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12 - Attitude Change as the Precursor to Creativity Enhancement
- from PART II - VOICES FROM THE RESEARCH
- Edited by Ronald A. Beghetto, University of Connecticut, James C. Kaufman, University of Connecticut
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- Book:
- Nurturing Creativity in the Classroom
- Published online:
- 24 November 2016
- Print publication:
- 07 November 2016, pp 190-211
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- Chapter
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Summary
Educational theorists such Dewey, Piaget, and Vygotsky have all highlighted the importance of using experiential learning, active hands-on learning, and problem-solving activities to promote learners’ creative development. More recently, research has provided evidence that these engaging instructional strategies can be used to enhance creativity. For example, inquiry-based laboratory activities appear to increase creative thinking levels and attitudes among pre-service science teachers (Yakar & Baykara, 2014).
Although many of these techniques have a well-established track record of success in motivating students and improving critical and creative thinking (Dow & Wagner, 2015), not all teachers embrace these techniques in their own classrooms. Policy and environmental factors, such as test-based accountability systems and diminishing teacher autonomy (Olivant, 2015), can be in direct conflict with creativity-fostering classrooms. And teachers’ negative attitudes toward creativity may be a potential source of bias when promoting creative behavior (Geake & Gross, 2008). The goal of this chapter is to propose a practical approach to enhancing creativity in today's schools and classrooms, primarily by modifying learner attitudes toward and beliefs about creativity.
Attitudes toward creativity are influenced by prior experiences (e.g., teacher education programs) and experiences in the classroom. These attitudes develop and grow into complex, organized mental frameworks of knowledge (Anderson, 1977; Piaget, 1926) that then influence curriculum planning, lesson plan development, and classroom activities. Although attitudes may be flexible, it is very difficult to completely change them, even in light of contradictory evidence (see Palmer, 1981; Wheatley & Wegner, 2001). This causes particular concern among educational psychologists, because some attitudes may be inaccurate or based on partially incorrect information.
Creativity is not immune from inaccurate attitudes or myths. Creativity, defined in this chapter as “the interaction among aptitude, process, and environment by which an individual or group produces a perceptible product that is both novel and useful as defined within a social context” (Plucker, Beghetto, & Dow, 2004, p. 90, emphasis in original), is plagued by implicit myths that, in our view, have led to widespread, inaccurate schemata.
17 - Attitude Change as the Precursor to Creativity Enhancement
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- By Jonathan A. Plucker, Indiana University, USA, Gayle T. Dow, Christopher Newport University, USA
- Edited by Ronald A. Beghetto, University of Oregon, James C. Kaufman, California State University, San Bernardino
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- Book:
- Nurturing Creativity in the Classroom
- Published online:
- 05 June 2012
- Print publication:
- 28 June 2010, pp 362-379
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- Chapter
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Summary
ATTITUDE CHANGE AS THE PRECURSOR TO CREATIVITY ENHANCEMENT
Schemas develop from interconnections of ideas and grow into complex, organized mental structures of information (Anderson, 1977; Piaget, 1926). The growth of schemata may occur over a series of experiences and often become engrained in our implicit cognitive processing. Although schema development may be flexible, it is very difficult to completely change them, even in light of contradictory evidence (see Palmer, 1981; Wheatley & Wegner, 2001). This causes particular concern among educational psychologists because many schemata may be inaccurate or based on partially incorrect information. The result can be a mental framework firmly rooted in misinformation.
Creativity is not immune from inaccurate schema representations. Creativity, which is defined as “the interaction among aptitude, process, and environment by which an individual or group produces a perceptible product that is both novel and useful as defined within a social context” (Plucker, Beghetto, & Dow, 2004, p. 90, emphasis in original), is plagued by implicit myths that, in our view, have led to inaccurate schemata on a mass scale.
These schemata are problematic because there appears to be no shortage of areas in which creativity can be applied constructively to improve people's lives and, perhaps more important, areas in which people can use creativity to improve their own lives. However, few educators address divergent thinking, creativity, and innovation in primary, secondary, or postsecondary education, areas that are generally considered to be ripe for helping students develop schema.