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Why Should Schools Be Interested in Creativity? And, How Can We Nurture It?

Why Should Schools Be Interested in Creativity? And, How Can We Nurture It?. Bonnie Cramond, Ph.D. Department of Educational Psychology and Instructional Technoloty University of Georgia. Creativity is Analogous to Intelligence in Several Ways. Everyone has some

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Why Should Schools Be Interested in Creativity? And, How Can We Nurture It?

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  1. Why Should Schools Be Interested in Creativity?And, How Can We Nurture It? Bonnie Cramond, Ph.D. Department of Educational Psychology and Instructional Technoloty University of Georgia

  2. Creativity is Analogous to Intelligence in Several Ways • Everyone has some • It can be developed and nurtured • There are levels • It can be expressed in many ways • It can be viewed as a general ability and as a domain specific ability Bonnie Cramond The University of Georgia

  3. We Should Be Interested in Developing Creativity for the Good of the Individual and the Society

  4. Creative Expression Fosters Mental Health

  5. Creative Students Can Become Creative Adults • Bevin Carnes • She was “different” • “In her own world” • Other kids teased her • Her parents encouraged her creativity and supported her. • Won an academy award in student division for animated film • Works for Disney • http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4276368&affil=wsb

  6. HOWEVER, Many Times Creative People Are Misunderstood and Misdiagnosed

  7. “Every talent that goes unused…every potential for making a contribution in any endeavor that goes unrecognized, or unstimulated, is a loss that cannot be measured nor can ever be retrieved.” Dr. Mary M. Frasier

  8. Behaviors Associated with Creativity May Be Mistaken • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) • Asperger’s Syndrome • Asocial or antisocial behavior • Clinical depression or Bipolar disorder • Etc.

  9. Cognitive Processing • Spontaneous and diverse ideation--may be seen as hyperactive • Studies found higher ideation among ADHD students during problem-solving exercise

  10. Comparison of ADHD and Creativity

  11. Comparison of ADHD and Creativity

  12. Comparison of ADHD and Creativity

  13. Study Comparing Identified ADHD and Creatives • ADHD group = 34 students, aged six to 15, 8 females and 26 males • Highly creative group = 76 participants, 33 females and 43 males, age 13 through 15 from the Torrance Creative Scholars Program in Louisiana. • Measures: • Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking • SNAP Checklist

  14. Percentile Distribution of Creativity Scores for the ADHD Group

  15. Highly Creatives Who Met Disagnostic Criteria for ADHD

  16. Sensation Seeking • Emotionally expressive • Synesthesic--one sensation involuntarily conjures up another • Related to ADHD and creativity

  17. Type T Personality • Farley: daredevils, doers and delinquents share a common personality, Type T (for thrill seeking). • constant stimulation and risk taking--both physical and mental • Can be positive or negative

  18. Sensitivity to Stimulation • Dabrowski’s “Overexcitabilities” or hyper sensitivities • Intellectual--curiosity • Emotional--expressiveness • Physical--energy • Imaginational--ideas • Sensual--media to communicate • Intensity used to describe creative individuals

  19. Depression • Depression and bipolar disorder have been noted in the lives of creative people and/or their families Virginia Woolf Sylvia Plath

  20. Creativity and Mental Illness • Suffer from certain mental disorders & higher suicide rates • High MMPI psychopathology scores, but also higher ego strength

  21. Dropouts

  22. Stereotype of Dropouts as Incapable of Doing the Work • Many dropouts are bright • Maybe they are creative? • Don’t see connection of curriculum to life plan • Resist the regimentation • May have problems with behaviors indicative of ADHD, depression, sensitivity to stimulation, social isolation, etc.

  23. Contacted Bright Dropouts • Creativity test • Measure of hyper sensitivities • Interviews • They did tend to be creative • They did have heightened sensitivity • They also couldn’t stand • The loud, noisy, crowded schools • The unfair and demeaning discipline • The irrelevant interests of their age peers • The pedantic curriculum • The detached faculty • The early start time

  24. In the U.S. Recent reports warn that our nation cannot retain its economic and scientific position in the competitive world with a work force that has mastered only minimum competencies Cramond UGA

  25. From Tough Choices or Tough Times (2006) • “…candidates will have to be • comfortable with ideas and abstractions, • good at both analysis and synthesis, • creative and innovative, • self-disciplined and well organized, • able to learn very quickly, and • work well as a member of a team, and • have the flexibility to adapt quickly to frequent changes in the labor market as the shifts in the economy become ever faster and more dramatic.” (p. 8, Executive Summary). Cramond UGA

  26. Cramond UGA

  27. The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life (2002) There is a new social class, the creative class, who generate new ideas, new technology, and new creative content that profoundly influence work and lifestyle issues. The Flight of the Creative Class: The New Global Competition for Talent (2005) Nations are in competition to nurture and retain their most creative talent because they are linked to a nation’s prosperity. Richard Florida, Economist Cramond UGA

  28. Even Universities Are Recognizing the Benefits of Creativity • NSF Grant With Art and Engineering • Develop New Interdisciplinary curriculum –art, engineering, and creativity Bonnie Cramond, Torrance Center; Jo Walthers and Nadia Kellam, Faculty of Engineering; Tracie Costantino, Art Education

  29. Creativity in All Domains Improves Our Lives

  30. Other Countries Are Emphasizing Creativity • Asian Countries Are Keenly Interested • European Year of Creativity

  31. Even The Tibetan Children’s Villages’ Schools Want an Emphasis on Creativity Dalai Lama, Natalie Anders, Ted Anders, Charles Martin

  32. How Can We Nurture It? • Infuse creativity into all subject areas. • Use tried strategies • Make students aware of their creative thinking—Creative Metacognition • Engage students in creative programs • Purposely teach students thinking skills and when to use them • Promote a sense of wonder

  33. The 13 Thinking Tools Sparks of Genius Most Creative People Of the World’s Based on the book by Robert & Michele Root-Bernstein Bonnie Cramond UGA

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