123path)Primary)3threadPage3messagePage2

I thin for me, one of the ey things about a creative curriculum is that through being

creative in our teaching and through the activities we do to show the children%s

learning we are encouraging the children to

#learn how to learn%.

4!he principle goal of education is to create people who are capable of doing new things, not

simply repeating what other generations have done - people who are creative, inventive,

discoverers.4 Piaget.

5hat is creativity and can you inspire it in

others$to create something is to mae something yourself 6 7ndrew 8effrey

you can inspire creativity in others, but only if they are open to it, and if they are able to tae

a nugget of an idea and mae it their own. - Brownbear

5hat inds of things can I do to mae my

lessons more creative$

I provide the children with a little info, then 9ust tae a step bac, let them find their

own way :with perhaps a litttle guidance; and see what happens.... Im rarely let down.

2

http://www.tes.co.uk/section/staffroom/thread.aspx?story_id=2594651&path=/Primary/&threadPage=&messagePage=1






By finding their own way, they often get to choose how to show their learning, what

they are going to find out or how they are going to do that. !hey then find their own

way to their learning.

7ll too often we feel that we must have things written in 9otters, worsheetscompleted and so on to #show% the children%s learning. !his type of wor is oftenuninspiring and perhaps doesn%t necessarily show real learning. If you want to be more

creative in your teaching and the children%s learning it is important to #let go% of that,be more free and allow the children to be more free. 7 digital camera is very handy

for recording wor and to have as evidence of the learning that has taen place.

<ou could decide that #today we are all going to mae a powerpoint or a poster% or youcould be free-er than that and give the children the complete choice. !hat may mean

that you have a group doing a drama setch, a group maing a poster, one child mainga boo, one child maing a podcast= It can seem a bit daunting but it can wor'

>epending what ind of wor your children have done before, perhaps initially you

might need to tae a handful of ideas every wee and let the children e*plore how to

successfully do them. !his ensures that the children now how to do a variety of

activities so they don%t avoid some because they are unsure of how to tacle it 6 or so

they don%t 9ust stic to maing posters because its easy.

?!he curriculum in many schools focuses on nowledge. Coverage seems to be more importantthan the sills or understanding children have. 7 more balanced curriculum is needed. By using

a sills based approach to teaching it we can start to redress the balance. By developing

creativity in children we help them to understand more. @any see creativity as the ‘ bells and

whistles ’ approach - role play, drama and e*pressive arts - but this could turn out to be the

yet another one of those fads that seem to come and go in education. Instead, lets get the

right balance of activities that one hand shows children how to do things and on the other,

lets them decide how to do something. Aet ’ s also get the right balance between learning sills

in core sub9ects and applying them across the curriculum. !he principle at play here is ‘ recall

for retention ’ – the more children use these sills the more they will retain them.% Chris

uigley

I thin that is the scary aspect of creativity - how much singing and dancing do I have to do

to mae my classroom creative$ 7nswer - none because the creativity comes from letting the

children do and e*plore and try things out - there could 9ust be one hell of a mess to clean up

at the end' Brownbear

So, at the simplest level, being creative could simply mean trying something that is a little

?off-piste? rather than ploughing religiously through :for e*ample; Scholastic?s latest

offering. owever, I am in no way implying that using the ideas of others is wrongD manypeople spea very highly of the Scholastic series :and other planning-style boos;, and they

may well contain the perfect template for your particular lesson. 5here creativity comes in, I




guess, is when we start to deviate from the plan, at which moment it becomes something we

have created)adapted, and hence it could be described as creative. 6 7ndrew 8effrey

So, for something a little #off6piste% here are some suggestions' !he following ideas

came from stormiesye, 9mb, moospanE2, bluerose 3 shetland-at

http())www.tes.co.u)section)staffroom)thread.asp*$story+id10F03path)Primary)3threadPage3messagePage2

5rite down what you now about G

>raw and label a picture about G

!ae a photo about * and write a caption

@ae a poster about G including a, b and c.

@ae an information boo about G

@ae an information leaflet about G

@ae up a game to teach others about G

Create a set of ?top trump? cards to give information about aspects of G>raw a mindmap that shows everything you have found out about G

@ae a model to show G :you could use 9un, plastecene, playdoh, sand, Aego, K?ne*;

Create a short play to show what you have learnt

7ct out a !H)radio interview with G

Compose a song)9ingle to teach others about G

Create a comic strip to show what you have learnt

5rite a poem about *

@ae a powerpoint presentation about *

ind)create a recipe and if possible bae it to support your understanding of *

do some Internet research about * and show what you?ve found@aing lift the flap boo about *

mae something to share your nowledge of * with a younger child

5rite a blog about *

Carry out an interview to show your understanding of *

use >igital photo images to show freeJe frames eg. ey scenes in a story

Puppetry

Create a dance to show ey facts about G

using digital camera to mae a story or piece of writing with pictures

maing a short play script

lift the flap &uestions)answers

use plastecene 3 webcam to mae animations

tae the class to a beach and as them to display their learning of... G - could use debris,

driftwood, sand, stones etc

7llowing the children to choose their way of showing their learning

mae a machine for G

write a rap showing *

create an animation using simple programme

create a piece of drama)movement to a set piece of music

@ae a pop up boo about GPodcast

E






"*amples

8uliateacher

- ids have used digiblue to mae animations and films of restaurant drama

- I use camcorder to records ow ot is my 5riting$ >one lie !H ameshow

- have microphone set up to record using I5B :sound files; e*plaining writing or written

methods in maths etc or for showing story board and reading poems

Shetland-Kat

- "ach child chose which ?first? in space they wanted to find out about :children aged -

2; and choose how they want to show their learning..

or the younger ones, they now how to tae it further with support as over the term

they have done a lot of group wor with the older children :this is where mi*ed stages

really wors; so they have seen how its done, been part of it and achieved success - and

now they are 9ust transferring their learning from the group stuff to independent

wor.

-

I didnt really plan the two hours at all. :Shame on me'; 5e spoe about lots of thingsaround the topic and did a couple of things lie putting the ?firsts? into chronological

order on the board but then we 9ust let the children go for it. !hey now where are

the resources are and they are always allowed to use things lie glitter and so on. It

was a yr old who ased for the glitter first to surround his poster of Leil 7rmstrong

- for the stars of course''

I had posters, images, powerpoints, lift the flap posters boos, pictures... the standard of

wor was amaJing from every child. !he buJJ of activity for over hours was stunning.

!hat?s the ind of thing which goes on regulalry in my class....

It is important that you have a good supply of resources for this ind of wor in your

room : card, big sheets of paper, coloured pens, sellotape, glue, play doh, etc; that thechildren now how to access and are allowed to access. If they feel they #cant use big

coloured paper as that is only for special wor% or #we cant use glitter as it%s notChristmas% then their creativity will be stifled and perhaps their initial idea cant be

taen forward. @y children have the freedom of all the cupboards and resources but

we spea about using resources wisely.

So how can we, as teachers, be creative 6

or what maes us creative$

7 ey thought that came across often was to mi* up the curriculum, show the children

that things connect and=

=7llow the children to see more of a purpose to what they learn and have the freedom

over how to show that'

0




I thin >illsage had a really good point It?s tricy getting a balance between being

creative ourselves and getting the children to be creative - I suspect that sometimes I err

too far on the side of me being creative rather than them.

#8ust as it is important to mae the curriculum fit the children, so should teaching. >espitethis, teachers are forever being told what is ‘ good practice ’ Because of successive strategies,

teachers are so busy teaching they don ’ t now if children are learning. Its time to de-to* our

teaching. Instead of starting another to-do list, perhaps it ’ s time to create a stop doing list.

ood teachers help children to develop Knowledge sills and understanding at the right level

for them, at a rate that is right for them, in ways that are right for them. ow they get

there doesn ’ t really matter – as long as they get there.? Chris uigley

7 list of ideas of what maes a creative teacher was compiled by @yrtle, Brownbear,Shetland-Kat, iJJy, 5hiJJ, Mosiegirl

- ensure both the children and myself are having fun'

- having children learning ?through?

- do things in different ways and be confident that standards will not fall.

- giving wor that caters for all learning styles

- finding new ways of doing things

- someone who is able to tae chances and riss

- a creative teacher has the ability to wal in to any class with no plans and wor and ?by

instinct? move the class on from where they are in a lively and interesting way

-

@aybe some of the ?being creative thing? is actually being able to thin in a similar wayto the children. Sometimes I feel that I am 9ust a big id at heart and so I get a gut

feeling for what children will en9oy)learn from.

- >o things on a bigger scale than normal and so maing learning memorable.

- Involving the children more in their learning, finding out what they already now and

what they want to find out and planning from that info.

- iving children a conte*t for their learning to mae it real and worthwhile. 7lso,

creating some e*citement and buJJ at the starting point, so they become really

involved.

- ood lins between sub9ects so children are applying sills they?ve used in one sub9ect

to another, and developing them further.- Aearning is based on the development of sills( sub9ect specific sills, ey sills :Chris

uigley helps here';, thining sills and speaing and listening sills.

- try to mae)find)use stimulating resources,

- use sound, colour and ?effects? to try to mae learning memorable.

- mae up rhymes on the spot to help with whatever and find the children remember the

rhymes well.

- not having children sitting on their bums with a pencil in their hands for most part

- involving art, drama, dance, music into the core curriculum

- If a topic is going down really well, the children are loving it 6 go with it. >on%t feel you

have to stop because on the Erd day of the th wee of that term you are meant to start#!oys%. If toys doesn%t happen, toys doesn%t happen'




- starting on a topic and seeing where it goes, if you now what I mean. ollowing the

childrens? interest - they often go off at tangents from what we e*pect and can gain a

huge amount from directing their own learning.

- thining in a more creative way about the learning e*periences I would want to give the

children.

5hen planning=@ost of us are more creative than we thin - each time we select, use and adapt an idea from

anywhere it becomes our own creation. 7ndrew 8effrey

5hen I start planning, I thin right, what do I want the children to now by the end

of this lesson$ I then thin 6 o how can we get to that nowledge without sitting on

our seats with a pencil in our hand$ 5hat would be a fun, challenging way to reach this

learning$ 5hat can I use at the beginning to get the children #hooed% $

>on?t assume all creativity is spontaneous' Some of my best lessons were spontaneous and

gained a life of their own, however, planned creativity is much better' @adPhil

?Nur generation doesn?t learn)thin in the same way as we do)did,? ...so everytime I

thin...hmm...I rethin using this comment.

Nne e*ample is the !imes 7ttac maths game - my first thoughts were, ?Lope, it?s a video

game, not using that,?.....then remembered the comment and ased some children to evaluate it

for me, they loved the game' !heir evaluation was that it doesn?t teach you your times tablesas it is a game but what it does is mae you want to now your times tables so you can play the

game and be really good. - @yrtle

I thin I now when I am being creative as I will google)search for a lesson plan)unit and find

there is nothing so have to write it myself. I find a plan is a mental rehearsal and chance to

see the learning 9ourney. I usually add several things on the way and sometimes do something

that was not on the plan. @y ! said to me that if I had an amaJing idea on the way to school

one day and I wanted to teach it then do it. She is not interested in anyone?s planning but she

e*pects &uality first teaching and children to mae progress and en9oy the learning.

I have started to plan using the teaching se&uence style from new framewor as I thin this

allows for more creativity. Being narrowed down to a lesson plan might hold some people bac.

8uliateacher

iJJy 3 @adPhil

I thin I would do a lot better if I 9ust had a list of sills)ob9ectives for the wee. !hen I

could really be creative' or e*ample(

Communication

Independent thought

Se&uencingMeasoning

roupwor

1




etc.

rom there you might feel the need to adapt your activity to mae it fit more with the sill

you are teaching. 7fter a while you will start looing at the sill and planning the activity from

that - Aess content more learning'

I agree about planning focussing your thoughts. it also means you investigate and research

materials yourself. owever, we are bogged down in planning and I have to eep reminding

myself that we are dealing with 1 and F year olds. Planning in my school is shared and this is

where i feel I go wrong. Planning needs to be for you:as the teacher;, for your class and when

appropriate, for a supply or A!7. It does not need to be detailed but can be if you need it.

Basically, it is a tool and should not be a mill stone around your nec. iJJy

ow to eep trac of wor that is not in 9otters or on worsheets$

N, so we need to have evidence that the children have achieved AN%s etc. But it

doesn%t necessarily have to be on paper with #AN achieved% written beside it.

I tae lots of photos of my class and their creative wor. 7t the end of the activities

we all feedbac on what we have been doing and what we have learned. !his is wherewe will discuss AN%s etc. So much of our stuff is posters, powerpoints, models, dramaetc that at the end of a topic there is no 9otter you can see bursting with stuff. 7t

the moment all these photos are stored on the computer but there are some goodideas around. I thin ne*t term I will build a little 9otter for each child using their

photos of their creative wor into a 9otter so they can see what they have learnt )

been woring on ) produced.

I also photocopy pages from the ids? boos and put them on the learning wall of the topic ofthe moment so they can see how the theme comes together then at the end of the unit all

these and some photos go into a theme boo as evidence and a record for the ids to loo at.

photos of everything they do that is not written to show them' I am waiting for the ead to

buy an AC> tv with dvd player for the foyer :I have O21 pound argos card from collecting old

phones from parents; so we can have all photos we?ve used on slideshows for everyone to see.

@ooSpanE2

I am creating an e-portfolio for every child

a - good for assessment of S3A

b - great pressie)remembering of year as a cd for leavers present

c- you can watch again and be inspired again ne*t year

F




Aove recording those unforgettable moments 8ulia !eacher

7re children naturally creative$I thin they are naturally creative and that all children can show their creativity,given the opportunity to.

!he C7 have identified the following behaviours and signs of creative thining(

- &uestioning and challenging

- maing connections and seeing relationships

- envisaging what might be- playing with ideas, eeping options open

- representing ideas in a variety of ways

- evaluating effects of ideas and actions

:Aittle !igger;

5hat seems to be stopping our creativity$

Aist compiled by iJJy, thefairyteacher, >illsage, Sniggle, Brownbear, @adPhil

- too formal a classroom.

- !he children are not very creative and lie everything to be laid out on a plate for

them :they lie to be taught;. So I am trying to help them at the moment develop the

sills to be creative. - Children without the sills needed to develop their creativity

- < S7!S

- Qninspiring curriculum

- shared planning

- too detailed planning

- standards driven school

- 57A!S, 5IAS, Success Criteria...............

- I 9ust don?t have the ideas''''

- I?ve really en9oyed the opportunity and encouragement to be ?creative? in my planning

over the last couple of years, and have had &uite a bit of very positive feedbac about

it, but also have a sneay suspicion that the paperwor hasn?t been rigorous enough and

that some areas have 9ust got missed out. !rying to mae sure all the ob9ectives are

fitted in somewhere can be pretty stifling for creativity :eg trying to mae sure all

science ob9ectives are covered for year 1 S7!S - ended up 9ust having to cram in allthe missed bits at the last minute, to paper over the gaps left by others? creativity';.

R




C7 is very content driven - for e*ample in history, you can end up feeling lie you?re trying

to stuff the children with as much nowledge as possible but without any real emphasis on

sills - en&uiry, interpretation and communication. 7s Kat says, if you can pinpoint e*actly

what you want the children to now) understand) do at the end of your unit, then you have a

bit more ownership over how you get them to that point.

!imetables are as restrictive as you want them to be' In a middle school where sub9ects are

taught as discrete sub9ects the only way to brea through creatively across the curriculum in

a normal wee is to generate common ideas NM collapse the timetable for a day)wee etc to

enhance sub9ect nowledge.

ow can I improve my planning and be

creative within it when I can?t thin

creatively$5here do you all get your ideas from$

Brownbear=

2. 8oining the creative curriculum yahoo group - loads of great ideas from imaginative

people on there'

. Planning using LC ob9ectives and sills instead of the dreaded C7 :what a creativity

iller that is';.

E. Aooing at e*amples of topics from amilton !rust - o you might not be inspired tofollow it completely but 9ust seeing an e*ample of how to mae lins between sub9ects

and how you can give children a range of learning e*periences really helps to spar your

own ideas.

0. !he olen Belair boos are geat for sparing ideas.

If you see or hear about something someone else has done which you lie the sound of -

give it a go'

ow i start is i thin of what i want the children to achieve - ?understand and use . $ '

4 ?I then thin what can the children do that doesn%t involve them being tied to their

seats with a worsheet- can they mae a model$ 5ell they could mae models of the different inds of

punctuation out of playdoh...

- can they mae a poster$ 7bsolutely' 7 great one for cutting, sticing and using word

art'

- could they interview someone$ punctuation cant be seen so an interview would be a

lot harder this time.

- Could they research$ <es, use lots of story boos, get them to find the punctuationin the boos and e*plain its use

- could they do a piece of drama - yes, in groups... they could each be the different

/




types of punctuation - they could be competing to be used, they could be forgetting

about one punctuation so that one is feeling left out... loads of opportunities here

- 5hile all this is going on, i would be discussing with the groups why we have

punctuation and ensuring that when they present their wor then they can confidently

e*plain the purpose of the punctuation and when its used.

i loo through the belair boos for ideas but often i adapt them so its more ?bums off

seats? stuff.

!here is input and feedbac time. I always ensure the chidren feedbac their wor to

one another. Lot on every occasion but on most of these ind of lessons.

!"S forum is always great for ideas. Meading different things that others are doing

asing others and sharing ideas. uite often I read something on there that spars

off a whole different idea.

7ssessing creativity$http())www.tes.co.u)search)story)$story+idR01

http())www.creative-partnerships.com)dscw

http())www.risingstars-u.com)uploads)publications)F2.pdf !7SC wheel

I dont now why, but i 9ust have a thing against using wheels and stuff to assess )monitor progress in creativity.... I worry that creativity isn%t something we should be?teaching? it should be more of a free flow thing depending on the child$'$'$' I worry

that if we have to start assessing it then we?ll have to start ?teaching? it and then it

looses its creativity'

@adphil

I now what you mean Kat' 7s a former M" coordinator I would have this argument with many

consultants and inspectors. !hey would say I wasn?t assessing effectively - I too the view I

could only assess the learning about bit not the learning from'' !hey would disagree - I still

thin they were wrong'

owever, I am not looing at assessing necessarily from these wheels)PA!S material as such -

getting ideas on the sills to be developed is where I am at. !he measuring will happen anyway

when the govt breathe down my nec wanting results''

@oo

am not saying I would use the wheels for the ids to assess, 9ust be interested to see if the

sills they cover as the same as our planning wheels, then they might lin well. I lie wheelsthough as they are endless....

2

http://www.tes.co.uk/search/story/?story_id=2580462

http://www.creative-partnerships.com/dscw

http://www.risingstars-uk.com/uploads/publications/71.pdf

http://www.tes.co.uk/search/story/?story_id=2580462






Brownbear 7nother great wheel to help children organise their thining and problem solving

sills is the tasc wheel''

Princess Sparkle

7ll KS children in my school have a creative learning 9ournal which has the wheel in the front

and when they meet one of the segments they write a brief description of what lesson it was

and what they did - and maybe draw a picture or attach wor if appropriate. 5hen I say

assess it isn?t formal, it?s child led and develops an awareness and language of creativity.

5ors very well'

7n e*ample for the 4I can see things in my minds eye4 might be in Aiteracy we had to write a

description of where our story too place, I had a picture in my mind of what I wanted it to

loo lie and I described it.

7 favourite one for 4I can try out lots of different ways to do things and solve problems4 is a

child might describe how they used different methods of addition in maths. !hey start offvery simply but fast become more sophisticated descriptions of the process, and it doesn?t

tae long for them to realise they might be meeting more than one segment in one activity.

:@y class are <ear E;

>oes it always wor$4Lot every activity will have a wonderful end result, but the learning and the creativity is in

the >NIL. 4 Child "d I had groups maing rocets out of lego, ?ne* and playdoh.

Should have wored but it didnt....

Nne is that being creative does not always necesasrily ?wor? :in terms of planned ANs etc;

but it is always worth trying. !he well-worn story of "dison and the lightbulb is a good

testimony to that. So, while creativity is not the oly rail of teaching :ie we have not failed

if we are not being creative; it is a valuable tool in our arsenal. 7ndrew 8effrey

Curriculum Changes!he new secondary curriculum is very much taing this approach. !he attached lin is

supposed to be the basis of the new curriculum(

http())www.&ca.org.u)library7ssets)media)PA!S+framewor....

uotes on Creativity'?5e should turn out people who love learning so much and learn so well that they will be ableto learn whatever needs to be learned.? 8ohn olt

22

http://www.qca.org.uk/libraryAssets/media/PLTS_framework.pdf





?Intelligence is nowing what to do when you don?t now what to do.? 7rt Costa

“7t the simplest level, creativity is bringing into being something that was not there before”

"dward >e Bono

?>o not confine your children to your own learning for they were born in another time.?

ebrew Proverb

?In order for children to be creative and innovative, we need to set them free to thin,

e*periment, adapt and develop their own ideas, by providing e*citing, open-ended

opportunities to fire their imaginations... Child "d 8uly 1

Lot every activity will have a wonderful end result, but the learning and the creativity is in

the >NIL. rom the practitioner?s point of view it is 9ust a matter of looing at things in a

different way. !hin about the ob9ectives you want to cover, plan the activities and then havethe confidence in the children and yourself to stand bac and let them pic up the theme and

run with it... Child "d 8uly 1

If you are used to woring with very tight ob9ectives and planning, with a specific outcome in

your mind, this can feel lie stepping out of a plane without a parachute, but it really is not.

!he ob9ectives are still there, but the way in which they are met may be reached by a

different route.? Child "d 8uly 1

4Creativity is a dangerous word that is often misunderstood4 Christopher rayling

4Creativity is one of the most contested and misunderstood concepts.4 !om Bentley

?Insanity is doing the same things over and over again and e*pecting the different results?

7lbert "instein.

Shoot for the moon. "ven if you miss it you will land among the stars.? Aes Brown

?5e can easily forgive a child whom is frightened of the darD the real tragedy of life is when

men are afraid of the light.? Plato

?<ou see things and say ?5hy?$ But I see things and say ?5hy not$? .B Shaw

?!oo many young people are being taught to give up their dreams before they have any

e*perience attempting to pursue them?. Mobert ritJ ?!he Path of Aeast Mesistance?

?7 shared vision is not an idea...it is rather, a force in people?s hearts...at its simplest level, a

shared vision is the answer to the &uestion ?5hat do we want to create$? Peter Senge

?5e need a multiplicity of visions, dreams and prophecies - images of potential tomorrows.?7lvin !ofler

2




?5hy follow the steps of another to find out where our dreams will lead us.? Peter Bloc

?<ou can plan events, but if they go according to plan they are not events.? 8ohn Berger 7rt

Critic

?!hining precedes literacy and numeracy but nowhere in the curriculum is that recogniJed.?

@c avin, lasgow Qniversity

?If a man does not eep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different

drummer.? !horeau

?!he golden rule is that there are no golden rules? B Shaw

<ou cannot use up creativity. !he more you use the more you have. @aya 7ngelou

or even more food for thought go here''(

http())www.leading-learning.co.nJ)famous-&uotes.html

Ainshttp())www.&ca.org.u)library7ssets)media)PA!S+framewor.pdf http())www.creative-partnerships.com)dscw !he Creativity wheel can capture these

statements right across the curriculum and show children how they can transfer their

creative sills and learning

http())www.risingstars-u.com)uploads)publications)F2.pdf !7SC wheelhttp())www.web&uestu.org.u)web&uestu+library.htm http())www.leading-learning.co.nJ)famous-&uotes.html

http())www.tes.co.u)section)staffroom)thread.asp*$

story+idE12R3path)primary)3threadPage2 Creative Curriculum <ahoo rouphttp())www.tes.co.u)section)staffroom)thread.asp*$

story+id10F03path)Primary)3messagePage2E Creative homewor group

2E

http://www.leading-learning.co.nz/famous-quotes.html




http://www.webquestuk.org.uk/webquestuk_library.htm


http://www.tes.co.uk/section/staffroom/thread.aspx?story_id=2365518&path=/primary/&threadPage=1


http://www.tes.co.uk/section/staffroom/thread.aspx?story_id=2562474&path=/Primary/&messagePage=13






http://www.webquestuk.org.uk/webquestuk_library.htm






Creativity How, When

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