Ever-Broadening Conceptions of Creativity in the Classroom
• creativity should be a part of the classroom and should not be separated from academic
subject matter and academic skills (literacy)
• chapter is suppose to reexamine and reinforce, conceptions of creativity that can support
educators in nurturing student creativity and at the same time, allow them to fulfill curricular
requirements
Creativity Compliments Academic Constraints
• teachers often think they cannot nurture students creativity within the constraints of the
required curriculum → when see creativity as “add-on” to curriculum makes sense that
teacher feel ambivalent about supporting creativity
◦ non creative students preferred because creativity is associated with nonconformity,
impulsivity and disruptive behavior (found in studies of Chinese and Turkish teacher)
◦ teacher who hold positive view of creativity often do not know what it actually means →
indicated they like creative students but associated words with them they usually do not
like / describe a mental illness
◦ when have mixed view on creativity teacher might suppress creativity of students
▪ authors argue that everybody values creativity but not when expressed at the wrong
time or wrong place
◦ when teachers support creativity they help students to learn when and how to be creative
and understand that in order for an idea, product, or behavior to be considered creative it
must combine originality and appropriateness in the context of a particular task or
activity
▪ Example:
• Tessa teaches mathematics, and she assigns her students a series of algebraic
equations. She looks for originality in how a student chooses different strategies
to get to the solution, but she also considers appropriateness (do the strategies
reach the correct solutions?)
• definition of creativity can be represented as: C = O x TA (Context)
◦ creativity (C) requires originality (O) and Task-appropriateness (TA) as defined within a
particular context
◦ if something is original (O = 1), but not task appropriate (TA = 0), then it can be said to
be original but not creative
◦ with this definition teacher can see the value of the curricular standards and conventions
and can make students help to understand that there is a time and place for creativity
Do Curricular Constraints Suppress Teachers’ Ability to Support Creativity?
The Role of Creativity in the Day-to-Day Curriculum
• two types of images people have regarding creativity:
1. Big-C (legendary → e.g. Martin Luther King)
2. little-c (everyday → e.g. creative teacher)
→ Big-C/little-c dichotomy
▪ categories are too restricted because not middle group between both
• to address limitations of Big-C/little-c dichotomy authors developed Four-c Model of
Creativity which includes interpretive (mini-c) creativty and professional (Pro-c) creativity
◦ help teachers understand developmental trajectory of creativity and help teachers
recognize how different levels of creativity can be represented in their curriculum
, Mini-
c
Creativity
• defined as the novel and personally meaningful interpretation of experiences, actions, and
events
• occurs during process of learning (e.g. new and personally meaningful insight about how to
incorporate design principles which were learned in art class can be integrated in
PowerPoint presentation on the Civil War)
• based on sociocultural view: emphasis how internal (mini-c) insights and interpretations are
influenced by interactions and experiences with domain-relevant knowledge and how, under
the right conditions, those internal (mini-c) insights can potentially develop into external
(larger-C) contributions → interdependent reationship
◦ Example: Gabriel had mini-c insight that worms prefer pistachios over almonds because
he likes them better as well so based on own experience and interpretation of problem →
ran counter research but was allowed to test it→ results confirmed his mini-c insight and
influenced work of researchers and impacted professional knowledge and practice
→ mini-c creativity can, under the right conditions, lead to larger-c contributions
◦ whatever the creative product (be it an idea, paintings, or performance) or the magnitude
of that product (be it little-c or Big-C), it all starts with the imaginative and personal
interpretations of mini-c
Recognizing Mini-c Insights
• creativity should be a part of the classroom and should not be separated from academic
subject matter and academic skills (literacy)
• chapter is suppose to reexamine and reinforce, conceptions of creativity that can support
educators in nurturing student creativity and at the same time, allow them to fulfill curricular
requirements
Creativity Compliments Academic Constraints
• teachers often think they cannot nurture students creativity within the constraints of the
required curriculum → when see creativity as “add-on” to curriculum makes sense that
teacher feel ambivalent about supporting creativity
◦ non creative students preferred because creativity is associated with nonconformity,
impulsivity and disruptive behavior (found in studies of Chinese and Turkish teacher)
◦ teacher who hold positive view of creativity often do not know what it actually means →
indicated they like creative students but associated words with them they usually do not
like / describe a mental illness
◦ when have mixed view on creativity teacher might suppress creativity of students
▪ authors argue that everybody values creativity but not when expressed at the wrong
time or wrong place
◦ when teachers support creativity they help students to learn when and how to be creative
and understand that in order for an idea, product, or behavior to be considered creative it
must combine originality and appropriateness in the context of a particular task or
activity
▪ Example:
• Tessa teaches mathematics, and she assigns her students a series of algebraic
equations. She looks for originality in how a student chooses different strategies
to get to the solution, but she also considers appropriateness (do the strategies
reach the correct solutions?)
• definition of creativity can be represented as: C = O x TA (Context)
◦ creativity (C) requires originality (O) and Task-appropriateness (TA) as defined within a
particular context
◦ if something is original (O = 1), but not task appropriate (TA = 0), then it can be said to
be original but not creative
◦ with this definition teacher can see the value of the curricular standards and conventions
and can make students help to understand that there is a time and place for creativity
Do Curricular Constraints Suppress Teachers’ Ability to Support Creativity?
The Role of Creativity in the Day-to-Day Curriculum
• two types of images people have regarding creativity:
1. Big-C (legendary → e.g. Martin Luther King)
2. little-c (everyday → e.g. creative teacher)
→ Big-C/little-c dichotomy
▪ categories are too restricted because not middle group between both
• to address limitations of Big-C/little-c dichotomy authors developed Four-c Model of
Creativity which includes interpretive (mini-c) creativty and professional (Pro-c) creativity
◦ help teachers understand developmental trajectory of creativity and help teachers
recognize how different levels of creativity can be represented in their curriculum
, Mini-
c
Creativity
• defined as the novel and personally meaningful interpretation of experiences, actions, and
events
• occurs during process of learning (e.g. new and personally meaningful insight about how to
incorporate design principles which were learned in art class can be integrated in
PowerPoint presentation on the Civil War)
• based on sociocultural view: emphasis how internal (mini-c) insights and interpretations are
influenced by interactions and experiences with domain-relevant knowledge and how, under
the right conditions, those internal (mini-c) insights can potentially develop into external
(larger-C) contributions → interdependent reationship
◦ Example: Gabriel had mini-c insight that worms prefer pistachios over almonds because
he likes them better as well so based on own experience and interpretation of problem →
ran counter research but was allowed to test it→ results confirmed his mini-c insight and
influenced work of researchers and impacted professional knowledge and practice
→ mini-c creativity can, under the right conditions, lead to larger-c contributions
◦ whatever the creative product (be it an idea, paintings, or performance) or the magnitude
of that product (be it little-c or Big-C), it all starts with the imaginative and personal
interpretations of mini-c
Recognizing Mini-c Insights
