Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-qxdb6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T20:12:14.474Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

9 - Roads Not Taken, New Roads to Take: Looking for Creativity in the Classroom

from PART II - VOICES FROM THE RESEARCH

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2016

By
Thomas Skiba ,
Mei Tan ,
Robert J. Sternberg  and
Elena L. Grigorenko
Edited by
Ronald A. Beghetto  and
James C. Kaufman
Ronald A. Beghetto
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut
James C. Kaufman
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut
Get access

Summary

A river runs through a village somewhere. And for many years, it is just a river, feeding the rice paddies, carrying away waste, silt, pebbles, and the occasional dog or cat. But one day, without even consciously trying, someone realizes that it is a road, a way out. And later that someone wonders why he or she did not see it before – that the river is a road and that the road can be a river – even though it had been there all along.

And so we are beginning to realize with creativity that it has always been in the classroom but hidden in plain sight. It is not that creative behavior, creative thinking, and creative learning never existed before in classrooms. A colleague recalls once proposing an unconventional subject of study for a senior project in high school. While his classmates took up the ubiquitous topics of various sports, medicine, feminism, and other well-recycled subjects, he decided to review the history and legitimacy of parapsychology. His topic was firmly rejected. However, being a persistent fellow, he undertook it anyway, approached it seriously, and presented an interesting and worthy paper in the end that earned a high mark. But why was his innovation and unconventional thinking not recognized initially as a form of creativity?

In this chapter, we examine the evolving and exploratory relationship between teachers and creativity in the classroom. Our emphasis in the chapter is that teachers’ implicit theories of creativity are often at variance with explicit theories of creativity – that is, what the teachers may value as creative behaviors are actually noncreative, and what they devalue as not creative behaviors may be creative. As a result, teachers may think they are developing creativity when, in fact, they are suppressing it. In the hands and minds of researchers and theoreticians, creativity has been viewed through many lenses and explored in a variety of lights for the last 60 years. But what effect has this had on teaching in the classroom? And has it helped teachers identify and nurture creative behavior in the context of school?

Type
Chapter
Information
Nurturing Creativity in the Classroom , pp. 108 - 130
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2016

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abuhamdeh, S., & Csikszentmilhalyi, M. (2004). The artistic personality: A systems perspective. In Sternberg, R. J., Grigorenko, E. L. & Singer, J. L. (Eds.), Creativity: From potential to realization (pp. 31–42). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Amabile, T. (1989). Growing up creative: Nurturing a lifetime of creativity. New York: Crown.
Atchley, R. A., Keeney, M., & Burgess, C. (1999). Cerebral hemispheric mechanisms linking ambiguous word meaning retrieval and creativity. Brain & Cognition, 40, 479–499.Google Scholar
Baer, J. (2013). Teaching for creativity: Domains and divergent thinking, intrinsic motivation, and evaluation. In Gregerson, M. B., Snyder, H. T. & Kaufman, J. C. (Eds.), Teaching creatively and teaching creativity (pp. 175–181). Dordrecht, Germany: Springer Science & Business Media.
Barbot, B., Besançon, M., & Lubart, T. I. (2011). Assessing creativity in the classroom. The Open Education Journal, 4, 124–132.Google Scholar
Beghetto, R. A. (2005). Does assessment kill student creativity? The Educational Forum, 69, 254–263.Google Scholar
Beghetto, R. A. (2007). Does creativity have a place in the classroom? Prospective teachers’ response preferences. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 2, 1–9.Google Scholar
Beghetto, R. A. (2008). Prospective teachers’ beliefs about imaginative thinking in K–12 schooling. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 3, 134–142.Google Scholar
Beghetto, R. A. (2013). Nurturing creativity in the micro-moments of the classroom. In Kim, K. H., Kaufman, J. C., Baer, J. & Sriraman, B. (Eds.), Creatively gifted students are not like other gifted students: Research, theory, and practics (pp. 3–15). New York: Springer.
Beghetto, R. A., & Kaufman, J. C. (2007). Toward a broader conception of creativity: A case for “mini-c” creativity. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 1, 73–79.Google Scholar
Beghetto, R. A., & Kaufman, J. C. (2014). Classroom contexts for creativity. High Ability Studies, 25, 53–69.Google Scholar
Beghetto, R. A., Kaufman, J. C., & Baer, J. (2014). Teaching for creativity in the common core classroom. New York: Teachers College Press.
Besançon, M., & Lubart, T. I. (2008). Differences in the development of creative competencies in children schooled in diverse learning environments. Learning and Individual Differences, 18, 381–389.Google Scholar
Binkley, M., Erstad, O., Herman, J., Raizen, S., Ripley, M., Miller-Ricci, M., & Rumble, M. (2012). Defining twenty-first century skills. In Griffin, P., McGaw, B. & Care, E. (Eds.), Assessment and teaching of 21st century skills (pp. 17–66). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.
Chan, D. W., & Chan, L. (1999). Implicit theories of creativity: Teachers’ perception of student characteristics in Hong Kong. Creativity Research Journal, 12, 185–195.Google Scholar
Coyne, R. (1997). Creativity as commonplace. Design Studies, 18, 135–141.Google Scholar
Craft, A. (2006). Fostering creativity with wisdom. Cambridge Journal of Education, 36, 337–350.Google Scholar
Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Wolfe, R. (2014). New conceptions and research approaches to creativity: Implications of a systems perspective for creativity in education. In The systems model of creativity (pp. 161–184). Dordrecht, Germany: Springer Science and Business Media.
Dawson, V. L. D., Andrea, T., Affinito, R., & Westby, E. L. (1999). Predicting creative behavior: A reexamination of the divergence between traditional and teacher-defined concepts of creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 12, 57–66.Google Scholar
Desailly, J. (2012). Creativity in the primary classroom. London: Sage.
Diakidoy, I. N., & Kanari, E. (1999). Student teachers’ beliefs about creativity. British Educational Research Journal, 25, 225–244.Google Scholar
Edwards, S. M. (2001). The technology paradox: Efficiency versus creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 13, 221–228.Google Scholar
Esquivel, G. B. (1995). Teacher behaviors that foster creativity. Educational Psychology Review, 7, 185–202.Google Scholar
Feldheusen, J. F., & Goh, B. E. (1995). Assessing and accessing creativity: An integrative review of theory, research and development. Creativity Research Journal, 8, 231–247.Google Scholar
Feldheusen, J. F., & Treffinger, D. T. (1977). Teaching creative thinking and problem solving. Dubuque: KendallHunt.
Fishkin, A. S., & Johnson, A. S. (1998). Who is creative? Identifying children's creative abilities. Roeper Review, 21, 40–46.Google Scholar
Flanagan, J. C. (1976). Flanagan Aptitude Classification Tests (FACT Battery). Chicago: Science Research Associates.
Florida, R. (2003). The rise of the creative class: And how it's transforming work, leisure, community and everyday life. New York: Basic Books.
Gregerson, M. B., Snyder, H. T., & Kaufman, J. C. (2012). Teaching creatively and teaching creativity. Dordrecht, Germany: Springer Science & Business Media.
Grigorenko, E. L., Jarvin, L., Tan, M., & Sternberg, R. J. (2008). Something new in the garden: Assessing creativity in academic domains. Psychology Science Quarterly, 50, 295–307.Google Scholar
Grigorenko, E. L., & Tan, M. (2009). Teaching creativity as a demand-led competency. In Tan, O. S., McInerney, D. M., Liem, A. D. & Tan, A.-G. (Eds.), What the West can learn from the East: Asian perspectives on the psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 7). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Press (IAP).
Guilford, J. P. (1950). Creativity. American Psychologist, 5, 444–454.Google Scholar
Guilford, J. P. (1967). The nature of human intelligence. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Guncer, B., & Oral, G. (1993). Relationship between creativity and nonconformity to school discipline as perceived by teachers. Journal of Instruction Psychology, 20, 7.Google Scholar
Hartley, D. (2003). New economy, new pedagogy? Oxford Review of Education, 29, 81–94.Google Scholar
Hasse, C. (2001). Institutional creativity: The relational zone of proximal development. Culture & Psychology, 7, 199–221.Google Scholar
Henderson, S. J. (2004). Inventors: The ordinary genius next door. In Sternberg, R. J., Grigorenko, E. L. & Singer, J. L. (Eds.), Creativity: From potential to realization (pp. 103–126). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Hennessey, B., & Watson, M. (2016). The defragmentation of creativity: Future directions with an emphasis on educational applications. In Corazza, G. E. & Agnoli, S. (Eds.), Multidisciplinary contributions to the science of creative thinking (pp. 21–31). Singapore: Springer.
Hennessey, B. A. (2015). If I were secretary of education: A focus on intrinsic motivation and creativity in the classroom. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 9, 187–192.Google Scholar
Houtz, J. C., & Krug, D. (1995). Assessment of creativity: Resolving a mid-life crisis. Educational Psychology Review, 7, 269–300.Google Scholar
Jordan, A., & Carlile, O. (2013). Approaches To Creativity: A Guide For Teachers. Maidenhead, Berkshire: McGraw-Hill Education.
Kampylis, P., Berki, E., & Saariluoma, P. (2009). In-service and prospective teachers’ conceptions of creativity. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 4, 15–29.Google Scholar
Kaufman, J. C., & Beghetto, R. A. (2009). Beyond big and little: The four c model of creativity. Review of General Psychology, 13, 1–12.Google Scholar
Kaufman, J. C., & Sternberg, R. J. (2007). Creativity. Change, 39, 55–58.Google Scholar
Kaufman, J. C., & Sternberg, R. J. (Eds.). (2006). The international handbook of creativity. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Kim, K. H. (2008). Underachievement and creativity: Are gifted underachievers highly creative? Creativity Research Journal, 20, 234–242.Google Scholar
Kwang, N. A., & Smith, I. (2004). The paradox of promoting creativity in the Asian classroom: An empirical investigation. Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs, 130, 307–330.Google Scholar
Lee, E. A., & Seo, H. (2006). Understanding of creativity by Korean elementary school teachers in gifted education. Creativity Research Journal, 18, 237–242.Google Scholar
Lohman, D. F., & Hagen, E. P. (2001). Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). Rolling Meadows, IL: Riverside Publishing.
MacKinnon, D. W. (1961). The study of creativity. In MacKinnon, D. W. (Ed.), The creative person (pp. 1–1–1–15). Berkeley: Institute of Personality Assessment Research, University of California.
McGreevy, A. (1990). Tracking the creative teacher. Momentum, 21, 57–59.Google Scholar
Mednick, S. A. (1967). The Remote Associates Test. Boston, MA: Houghton-Mifflin.
Murdock, M. C., & Puccion, G. J. (1993). A contextual organizer for conducting creativity research. In Isaksen, S. G., Murdock, M. C., Firestien, R. L. & Treffinger, J. D. (Eds.), Understanding and recognizing creativity: The emergence of a discipline (pp. 249–280). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Plucker, J. A., Beghetto, R. A., & Dow, G. T. (2004). Why isn't creativity more important to educational psychologists? Potentials, pitfalls, and future directions in creativity research. Educational Psychologist, 39, 83–96.Google Scholar
Proctor, R. M. J., & Burnett, P. C. (2004). Measuring cognitive and dispositional characteristics of creativity in elementary students. Creativity Research Journal, 16, 421–429.Google Scholar
Renzulli, J. S. (1977). The enrichment triad model: A guide for developing defensible programs for the gifted and talented. Wethersfield, CT: Creative Learning Press.
Rhodes, M. (1961/1987). An analysis of creativity. In Isaksen, S. G. (Ed.), Frontiers of creativity research: Beyond the basics (pp. 216–222). Buffalo, NY: Bearly Limited.
Rubenstein, L. D., McCoach, D. B., & Siegle, D. (2013). Teaching for Creativity Scales: An instrument to examine teachers’ perceptions of factors that allow for the teaching of creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 25, 324–334.Google Scholar
Runco, M. A. (2004). Creativity. Annual Review of Psychology, 55, 657–587.Google Scholar
Runco, M. A., & Johnson, D. J. (1993). Parents’ and teachers’ implicit theories on children's creativity. Child Study Journal, 23, 91–109.Google Scholar
Runco, M. A., & Johnson, D. J. (2002). Parents’ and teachers’ implicit theories of children's creativity: A cross-cultural perspective. Creativity Research Journal, 14, 427–438.Google Scholar
Schoen, L., & Fusarelli, L. D. (2008). Innovation, NCLB, and the fear factor. Educational Policy, 22, 181–203.Google Scholar
Scott, L. C. (1999). Teachers’ biases toward creative children. Creativity Research Journal, 12, 321–328.Google Scholar
Seo, H., Lee, E., & Kim, K. H. (2005). Korean science teachers’ understanding of creativity in gifted education. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 2, 98–105.Google Scholar
Simonton, D. K. (1994). Greatness: Who makes history and why. New York: Guilford Press.
Simonton, D. K. (2004). Creativity in science: Change, logic, genius, and zeitgeist. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Starko, A. J. (2013). Creativity in the classroom: Schools of curious delight. New York: Routledge.
Sternberg, R. J. (1985). Implicit theories of intelligence, creativity, and wisdom. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 607–627.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (1996). Successful intelligence. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Sternberg, R. J. (1999). The theory of successful intelligence. Review of General Psychology, 3, 292–316.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (2006). The nature of creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 18, 87–98.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (2012). The assessment of creativity: An investment-based approach. Creativity Research Journal, 24, 3–12.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (2015). Teaching for creativity: The sounds of silence. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 9, 115–117.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J., Grigorenko, E. L., & Singer, J. L. (Eds.). (2004). Creativity: From potential to realization. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Sternberg, R. J., & Lubart, T. I. (1991). An investment theory of creativity and its development. Human Development, 34, 1–31.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J., & Lubart, T. I. (1995). Defying the crowd. New York: Free Press.
Sternberg, R. J., & Lubart, T. I. (1999). The concept of creativity: Prospects and paradigms. In Sternberg, R. J. (Ed.), Handbook of creativity (pp. 3–15). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Torrance, E. P. (1962). Guiding creative talent. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Torrance, E. P. (1974 [1966]). The Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Bensenville, IL: Scholastic Test Services.
Torrance, E. P., & Safter, H. T. (1990). The incubation model of teaching. Buffalo, NY: Bearly.
Treffinger, D. J. (1991). Creative productivity: Understanding its sources and nurture. Illinois Council for the Gifted Journal, 10, 6–9.Google Scholar
Treffinger, D. J., Selby, E. C., & Isaksen, S. G. (2008). Understanding individual problem-solving style: A key to learning and applying creative problem solving. Learning and Individual Differences, 18, 390–401.Google Scholar
Westby, E. L., & Dawson, V. L. (1995). Creativity: Asset or burden in the classroom? Creativity Research Journal, 8, 1–10.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×