24 creative classroom

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‘Creativity’ in the Classroom

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Why focus on Classrooms?
 Creative teaching involves the development of a
creative environment – the classroom – in which the
creative expression of both students and teacher is
nurtured.
 The focus is therefore on the ‘opportunities’ being
created by the teacher rather than the teacher
themselves.
 By doing so, we avoid the common tendency to
reduce creativity in teaching to a personality trait
present in only a few exceptional individuals.

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Key questions :
 What is a ‘Creative’ classroom ?
 What do teachers in creative classrooms do?
 What do students get out of being in a
creative classroom ?
 What can I do to develop a more creative
classroom ?

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The 3 dimensions of a creative
classroom
One way to understand and define a creative
classroom is to consider three principal dimensions:
 Creative approaches to content
 Creative approaches to
teaching and learning
 Support of students’ creativity

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Dimension 1 –
Creative approaches to content
 A creative approach to content is directly connected
to a teacher’s insight into his or her ‘subject matter’.
 A teacher’s understanding of and passion for the big
ideas reveals itself in a curriculum in which the
subject matter is organised in a way that facilitates
connections, encourages excitement and makes
learning a powerful endeavor.

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Dimension 2 – Creative teaching and
learning practices
 Creative teaching and learning practices usually
entail finding new ways of accomplishing familiar
tasks.
 Creative teaching practices are both effective and
innovative in achieving a desired outcome – whether
it is acquisition of skills, knowledge or understanding.
 Creative learning practices may involve students
with material in new ways – using multiple ways to
help engage students and promote learning.

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Dimension 3 – cultivation of student
and teacher creativity
 In a creative classroom, students are doing more
than just learning the curricular content and
teachers are doing more than just teaching the
content.
 In creative classrooms, you will see teachers taking
risks and students encouraged to think for
themselves and develop original responses to the
curriculum.
 It is not just the physical environment but the mental
environment that really makes the classroom
creative !

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What is a ‘creative’ classroom ?
 When teachers,parents and administrators say they are
interested in nurturing and supporting the development of
creative classrooms, what exactly do they mean?
How is a creative classroom similar to and different from
a ‘good’ or ‘effective’ classroom?
What might a ‘creative’ classroom look and feel like?
If you were to visit a creative classroom, how would you
recognise it as such?

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Activity 1 – Getting started…..
 Review your past experience as a student and recall
some of the best teachers you had and some of the
best learning environments you experienced as a
learner.
 Make a list of what stood out and share it in your
group.
 Look for similarities in themes, images, attributes
and list them under each.

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What you will see…
 As you watch the opening and listen to the
introductory statements about creative classrooms,
consider how the ideas that these teachers articulate
compare with your own.
 In what ways do they capture your sentiments, and
how do they expand your thinking in new
directions ?

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Questions to think about …
 How is each of these classrooms creative ?
 What was similar and what was different about
each of the classrooms ?
 What qualities from your lists of creative classroom
characteristics did you see in these classrooms ?

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Closure ….
 Now, compose a working definition of a ‘creative’
classroom versus a ‘good’ classroom.
 List out the ideas, strategies and practices that you
would like to try out in your classroom and share the
ones you are already doing.
 Discuss what new puzzles or questions still remain
about what you saw??

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Perspectives…
 A creative classroom is not just a place where
‘effective’ pedagogy is practiced, but a more
generative and responsive place as well.
 Creative classrooms have a spark of innovation,
excitement and passion that distinguishes them
from other type of classrooms.
 They are places where the line between teacher
and student is often blurred and learning knows no
limits.

 IN SHORT, they are places in which the stage has
been set for powerful learning !

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What do Teachers in Creative
Classrooms do?
 How do teachers come up with creative ideas?
 What do they do when they are planning?
 What kind of activities and instructional
techniques so they use with their students?
 Basically – what do teachers in creative
classrooms do???

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 Teaching in a way that develops a creative
classroom is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’
process in which a specific set of
instructional principles can be given.
 However, most creative acts tend to involve both
problem finding and problem solving.
 Problem finding often entails looking at a situation
from a new perspective and problem solving occurs
when you apply innovative procedures and methods
when there is no ready solution to fall back on.

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Activity 1 – Getting started…..
 Recall a time in the past when you had a ‘great idea’
( a novel way of looking at something, a powerful
understanding, a unique way of doing something..)
Articulate the ‘problem’.
 Try to remember this moment in as much detail as
you can.
 Finally, take a moment to recall how you put that
idea into action. How did you solve the problem ??

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 Share the feelings and thinking with your peers.
 What common characteristics emerge?
 What useful mental strategies stand out?
 What makes these moments creative?

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What you will see…
 You will see examples of the three
dimensions :
 Teachers’ creative approach to content
 Teachers’ creative teaching and learning strategies
 Teachers’ support of creativity of their students.

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Questions to think about …
 What are the ‘instructional’ moves that you are
aware of?
 How would you characterise the role teachers play?
 How would you describe the actions/activities of
students ?
 What do you notice about the relationship between
teachers and students?
 How does it connect to your ideas of your role as a
teacher?

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Closure ….
 Refocus on your practice and discuss where
you may apply these ideas in your class.
 Which of the areas did you most connect with
– share these with your partner and discuss
what might prevent you from doing the same
in your practice

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Perspectives…
 Classrooms are complex places in which the visible
actions of teachers and students tell only part of the
story.
 Because of its dynamic and constantly changing
character, teaching certainly qualifies as a creative
act, but as we all know, teaching is more than just
a matter of technique and strategies.
 Rather than accepting the mandated curriculum as a
complete document, teachers in creative classrooms
might ask themselves,”How can I situate these
skills within a meaningful context?”

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 Here are some strategies that have been found in creative
classrooms and are generally recognized as effective teaching
practices :
 Direct the teaching toward an important learning goal
 Situate new learning within a relevant context that motivates
and helps students make connections
 Display enthusiasm for student ideas- model curiosity for
learning
 Create open ended situations in which multiple responses are
appropriate
 Offer controversial issues that force students to challenge and
grapple with their beliefs.
 Foster student autonomy- encourage self initiated projects

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 To explore the deeper meaning of this initiative, it is
important to look at what a creative classroom offers
students.
 Is a creative classroom just a fun and engaging place
for students to be in, all style and no substance?
 With all the pressure on teachers to ‘teach to
standards’ can a creative classroom contribute
anything to the achievement of these types of goals?
What do students get out of being
in a creative classroom ?

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 Once you are clear about the benefits of a ‘creative
classroom’, it allows you to communicate more
effectively with colleagues, students and parents
about the reasons for making changes in familiar
classroom practices.
 And finally, being clear about the
benefits that a creative classroom
offers both the students and the
teachers can serve to motivate and
sustain everyone engaged in this
complex effort.

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Activity 1 – Getting started
 Recall your time as a student and think about
what you gained from being in a ‘creative
classroom’ ( if not during your time in school, it could be
any other experience that motivated you )
 Try to identify what you received from being
in that classroom that was ‘qualitatively’
different to other classroom experiences

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 As a group, share and list your ideas.
 As individuals share, it may be useful to
ask them to give examples of
instances that help them explain a
particular benefit.
 Look for commonalities and
differences across the benefits listed.

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What you will see
 You will view a classroom portrait that you
have already viewed before.
 You will see students and teachers share
their thoughts and ideas about the value of a
creative classroom
 ( as you listen to their ideas, connect them to the
ideas that you have listed – try to imagine
yourself as a student in these classrooms )

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Questions for discussion :
Values of the ‘creative classroom’
 Content :
 What makes you believe that students are learning?
 Added value :
 What is the added value for the students of being in
this creative classroom?
 How are the students benefiting beyond the
acquisition of skills and knowledge?
 What patterns of thinking or mental habits do you
see the students engaging in?

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 What attitudes towards learning
do you see being developed?
 Long term benefits :
 Do these benefits have long term
payoffs? What might they be?
 Is students understanding of basic,
required content being enhanced by being
in a creative classroom? If so, how?

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Closure
 List your points under the headings – content
/ added value and long term benefits
 Is there any similarities /differences in the
two lists complied?
 Can you now articulate the benefits that
students and teachers gain out of being in a
‘creative classroom’

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Perspectives
 In thinking what students get out of being in a
creative classroom, one needs to look
beyond the written curriculum and explicit
content that teachers are covering to
examine what is sometimes called the
‘hidden or subversive’ curriculum.
 The hidden curriculum is shaped by what
teachers ‘value’.

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 It is possible to identify at least 4 different kinds
of benefits for students :
1. Motivational benefits in terms of engagement with
the curriculum and inspiration for learning
2. Social benefits with regard to the sense of
community within and individual connectedness to
the classroom and school
3. Efficacy benefits related to the development of self
confidence in learning and a sense of ownership
and
4. Performance benefits in terms of increased
understanding, retention, and transfer of skills and
knowledge as students are challenged to learn
more

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Motivational benefits
 A visitor to a creative classroom is often
struck by the level of excitement and
student engagement in the room.
 To be sure, these classrooms are often
places where students are engaged in
meaningful projects that capture their
attention and keep their attention.
 Creative classrooms also foster joy of
learning that provides high motivation and
higher expectations.

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Social benefits
 Creative classrooms tend to have a sense of
purpose. They function as learning
communities in which the contributions and
special talents of all individuals are
respected and valued.
 The physical manifestation of this is that
students are often seen working in groups –
towards overarching goals.

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Efficacy benefits
 Efficacy relates to one’s sense of
effectiveness or capability within a
particular situation or domain.
 In creative classrooms, students gain a sense
of efficacy with regard to their ability to
navigate school and the world of ideas.
 Students learn how to learn and develop the
habits of mind that support good and
productive thinking.

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Performance benefits
 Students in creative classrooms do not
just enjoy learning more, they also tend
to ‘learn’ more.
 Of course, motivation and engagement contribute
greatly, but there is more at work here.
 Creative classrooms often explicitly focus on real
world applications and connections.
 This means that students are often demonstrating
their understanding in a multitude of ways.

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Finally - What can I do to develop a
more creative classroom?
 At the outset, it is important to know that
having a creative classroom is not the
province of the gifted few.
 It is the product of focused effort over time.
 This work involves practicing, trying new
techniques, getting feedback from others,
watching and analysing models, taking
risks, persevering in the face of failure and
so on…

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The creative spirit – the foundation of
the creative classroom
 Teachers who strive to have creative
classrooms often work to develop some or all
of the following characteristics :
 Passion – a passion for teaching, students
and subject matter. This quality is
demonstrated by an enthusiasm for ideas and
engagement in ongoing learning
opportunities.

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 Celebration of ambiguity – a personal openness to
new ideas, practices, and ways of thinking as well as
to the original ideas and thinking of students.
Individuals with such traits may have an entire unit
planned out, but they are also comfortable departing
from that plan to capitalise on special events, student
questions.
 Risk taking – a willingness to innovate and move
outside one’s comfort zone.
 Playfulness – a teacher’s excitement, curiosity,
humor, and spontaneity in the classroom. Learning
doesn’t have to be made fun - good learning
opportunities naturally are fun, exciting and
engaging.

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 Personalised expression – the stamp of
individuality teachers put on their classrooms
that makes those classrooms unique.
This often shows up in teachers revealing
aspects of themselves in the classroom.
The teacher becomes a person with real
interests, joys, and feelings. These teachers
do not hide themselves in the curriculum but
find themselves in it and encourage their
students to do the same.

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 The same dispositions that support teachers
in being creative in the classroom ( or
anywhere else ) are also important to
students.
 By modeling the characteristics of a
‘creative spirit’ in their day to day practice,
teachers help their students to develop the
same.
 Teachers therefore, teach creatively to
teach for creativity.

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In conclusion….
 New information, ideas, key principles,
teaching techniques – these are all valuable
things.
 They add to one’s understanding and can
inform one’s practice.
 However, informing practice is not the same
as ‘influencing’ practice.

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 Just as it is easier to talk about teaching than
actually teach, it is easier to talk about
creative classrooms than to actually go about
the hard business of developing a more
creative classroom.
 As David Perkins states ,”It’s not good ideas
that we lack, but translation of ideas into
robust and enduring practice.”

24 creative classroom

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