Creative Pedagogy

Before I can explain my creative pedagogy, I will define my understanding of creativity. My definition of creativity will be forever fluid because every scientific study of creativity brings new enlightenment and current ideas of how creativity affects learning and the brain. The definition of creativity used here is a combination of John E. Drevdahl and J. P. Guildford, Drevdahl (1956) defined it as, “the capacity of a person to produce compositions, products, or ideas which are essentially new or novel and previously unknown to the producer.” Guilford (1959) defines creativity as, “the capacity to produce ideas that are both new and useful through divergent thinking.” By combining both of these definitions, my understanding of the definition of creativity is the ability to think divergently and design in unusual ways. Creating ideas that aren’t seen to the majority, as well as unique thought processes that lead to new experiences in and outside the classroom. Creative education has the potential to create multiple experiences to help students flourish mentally, physically, emotionally, and even socially. My creative pedagogy is rooted in creating an open and inspiring classrooms, building a relationship with students, and a curriculum that allows students to exhibit their full potential.

Creative Classroom Experience

In most cases, the first thing students notice is the classroom environment and how it makes them feel. The environment I want to create is one full of inspirational quotes, artwork (professional, personal, and students), and materials and supplies that will allow students to create within the multiple facets of the art world. The classroom will be welcoming and give students an open environment to express themselves through their work. I believe an environment built with these attributes will help flourish the social creativity where students can have open conversations with me, as the teacher, and their fellow peers which leads me to the next point on building a creative relationship with each student.

Building Creative Relationships

When students walk through the door of my classroom I want them to feel welcome and ready to make art. I intend my students to feel as though they can come to me with anything art related, or even life related. Melissa Purtee (2016) stated in her article, Teaching Skills for the 21st Century: Creativity, “Our job as educators is to prepare our students for life after school.” (pg. 1) In order for me to prepare students for life after school, I must build relationships with my students both in life and in their creative endeavors. When attending to your creative endeavors, it takes open conversations and critiques for any artist and creative person to learn and become better at certain tasks. Learning with open conversations can happen if you have that relationship with your peers that allow you to receive the feedback and input they need to become successful. Building key relationships with students also builds trust that can limit the problems and issues that may arise in the classroom. Through effective classroom management skills built through strong expectations and positive relationships, students begin to show respect to each other and you. The term “warm demander” (Bondy et al., 2012) can be applied to the way I think about the creative relationships I hope to build with high expectations and positive relationships with my students.

Creative Curriculum

The curriculum I want to set in place will allow students to flourish in their creative endeavors. My plan is to create a progressive style of teaching as defined by John Dewey (1938) in his book, Experience and Education, “To imposition from above is opposed expression and cultivation of individuality; to external discipline is opposed free activity; to learning from texts and teachers, learning through experience.” (p. 19) Progressive teaching allows students to express their individual selves, freedom in their work, and learning from text, teacher, and experiences with peers and the project itself. The creative curriculum I want to create will prepare students with multiple small projects that will prepare them for larger projects. In turn, the larger project will allow them to show their individuality and creative potential based on the experiences they gain from the previous exercises and projects. My curriculum will also be built around projects that allow students to find real world connections with their interests and art.

Conclusion

Creativity in the classroom is dictated by the pedagogical preparation and practice of the teacher. I believe the approaches I have laid out above establish a strong basis for creativity in the classroom based upon the classroom environment, relationships between peers and teacher, and the experiences they gain from the curriculum. My preparation as an educator will support students in the classroom through their work, conversations, and approaches to their creative endeavors.

References

Dewey, J. (2015). Chapter 1. In Experience & Education (pp. 17–23). essay, Free Press.

Drevdahl, J. E. (1956). Factors of importance for creativity. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 12(1), 21–26. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-4679(195601)12:1<21::aid-jclp2270120104>3.0.co;2-s

Guilford, J.P. (1959). Traits of creativity in Creativity and its Cultivation. pp. 142-161. Harper and Row.

Purtee, M. (2016, April 17). Teaching skills for the 21st Century: Creativity. The Art of Education University. Retrieved December 12, 2021, from https://theartofeducation.edu/2016/04/20/teaching-skills-21st-century-creativity/.