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Putting creativity at the heart of schools

Last month Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), launched the latest publication by Prof Bill Lucas, Creative thinking in schools across the world: a snapshot of progress across the world, at the OECD in Paris. The event was the first World Creativity in Education Summit and was coordinated by the Global Institute of Creative Thinking (GLoCT).

Writing in the Foreword Andreas says:

Creative thinking is not a magic power, though, it can be learned and it can be taught. Every individual, to a greater or smaller degree, has the potential to think creatively. It is therefore unsurprising that school curricula around the world seek to give creativity greater emphasis, both within and across subject disciplines.

Over the last decade there have also been encouraging attempts to assess creativity in schools, looking to evidence progress in the development of creative skills.

Key messages for teachers when designing curriculum

Increasingly the teaching profession is realising that creativity can be learned and can be taught. But it is not a subject in the way that, say science or history are. It needs to be intentionally embedded in every aspect of the curriculum and calls for a different approach to curriculum design. Four key messages are emerging from schools across the world in this area.

1. Creative thinking starts from real problems and inevitably takes time

There is growing evidence that the fundamental curriculum model for effective teaching of creative thinking is problem not subject-based, enabling the development of divergent thinking across subject disciplines. One strategy used by some secondary schools is block scheduling with fewer, longer lessons during any week. The report notes that problem-based learning needs especially careful planning with time given to teachers to plan together.

2. Creativity is largely social

While it is possible for individuals to exercise their creative thinking alone, it is much more common that the creative act is a collaborative or group endeavour. It has been argued that, even, when we are alone, and especially in a world of the Internet, we are really exercising creative collaboration. In schools valuing collective acts by students has always been a challenge, except, perhaps, on the sports field or in artistic performances. For seen through the lens of public examinations which are based on individual performance, some will see only a thin line separating collaboration, sharing and cheating.

3. Creativity is interdisciplinary and is rarely contained within a single subject

Creative thinking can be cultivated in a specific subject, but it frequently invites teachers and their students to look across disciplines. Few would dispute that the most pressing problems of our age such as climate change will require imaginative contributions from many disciplines if we are to make progress.

4. Creative thinking activities work best when they are co-designed with students

Designing a curriculum to develop creative thinking is an opportunity, within appropriate bounds, to engage learners in planning and designing the curriculum. Co-design is increasingly seen as essential in both the business world and in healthcare but remains underused in schools.

It is worth noting that, for many teachers, these four principles represent a significant shift away from current practices; they challenge the status quo. The principles are exactly the kinds of issues that the eight Creativity Collaboratives are currently exploring in England.

Signs of progress

The report shows just how far education systems across the world have come over the last two decades. Using five indicators of progress - Status, Curricula, Culture, curriculum design and pedagogy, Assessment and Professional learning - the report offers dashboards coloured from green to red in traffic light style.

There are real signs of progress in two areas - Curricula, Culture, curriculum design and pedagogy – and some positive steps in the areas of assessment both from the PISA 2022 Creative Thinking Test and in our understanding of how teachers can use assessment formatively to improve teaching and learning. In the areas of professional learning, both pre-service and in-service there is much yet to be done.

But, as Barrack Obama said in a celebrated speech in Chicago on 5 February 2008: Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. Creative Thinking in schools across the world is not just a report but is a practical guide for teachers looking for inspiration from colleagues similarly trying to cultivate the creativity of their pupils.







An open letter to Nick Gibb: 5 myths about creativity


By Bill Lucas

10 March 2020


In an open letter to the Schools Minister, Bill Lucas makes a case for the teaching and assessing of creativity

Dear Mr Gibb,


Congratulations on your reappointment in the recent Cabinet reshuffle. I am a strong supporter of your view that teaching should seek to develop deep knowledge in students and, of course, that we should unremittingly seek to raise standards.

At the same time, I am a long-term advocate of the value of creativity and critical thinking in schools and in life, advising organisations across the world on this topic. Today, I will be meeting with other educators and policymakers from around the world, to consider how best to use research and promising practices to advance the creativity agenda globally.  I would like to take the opportunity to wonder aloud about five myths about creativity, which have gained currency in some people’s thinking. I would love to discuss these issues with you, in the light of the opportunity the UK still has to opt into the Pisa 2021 test of creative thinking. These myths need to be challenged consistently if we are truly to cultivate young people’s creativity across the world.


Read open letter in full




Bill's Blog - Twelve ways to be a more successful learner


Following on from our Successful Learners event at The University of Winchester in partnership with the Winchester Teaching School Alliance and Kings' School Winchester Professor Bill Lucas has written a blog detailing the twelve ways to be more successful. 

 

 

What do you really need to learn in life? How do you teach students to excel? What do successful learners do differently from others? What, in short, are their habits of mind? Over the last two decades the learning sciences have begun to provide some powerful answers to these questions. Here are some suggestions, drawing on research, to help you identify the kinds of learning habits likely to help you succeed. Imagine a clock-face. This one comes from Winchester High Street. Think of each of the twelve points of its face as we look at twelve key aspects of learning.

 

Read Bill's blog here  


How to develop habits of creative thinking
If schools are to make creativity normal, then they need to think about the culture they seek to create, says Professor Bill Lucas.

 


 

Read full report here



Dr Ann McCarthy of NACE summarises the action research projects in her report

 

 

 

 

 

'All teachers improved their practice and engaged in professional learning which they used to benefit learners. They were able to identify changes which were successful and elements which did not work as well. They then adapted their practice in response to the self-evaluation.'

 

'The energy and enthusiasm which came from this activity led to teachers extending the new initiatives beyond their classrooms. Dialogue within school and between schools had a positive impact on both learners and teachers. All teachers found that research-based practice was a valuable form of professional development. They were empowered to continue to approach teaching in this manner and to share this practice with those around them.'

 

Read full report here   


Secretary of State outlines five expansive foundations of character education including creativity

  

                                                                          The full report can be read here


Outdoors


Character and resilience are as crucial to young people’s future success as academic qualifications, Education Secretary Damian Hinds said today.

Addressing the Church of England Foundation for Educational Leadership conference today (7 February), Mr Hinds laid out the 5 Foundations for Building Character and pledged to work with schools and external organisations, including membership bodies and charities, to help every child access activity within each of those foundations.



Expansive Education in Australia

 

Australia is a leading light in its decision to emphasise the need for expansive capabilities in schools. Last week Bill Lucas launched a new report, A Capable Country: Cultivating capabilities in Australian education, with Melbourne-based Mitchell Institute, suggesting ways in which the vision could become reality across the education system.

 

 

The full report can be downloaded here



Prof Bill Lucas and Dr Ellen Spencer collaborated with the RSA to explore how young people feel about engaging in youth social action opportunities

 

  

 

The research found that young people are giving back to society more than adults might think and that there are strong links between a young person’s belief in their creativity and their confidence to participate.  However, more opportunities are needed that allow young people to express their creativity through selecting the problems they want to solve.


The report and an extensive literature review on creative self-efficacy that informed the research can be downloaded here:


Developing Tenacity launch event and the 'fantastic' talk by Prof Bill Lucas

 

Most teachers will be familiar with the frustration of students giving up all too easily when things get difficult. This is a problem, because learning happens at that uncomfortable place where thinking has to be stretched. Students who tick along nicely without trying are those who come unstuck at higher levels of learning. 

 

And students used to failure need to experience the buzz of success through hard work if they are to accomplish anything in life. 

 

Educators attending the recent launch event listened to Professor Bill Lucas talk about why tenacity matters and, more importantly to teachers, how they can cultivate it. 

The book is already proving popular with teachers looking for ways to embed practical changes in their classrooms. Its framework of what tenacity means is highly practical. Said one teacher: I could see having students take their own Tenacity temperature against these specific components. Superb and focused!

 


But don’t take our word for this! UKEdChat’s review says of the book: ‘no matter what stage of your teaching career you are at, you will find it thought-provoking and challenging’. If you’re looking for material for your teachers to dip into that provides quick wins as well as deep thinking, this book is well worth reading. 

 

Says Ron Berger, Chief Academic Officer of EL Education, and teacher: 'To create beautiful work and contribute to a better world, students need tenacity. Bill Lucas and Ellen Spencer describe how schools can inspire and cultivate tenacity, pulling together research and best practices from a wide range of educators to guide schools in creating a culture to bring out the best in students'. 

 

Professor Ronald Beghetto of the University of Connecticut calls the book 'Accessible and immediately applicable'. 

Follow Developing Tenacity on Twitter @pedagogy4change


Mindset influence on academic achievement explored in new report

 

 

This latest analysis of PISA results by McKinsey & Company suggests that students’ mindsets have more influence on academic achievements than their socioeconomic background. McKinsey & Co call this mind-set a ‘motivation calibration’, where students exhibit effective behaviours (eg; doing more than expected, continually improving on tasks) that increase their academic performance. For students in poor performing schools, having a well-calibrated motivation mindset can support social mobility.


Read more 


New research from the RSA - The Ideal School Exhibition 

 

  

Two key aspects of Expansive Education feature strongly in The Ideal School Exhibition report by the RSA. The research stresses the importance of setting expansive aims for education and on the role of the teacher as the expert best able to select teaching and learning methods likely to produce a rounded education.

 

Report author and RSA’s director of education Julian Astle says of the debate about what an ‘ideal school’ looks like: ‘In short, it is a debate about what kind of education will prepare them, not just to write a good exam, but to live a good life.’. We too believe the point of education is more than exams and that expanding goals, places, mindsets and teacher personal identity are of utmost importance to help children and young people to become better at learning so they can thrive in all they do.

 

The report makes a number of recommendations including:

1. Create a new culture in educational assessment by making tests harder to teach to; 2. Reform the accountability system by reweighting league tables; and 3. Encourage a teacher-led professional renaissance by abolishing Ofsted’s ‘Outstanding’ category.

 

Above all, as Bill Lucas has argued on many occasions. Astle invites us all to move beyond the old binary alternatives of didactic or enquiry-led teaching to explore what is likely to develop young people's character as well as their knowledge. 

 

Read the full report here



Good news - Creative Thinking will be the focus of the 2021 PISA test!

  

 

This innovative book applies the idea of growth mindset to the cultivation of a vital contemporary capability - creative thinking - drawing on both evidence and promising practices. Carol Dweck, Professor of Psychology, Stanford University   




                                                                             




                                                      

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