Creativity Can Be Taught
In July 2010 Po Bronson and
Ashley Merryman wrote a Newsweek cover story titled, "The Creativity Crisis". In the article they report that while Americans’ average I.Q.s has been rising 10
points each generation (the so-called Flynn effect), creativity has been falling since 1990, with the steepest
declines among children from kindergarten to grade 6. Part of the problem, say
the authors, is that we assume creativity is a gift that can’t be taught.
“While our creativity scores decline unchecked,” they say, “the current
national strategy for creativity consists of little more than praying for a Greek
muse to drop by our houses. The problems we face now, and in the future, simply
demand that we do more than just hope for inspiration to strike.”
How do we know creativity is
declining? From a massive study using the well-regarded Torrance assessment,
which asks people to generate ways of using everyday objects differently and/or
improving them. And why is it declining? Researchers aren’t sure yet, but one
likely suspect is the amount of time young people are mesmerized by television
and video games. Another is that schools have devoted less time to creative
activities in recent years – unlike many other countries, which are making a
concerted effort to develop creativity in schools.
But
isn’t creativity innate – either you have it or you don’t? And shouldn’t
schools be sticking to basics to prepare students for the 21st
century and let “gifted” students develop creativity in the art room? Wrong,
wrong, and wrong, say Bronson and Merryman. Creativity is “part of normal brain
function” and can be developed, they
contend, and it’s important in all subject areas from music to engineering.
“The argument that we can’t teach creativity because kids already have too much
to learn is a false tradeoff,” they say. “Creativity isn’t about freedom from
concrete facts. Rather, fact-finding and deep research are vital stages in the
creative process.” Students can, in fact, meet and go beyond today’s curriculum
standards through more creativity-based instructional approaches.
Bronson
and Merryman also puncture the notion that creativity is exclusively a
“right-brain” activity. Here’s the sequence of mental activity that occurs when
a person solves a problem:
-
Focusing
on obvious facts and familiar solutions to see if the answer lies there;
-
If not,
scanning and evaluating remote memories for unseen patterns and alternative
meanings;
-
Zeroing
in on a promising idea – the “aha!” moment;
-
Evaluating
that idea – is it worth pursuing?
“Creativity requires constant shifting,
blender pulses of both divergent thinking and convergent thinking, to combine
new information with old and forgotten ideas,” say Bronson and Merryman.
Yes,
some people are innately better at divergent thinking than others, they say,
but creativity training that aligns with the new insights from brain science
can be remarkably effective. “Creativity can be taught,” says California State
University/San Bernardino professor James Kaufman. The key is alternating
between intense divergent thinking and intense convergent thinking several
times. “Real improvement doesn’t happen in a weekend workshop,” say Bronson and
Merryman. “But when applied to the everyday process of work or school, brain
function improves.”
What
would this look like in a school? Here’s a problem posed to fifth graders last
year at the National Inventors Hall of Fame School in Akron, Ohio – a school
that devotes three-quarters of each day to project-based learning: Reduce the
noise in the library, whose windows face a busy public space. Working in small
teams, students had four weeks to come up with proposals. Here’s how they
proceeded (with plenty of support and guidance along the way):
-
Fact-finding
– How does sound travel through materials? What materials reduce noise the
most?
-
Idea-finding
– Generating as many ideas as possible – drapes, plants, large kites hung from
the ceiling to baffle sound, masking the outside noise with a gentle waterfall,
double-paned glass, filing the space between panes of glass with water, an
aquarium with fish as the barrier, etc.
-
Solution-finding
– Which ideas are the most effective, most affordable, and most aesthetically
pleasing? Safest?
-
A plan
of action – Building scale models, choosing fabric samples, figuring out who
would take care of plants and fish over vacations, etc.
-
Problem-finding
– Anticipating all potential problems so their designs are more likely to work;
-
Presenting
the plan – The audience was teachers, parents, and an outside expert.
In the process,
students had fun, came up with great ideas to solve a real-world problem, and
mastered large chunks of Ohio’s required fifth-grade curriculum, including
understanding sound waves, per-unit cost calculations, and persuasive writing.
The school’s state test scores soared this year. “You never see our kids
saying, ‘I’ll never use this so I don’t need to learn it,’” says school
administrator Maryann Wolowiec. “Instead, kids ask, ‘Do we have to leave school
now?’”
Here are some of the other activities
at different age levels that have successfully developed creativity:
-
Preschool
– Role-playing and acting out characters helps children see things from a
different perspective.
-
Middle
childhood – Creating paracosms, or fantasies of entire alternative worlds.
-
Fourth
grade on – As the curriculum becomes more content-rich, it’s helpful if
teachers are willing to entertain unconventional answers and “detours of
curiosity.”
It’s a myth that
creative people are depressed, anxious, and neurotic, say Bronson and Merryman.
The reason creative students sometimes drop out is that they become discouraged
and bored in creativity-stifling schools. In fact, a gloomy mindset shuts down
creativity. People who score high on creativity assessments tend to be more
confident about the future, have stronger relationships, and deal better with
setbacks. It’s uncreative people who are at risk.
In a sidebar at the end of the article,
Bronson and Merryman sum up specific advice for educators and parents:
• Forget
brainstorming. Research at Yale University in 1958 showed that
brainstorming actually reduces a team’s creative output; the same people,
working individually, can come up with more and better ideas.
• Imagination
exercises don’t work. It’s a myth that all you have to do is let your
natural creativity run wild. There’s much more to being creative than that.
• Don’t
tell someone to be creative. “Such an instruction may just cause
people to freeze up,” say Bronson and Merryman. Here’s a better approach from
University of Georgia professor Mark Runco: “Do something only you would come
up with – that none of your friends or family would think of.” Using this
approach, he’s doubled people’s creative output.
• Reduce
screen time. For every hour spent watching TV, says University of Texas
professor Elizabeth Vandewater, overall time on creative activities like
fantasy play and art projects drops as much as 11 percent.
• Exercise.
“Almost every dimension of cognition improves from 30 minutes of aerobic
exercise,” say Bronson and Merryman. “The type of exercise doesn’t matter, and
the boost lasts for at least two hours afterward.” But this works only for
people who are physically fit. For those who aren’t, fatigue counteracts the
benefits.
• Get
immersed in a passion. “Kids do best when they are allowed to develop deep
passions and pursue them wholeheartedly – at the expense of well-roundedness,”
say Bronson and Merryman. American Psychological Association researcher Rena
Subotnik has found that children who dive into one area and become expert in it
have better self-discipline and handle setbacks more effectively.
• Forget
the suggestion box. Formalized suggestion boxes and e-mail surveys actually
stifle innovation, says ESCP Europe Business School Isaac Getz, because
employees often feel that their ideas will be lost in the bureaucracy. Toyota’s
plant in Georgetown, KY has been highly successful because it implements up to
99 percent of employees’ suggestions.
• Take
a break. Multitasking has been shown to undermine focus and productivity,
but it’s a good idea to shift from one creative project to another.
• Explore
other cultures. Living abroad, being exposed to people from other
countries, or even watching a slide show about another culture helps people be
more adaptable and flexible.
Adapted from the Marshall Memo, Issue #345
Jonathan Sheahen
Elementary School Principal
