Think about a time in your life when you felt especially creative. How was that creativity nurtured and supported?
- Read Nurturing Creativity, Chapters 2 and 7.
- Review the powerpoint Inspiring Creativity.
- Watch these two videos:
For your assignment, in a short essay, respond to the following prompts:
- What is a good definition of creativity?
- Describe two characteristics of creative people.
- How does creativity support analytical thinking?
- Describe three strategies that you can implement in your classroom to nurture students’ creativity. Be specific and provide details.
- Describe three open-ended materials you would have in three different learning centers and explain how these materials nurture creative thinking.
Holly Squashic
ECE 211
Professor Reich-Shapiro
September 29th, 2021
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
-Maya Angelou
Creativity can show itself in many ways. It can be in the form of art, music, movement, or unique ideas. Taking risks, trying new ways of doing things, expressing yourself. In short, creativity means you’re thinking. Two characters of a creative person are divergent thinking, meaning, thinking outside of the box or in a new way than the norm, and getting absorbed and focused in the moment. Creativity is possible for everyone. How it manifests is dependant on the individuals interests and cultivation.
The analytical thinking that is supported by creativity can be seen through the processing steps. Preparation, incubation, illumination and verification. It is important as teachers to create opportunities for these creative processes. Encouraging divergent thinking is oneway to do this. If a child is using something “the wrong way”, or a way different than the item is intended for, providing and accepting environment for them to explore without judgement or criticism will support the student into a creative mindset. Setting out open-ended material for them to explore in their way is a great way to initiate creative thinking. Providing opportunities to have open discussions and conversations in the incubation period is a helpful way for the students to bounce ideas off of one another and inspire more creativity.
A few things I would love to introduce to the students would be a paper towel and toilet paper rolls, egg cartons, yogurt cups, and caps, as loose materials for the students to use in any ways they can imagine. . I would also put out a lightbox to see how they utilize it with either color exploration, shadows, etc. I would utilize circle time to ask questions that would require them to problem solve and be creative with their answers. Providing experiences different than they are used to (art museums, inventor spaces) would help them build knowledge that can be a catalyst for creative thinking now and into the future.
Nana Kvaratskhelia
ECE 211
Professor Reich- Shapiro
October 7, 2021
Understanding Creativity
Creativity is intelligence that is nurtured through Imagination. The young student is encouraged to utilize social, constructive, investigative and expressive skills to demonstrate their abilities. When the teacher is familiar with this process, it becomes easier to facilitate learning. According to Jervis and Tobier (1988), “The principal goal of education is to foster development of men and women who are capable of making when doing new things”. An early childhood teacher understands that the process is integral to shaping the child’s perception of creativity. “Creativity becomes more visible to when adults try to be more attentive to the cognitive processes of children than to the results, they achieve in various fields of doing and understanding”(Edwards, Gandini, & Forman 1988, 77) The teacher is more invested in the child’s perception of the outcome, than the actualization of it. Why is this so? Because the teacher understands that learning comes through growth, development and time. He/she understands their role is to guide them.
Teachers must be subjective when finding ways to harness creativity. Sometimes they must be precise and specific; utilizing tools that will enhance creativity. When the teacher prepares a lesson plan that specifically engages the child/children’s interest, the creative process can begin.
According to E. Paul Torrance, there are 4 key elements to the creative process: “Originality, flexibility, fluency, and elaboration”(Sawyer 2012). As a teacher, I plan to incorporate these 4. Originality is the backbone of creativity; as it is the product of imagination. I would encourage my students by being flexible, because I understand that learning is a process that is continuous. The best way to nurture creativity as a teacher is to be fluid and realize that learning takes various forms and is done on a spectrum. “Theorists have described the development of children as occurring in stages”(e.g., Erickson 1980; Piaget 1969) “There is spectrum of individual differences in progression through these stages, influenced by children’s environment, capabilities, relationships with other people, and range of opportunities”( Kohlberg 1984) As a teacher, my intentions are to always be open to my students’ ideas and understand that it can be open to interpretation. That is a good thing! That is where creativity is born and that’s where it can flourish. Imagination at times can require grounding, in order for it to become an immediate reality. The teacher can make the abstract come to “real life” by utilizing materials. When/If my student tells me they see a bird in the room, as an example, I can provide a feather. This would be based on past experience with his/her story involving their imagination and what they have expressed to me. I can use physical objects that are concrete, that may seem obsolete, yet add relevancy to the moment and the experience.
“With so many possibilities offered by open-ended materials, children can expand the boundaries of their thinking and develop intriguing creations (Foz & Schirrmacher 2015; Topal & Gandini 1999).
This is precisely the way to nurture creativity. By allowing the student to suspend what is concrete when they are actively engaged in the abstract. When the classroom is fun and judgement is suspended, imagination can thrive.
The teacher is able to encourage a continuity of engagement through oral storytelling. As a teacher, I will use storylines that are inclusive of various cultures and ways of living. I understand how important diversity is as a learning tool.
As a teacher, my intention will be to utilize skills to motivate my students to use their imagination. I believe that imagination is the basis of creativity. Creativity can take different forms. I would also use visual cues and colors and sounds to aid the process. Ultimately, my goal as a teacher is to provide an environment that allows the student to flourish.
Creativity to me can be defined as creating new ideas and expressing them in new and unique ways. Creativity is different for each individual as it is something that can be expressed differently for each person. I think as children is when we are the most free to be creative. Children have an unapologetic free nature where I believe they are the most themselves in their life. Children are very imaginative and use whatever around them to create different scenarios, objects or places etc… Asking a child what they drew on their paper could range from so many different possiblities where to us might be scribbles and lines. This is what I love about an early childhood classroom, a child has so much thought and questions that they are willingly to express and share.
Two characteristics of creative people are curious and adventurous. I think these are great traits to have whether you are an emergent learner or even an adult. Curiousity goes hand in hand with creativity. When you are curious about things, you want to explore different possibilities and try to solve problems. When you use your creativity, you can find new and different ways to solve these problems that maybe other people did not figure out or think of. Being adventurous is also a great trait to go along with creativity. It shows that you are willing to explore different options in brave new ways. I would love to see the children in my class be adventurous as they might even surprise me with how they play and learn how to understand and deal with different situations.
Creativity can even support analytical thinking. Analytical thinking is when you can take apart a problem into smaller ideas to come up with a solution. This is similar to what I just mentioned before about creativity. When you are creative, you find unique solutions and think about things carefully. I believe that creativity is the back bone of analytical thinking. As you can use creative outcomes to solve a problem that may take more time to break down and then assess.
What I would implement in my classroom to nurture students’ creativity is providing science projects like bringing in shells and magnifying glasses to help children investigate the different textures and shapes of a shell. I would also bring in a huge blank piece of paper that the whole class can draw on and create whatever they want that I will display for the class. Lastly, I would bring a sandbox or a water table so that children can play and explore with different forms of activities.
Creativity has many definitons because everyone expresses differently. Creativity for me is being able to create and express new ideas in unique ways like using your imagination. Adding your own taste to your work. Two characteristics of creative people are curiosity and flexibility, thinking about many possibilities and outcomes like thinking of the box. Not being limited to only one method or answer. Creativity supports analytical thinking by contributing in finding those unique ways to find solutions on breaking down and applying them into your work. Three strategies that I can imply into my classroom to nurture students’ creativity are to provide different learning materials in all learning centers like divergent materials. I would have different types of sensory tables, one of water and another with sand. In the art center, rather than providing just paint brushes and regular watercolor paints. The students will have sponges, stamps and different types of brushes then they will have finger paints, acrylic paints and tempera paints.