This report examines the meaning, importance and value of creativity and the reasons why it has been undervalued by the education system in England for so long.
. INTRODUCTION
Creativity is a vastly important subject that has finally been recognised as an explicit part of Design and Technology education. This report examines the meaning, importance and value of creativity and the reasons why it has been undervalued by the education system in England for so long. It then leads on to suggest methods that should be used to value and integrate creativity as common practice in D&T. The report ends with a rationale for developing design and make projects that has been formulated from the key research findings.
2. THE IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN CREATIVITY
The development of the human civilisation has depended wholly upon the creativity and ingenuity of mankind to bring about purposeful focus, change and order into our world. Human creativity is a very unique and powerful characteristic that lies at the heart of what it means to be human. For mans continual desire to fulfil the needs of the human race by creating and developing artefacts from the raw materials of our world has ultimately shaped the way we live, work, play and learn today. Creativity can therefore be said to be the most powerful and fundamental natural human resource that empowers us, as humans, to freely create what has never been seen. In Bronowski's 'The Ascent of Man', he described man as the species who's imagination and toughness make it possible for him not to accept his environment but to change it (citied Kimbell et al, 2001:1).
There are many misrepresentations about creativity and the creative individual, which I will now clarify. Firstly, creativity is not the reserve of the creative elite industries such as the arts, music, design or technology businesses, it is a natural and unique human attribute that occurs as a function of our intelligence and, can happen in any activity in which the human intelligence is actively engaged. By definition, every human, from David Beckham to Tony Blair, has the capacity to be creative - it is just a matter of finding the medium that unleashes your creative talents - whether that be in politics, writing, sport, dance or whatever (Robinson, 2001). However, in saying that, creativity (in most cases) is not something that self develops; it needs to be carefully nurtured, developed and worked at in the correct environment and with the appropriate support and guidance. It is has been often quoted that creativity is 5 per cent inspiration and 95 per cent perspiration, in other words, you have to work hard to be creative.
Secondly, some have believed that you can't teach creativity, i.e. you are either creative or you are not (Robinson, 2001). This is a common misconception and, as stated earlier, creativity is a natural human attribute that we all possess to a lesser or greater extent and thus should be recognised and promoted in all. Robinson describes creativity as something that is not a 'special quality confined to special people and it can be taught' (Robinson, 2001:114). However, it is true to say that some are more creative than others - it all depends upon the chosen creative medium, the intelligence, understanding and skill of the individual(s).
It is important to add at this point that creativity is not a purely intellectual process. It is multidimensional and is enriched by other capacities, these include feelings, skills, personality attributes, intuition and by a playful imagination to name but a few (Robinson, 2001). Furthermore, creativity is not a separate faculty so much as an attitude: a willingness to continually reconsider what we take for granted (Robinson, 2001:137). For this reason, creativity is neither a static or linear activity, it is instead a 'curved path' where the individual looks at or considers things from all different viewpoints before making decisions. This is the essence of creativity - the ability to find new and ingenious methods of looking at things and then acting upon them. This 'sideways' method of thinking is better known as lateral thinking, developed by Edward De Bono over 40 years ago (Lucas, 2001).
Though many have tried since the twentieth century, creativity has been difficult to accurately measure and analyse. Essentially, creativity plays upon human feelings and it seems it can only be 'measured' by the amount of satisfaction it gives our emotions (Vernon, 1970).
3. THE MEANING OF CREATIVITY IN DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY
Design and Technology (D&T) is a practical subject with a hands on approach that offers pupils something that no other curriculum subject offers; the opportunity to create their imagined thoughts in the real word. D&T empowers pupils to change the made world (Kimbell et al, 2001). To quote James Dyson, "D&T is about making things that people want and that work well" (citied DfEE, 1999:14).
Creativity lies at the very heart and soul of D&T education at secondary level. Creativity is what D&T seeks to develop in all pupils (citied Kimbell et al, 1997:19). For through being creative in the work they do, youngsters demonstrate their understanding of this now pivotal subject in the curriculum. Creativity and D&T go hand in hand; not having creative activity within D&T is like having a car with no petrol in it - you have the means to move forward but you don't have the input or driving force that makes you capable of driving forward. Creativity within D&T is seen in the same light, for D&T is the vehicle that allows pupils to be carried forward but creativity is the fuel that empowers them to progress. If creative learning and teaching runs out then the vehicle (D&T) ceases to progress its occupants (pupils).
Creativity within D&T implies a whole host of attributes that pupils can use to learn to become creative, including, the freedom to explore, to take risks, to be innovative, to be inventive, to experiment, to learn from mistakes, to learn through making, to play, the list goes on and on. As this list suggests, being creative is not a linear path but a path you create yourself. This path can take many forms and take you in many directions, thus creativity is a multi-faceted process where your creativity is only limited by your imagination and skill. However, for far too long such crucial creative activities within D&T have been undervalued, frozen out and ignored by current methods of stringent teaching, assessment and inspection which allow for little or no creativity. Too much emphasis has been put upon creating a well-presented and sequenced portfolio of evidence where, projects are constructed through a culture of spoon-feeding and how to do instructions that do little to show any hi-order creativity skills and progression of the pupil. Instead, the projects are, apart from a few mundane differences, virtually identical in their construction and content. These practices in the opinion of many stifle and inhibit the creativity and ingenuity of pupils and go against the core principles of creative activity in D&T.
Creativity, according to the Qualification and Curriculum Authority (QCA), can help to improve pupils' self esteem, motivation and achievement. It has been found that when creative activity is taking place, pupils become more curious to discover things for themselves; are more open to ideas; are keen to collaborate with others to explore ideas and often want to work beyond the lesson time (DfES, 2003:360). Creativity is seen by Robinson as a key element of 'learning to learn' (Robinson, 2001).
Creativity within D&T has far reaching implications and consequences for our wider modern day society. For design and ...
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Creativity, according to the Qualification and Curriculum Authority (QCA), can help to improve pupils' self esteem, motivation and achievement. It has been found that when creative activity is taking place, pupils become more curious to discover things for themselves; are more open to ideas; are keen to collaborate with others to explore ideas and often want to work beyond the lesson time (DfES, 2003:360). Creativity is seen by Robinson as a key element of 'learning to learn' (Robinson, 2001).
Creativity within D&T has far reaching implications and consequences for our wider modern day society. For design and creativity in D&T develops an essential toolbox of practical life skills that enables young people to understand, to think and to intervene creatively in a rapidly changing world where there is rarely one simple answer to life and work. Schon (1991) sees design as a powerful vehicle for learning, important for everyone, not because they might become designers, but because (through experiencing designing) they will become more accomplished thinkers and decision-makers (citied Kimbell et al, 2001:4). Furthermore, our technologically dependant society demands people who can continue to design, develop and deliver artefacts that fulfil human desires and bring about purposeful change to our made world.
Creativity is vital for our long-term national development (Robinson, 2001:6). For creative abilities are now being seen as fundamental in meeting the challenges of economic development (NACCCE, 2000:3) and preparing youngsters for employment in the knowledge economy (Kimbell et al, 2001). For employers more than ever are placing a high premium on people with technological literacy, creativity and imagination (Robinson, 2001:84) in order to keep up and fulfil the demands of a 21st century economy and society driven forward by technology and innovation. Moreover, managing ones own learning, problem solving and teamwork are the three key skills that employers constantly prioritise (Kimbell et al, 2001:5). These skills are the precise abilities that D&T operates with.
Tony Blair himself has said:
"I believe it is time to show a fresh face to the world and reshape Britain as one of the 21st century's most forward-thinking and modern nations. I challenge companies to demonstrate that the UK can lead the way by creating products and services that exemplify out strengths in innovation, creativity and design".
Many research studies and reports have been conducted by leading professionals and professional organisations that highlight the huge importance and role of creativity within education and D&T. The National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education (NACCCE) conducted one such key report entitled 'All Our Futures' (NACCCE, 2000). The Blair government in 1997 set up this committee because the omission of creativity from the curriculum had become so serious (Lucas, 2001:148). From the findings of this report, creativity was explicitly acknowledged as a key part of learning and vital for the future prosperity and economic growth of the nation. The report proposed four key characteristics of creativity - imagination, purpose, originality and value. These characteristics (shown below) are seen as the activities that D&T aims to actively promote in pupils and, are thus now distinguished as the core descriptors of creativity in D&T.
3.1 Imagination and Purpose
Imagination is the process of seeing new possibilities and thinking 'out of the box' in order to provide unexpected solutions that lead away from the conventional or the norm. Creative insights often occur when existing ideas are combined in unexpected ways (DfES, 2003:366).
However, in D&T imaginative creativity only occurs when the powerful interaction between the human imagination (the minds eye) and the human hand creates a concrete form (2-D or 3-D) that can be seen in public. Thus by default, being creative in D&T involves 'doing' something. Robinson highlights that you cannot be creative unless you are actually doing something and, in this respect creativity is different from imagination (Robinson, 2001:115). In a sense, creative action in D&T is the application of imagination (Robinson, 2001) or thought in action (citied Kimbell et al, 2001:1).
Secondly, the imagined activity has to be directed at fulfilling a defined purpose and objective and have a point to its existence. In other words, it is no good fantasising or conjuring up in your mind a flying two headed pink lion that can break-dance, as, even though it may be very imaginative and creative, it does not fulfil a real purpose in the made world. This kind of imagination should be left to Harry Potter novels.
Therefore, the first fundamental characteristic of creativity can thus be defined as:
* Imaginative processes with outcomes in the public world (Robinson, 2001:115).
3.2 Originality
The second key characteristic of creativity is the ability for D&T students to be original in their ideas and thinking. However, this does not mean that creative originality is always about producing something that has never been thought of or seen before. For in practice, for pupils to produce work that was completely new, original and never before thought of would be highly unlikely and wishful thinking. Nevertheless, this does not mean that pupils can't be creative; on the contrary, students can be original by producing work that is original or new to them. The Key Stage 3 National Strategy Pilot Framework for D&T suggests that originality occurs within three different categories:
* Individual
Pupil's work may be original in relation to his or her own previous work and output.
* Relative
Pupil's work may be original in relation to their peer group or to other young people of the same age.
* Historic
Pupil's work may be original in terms of anyone's previous output in a particular field (i.e. it may be completely original).
(DfES, 2003:366)
Therefore, the second key characteristic of creativity can be detailed as:
* Imaginative processes that produce outcomes that are original (Robinson, 2001:116).
3.3 Value
How creative a product is can only truly be judged by the amount of value it brings to the made world. Not in terms of how much it costs, but to how valid the solution is in relation to its purpose. In other words, does the creative result fulfil and meet genuine needs that exist in the world. Thus, innovative outcomes can only truly be creative if their introduction to the public domain is judged to be of value and of purpose.
In terms of D&T and creative value, pupils need to judge as to whether their end product satisfies the criteria that they originally set out to attain. Critical evaluation and reflection is thus a vital ingredient for creative education and, should happen at any time during the creative process in D&T.
Consequently, the third and most important description of creativity in D&T is described as:
* Imaginative processes with outcomes that are original and of value (Robinson, 2001:118).
3.4 Key Point
The final definition (3.3) encompasses all the four key characteristics and, is regarded by many as the definitive description of creativity in Design & Technology education and learning.
From such key reports and findings, the government and authorities have finally recognised the explicit importance D&T and creativity plays in pupils' education and future lives in the knowledge economy. The latest government backed changes (The Key Stage 3 National Strategy for D&T) openly speak of getting pupils to learn to 'think and intervene creatively' and encourage them to 'become autonomous and creative problem solvers' (DfEE, 1999). The next step is for teachers to find the ways of making this commitment to creativity a reality in the classrooms.
4. METHODS FOR VALUING AND INTEGRATING CREATIVITY AS COMMON PRACTICE INTO DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY AT SECONDARY LEVEL
As discussed earlier, creative development is a sophisticated and dynamic process that is influenced by a whole host of factors and attributes. From the research carried out, it has thus been concluded that there is no one single solution as to how creativity can be valued and integrated into D&T. Instead, there are a collection of conditions/attributes that can allow the value of creativity and its integration into D&T to take place. Detailed below are these key characteristics:
4.1 The Teacher
The D&T teacher is the most valuable resource in D&T education and should be valued as such (NACCCE, 2000). Creative teaching is defined in two ways: teaching creatively and teaching for creativity (DfES, 2003:376). The creative teacher needs to develop methods and materials that encourage and demonstrate creativity and show its true value to pupils. Additionally, the teachers themselves need to have a creative flair and artistry for design that pupils can see. Teaching for creativity involves the teacher teaching, nurturing and developing students creativity.
The technology industries are continually evolving and developing and, as a consequence, so is D&T as it aims to reflect the latest processes and technologies within the classroom in order to keep students 'ahead of the game'. The D&T teacher should thus keep abreast of the latest developments and reflect these industry practices within the classroom.
The teacher should not hold back pupils who want to streak ahead of the class because they have had an ingenious idea. The teacher should let such pupils lead and take ownership for their work and show the rest of the class ways of achieving results. The teacher should continually fire pupils imagination with questioning that is designed to push their creative thinking forward.
Ultimately, if teachers are not creative in their approach, then how can pupils be expected to be creative? Simply asking a pupil to be creative is not enough (Robinson, 2001:131). It is only with the teacher's guidance that creativity can be developed.
4.2 The Environment
The environment plays a vital role, as this is where students' creativity can be stimulated and nurtured. The classroom should arouse and delight pupils' creativity and senses with examples of good design practice from industry and from other pupils. The classroom needs to have a balanced atmosphere of freedoms and constraints where pupils are encouraged to work individually/collaboratively, take creative risks, experiment, learn from mistakes and have wild ideas that they can test out without fear of being labelled a failure if they go wrong. All these creative activities and more are a reflection of the environment in which professional designers work and operate in - the classroom should hence reflect a similar environment where pupils are able to work 'professionally'.
4.3 Relate to Pupils
Pupils will have their creative senses excited, encouraged and challenged if projects, scenarios or design issues (DfES, 2003) relate to and draw upon their own way of life and culture. In other words, the activities have to be presented within a context to which pupils can relate (DfES, 2003:364). Such projects will empower pupils with the confidence to take ownership and control of the outcome (Craft Council, 2000), as they are able to gain inspiration from their many experiences in and out of school. Additionally, such projects can help reassure pupils that they don't need to be geniuses and professionals to get ideas as the projects relate directly to their way of life.
4.4 Technical and Creative Know-How
In order for pupils to be creative, they need to have the technical know-how that enables them to exercise their creativity. The shortage of challenge and independent learning opportunities during Key Stage 3 have meant that pupils lack the necessary creative skills when they enter Years 10 and 11 (Barlex, 2003:7). Pupils need the opportunities to work individually from an earlier age in order for them to build up a bank of technical and creative know-how that they can call upon when the conditions demand it.
4.5 Stimulus
Creative activity has to be supported and introduced using visual resources that stimulate and engage the creative thinking and imagination of pupils. Carefully selected resources can help fire up pupils' imaginations so they are able to see unexpected possibilities and novel approaches to their own designing and making (DfES, 2003:36).
4.6 Evaluation
Continuous evaluation during the design process is a cornerstone of the creative process as it helps to move design thinking forward. Evaluation aids creative development as it encourages pupils to continually judge and clarify their own ideas and thinking in order to decide whether they really have conceived the best possible solution. Moreover, evaluation will instil in pupils a culture of listening to others, this will in turn help them to expand their own thinking and inspire their own creativity. Evaluation should not just be an after thought that is added on once the project has finished.
4.7 Multiple Intelligences
Howard Gardener's theory that humans have eight forms intelligence has revolutionised the concept of creativity and it's teaching (Lucas, 2001). In theory, it means that we can harness and develop our creativity by using our most suited intelligence(s) to learn i.e. the one(s) we can use the best and are the strongest at. This should be translated into D&T where teachers enhance pupils creativity and learning through utilizing their many intelligences and learning styles.
4.8 New Technology
The use of new technologies like CAD/CAM empower pupils to be creative and innovative as they are no longer limited and sometimes disheartened by their own drawing or making skills. Furthermore, CAD/CAM allows pupils to take risks with ideas, to reflect upon and develop their ideas, to explore and experiment and, gives them a taste of professional industry practices.
4.9 Modelling
3-D modelling is an invaluable and powerful tool for any designer and, is used extensively in industry to model concepts in order to make informed judgements about ideas. The Crafts Council believes that 'making' is a fundamental part of creative learning (Crafts Council, 1998). Modelling in D&T should thus be seen and integrated as an essential tool for creativity. It has the ability to reveal previously unknown and un-conceived ideas that can then inspire and motivate pupils to look at other avenues. Moreover, 3-D modelling engages pupils imagination and creativity and allows them to physically experiment/explore in order to see if their ideas are going to work - the 2-D pencil and paper approach inhibits this 'creative play'.
4.10 Sketchbooks
D&T needs to adopt a similar approach to recording and developing creativity as Art & Design do. This subject has very high regards for creativity and its component parts, this shown in the value it places upon pupils using a free-response sketchbook (Barlex, 2003). The sketchbook encourages pupils to record and develop ideas and is seen as a powerful technique for unlocking creative capacities and engaging the whole person. If used in D&T, this approach would allow pupils to play, experiment, explore and have wild ideas without the worrying about presentation. The sketchbook could be submitted along with the portfolio as evidence of the creative path a pupil has taken.
4.11 The Professional Designer
In order to inform their own designing and creativity, pupils need to appreciate good professionally designed artefacts. For through getting pupils to look at well-designed products regularly, they will be helped to enter the mind of the designers and understand the reasons behind their design decisions. This stimulus, more than anything, will open up their eyes so that they are able to see the world in terms of opportunities for creative thought and action.
4.12 Key Point
It is crucial to iterate that just the mere presence of these characteristics will not ensure that creativity becomes an integral, valued and common part of D&T practice. The most critical factor to encompassing creativity in D&T, as pointed out earlier, is the way that these characteristics are managed and delivered by the teacher who has the power to either hinder or develop creativity in pupils.
5. RATIONALE FOR DEVELOPING CREATIVE DESIGN AND MAKE PROJECTS
The research findings have enabled a rationale to be formulated for developing design and make projects that engage and instil in pupils the value and importance of creativity within D&T education.
Creativity, firstly and foremost, is a fun thing that allows pupils to play with their imagination. The design and make project must therefore be a catalyst that excites the senses and gets the creative juices of pupils flowing in abundance. The projects need to tap into the natural curiosity of pupils and engage their intellect from the start. This can only be achieved by the projects being designed and delivered in a context that pupils can relate to and connect with, for example using their social or cultural background. In addition, the projects need to be accompanied by stimulus that gets pupils engaged in creative and imaginative thought processes. Only through this will pupils truly engage with creative activities as they feel they have an understanding that allows them to have creative ownership of their learning and of the outcome.
Creativity in D&T is a process of seeing new possibilities and dimensions not seen by others. In D&T, this can only be done through designing projects that test pupils to look for connections and make new associations with things that are not normally related, thus encouraging them to find new and creative ways of looking at things. Furthermore, the projects need to be designed to address real life design issues, this can be a great motivator for creative thought as it allows pupils to feel that they are actually designing a solution for 'real world' design problems. The projects need to bring out the best in pupils by providing an intrinsic challenge for pupils to get their teeth into.
It is no good expecting pupils to create innovative products if they don't have pre-requisite skills needed to be creative. The design and make projects should have built-in opportunities for focused practical tasks designed to develop students creative designing and making skills using a range of materials, processes and techniques. These tasks should build-up pupils creative skills year on year, so that when they come to year 10 and 11 they are equipped with a firm knowledge base and experience of skills that they can draw upon.
Key to any creative activity is the opportunity to experiment and explore ideas freely. A free response sketchbook should therefore be made an integral part of any design and make projects, as it allows pupils to experiment, explore and record ideas without being inhibited by neatness. Additionally, 3-D modelling should be used throughout the projects. It is excellent tool for unlocking creativity as it permits pupils to physically handle, manipulate, modify and test their ideas a lot more easily.
The design and make projects must progress pupils creativity not simply by getting more difficult each year. Instead, new projects should allow pupils to integrate the knowledge, skills and understanding they have gained in previous projects into the new ones. The aim of these projects must thus be to develop pupils creative skills until they can become 'autonomous and creative problem solvers who can think and intervene creatively' and, 'produce imaginative outcomes that are original and of value'.
6. REFERENCES
Robinson K. (2001) Out of our minds: Learning to be creative, Capstone Publishing Limited
Lucas B. (2001) Power up your mind, Nicholas Brealey Publishing
Craft Council. (1998) Our future in the making: Creative practical skills in education and employment, Craft Council
DfES. (2003) Key stage 3 national strategy pilot framework for Design and Technology, DfES
DfEE. (1999) Design and Technology: The National Curriculum for England, DfEE
Vernon P.E. (1970) Creativity, Penguin Books Limited
Kimbell R & Perry D. (2001) Design and Technology in a knowledge economy, Engineering Council
Kimbell R. (1996) Understanding practice in Design and Technology, Open University Press, p18-25
NACCCE. (2000) All our futures: A summary, National Campaign for the Arts
Barlex. (2003) Creativity in Crisis?, DATA research paper No 18, p4-12
7. BIBLIOGRAPHY
7.1 Books
Pinker S. (1997) How the mind works, Penguin Books Limited
Arieti S. (1976) Creativity: The magic synthesis, Basic Books, Inc., Publishers
Sayers S, Morley J, Barnes B. (2002) Issues in Design and Technology teaching, Routledge Falmer
Eggleston J. (1992) Teaching Design and Technology, Open University Press
Craft A. (2000) An analysis of research and literature on creativity in education, QCA
Kimbell R. (2000) Creativity in crisis, The DATA journal, Vol 5, No 3
7.2 Internet Based Sources
www.ncaction.org.uk/creativity
(Creativity: Find it, promote it)
www.secondarydandt.org/dandtworld
(Just what is creativity?)
www.lboro.ac.uk/idater
(Modelling and creativity in Design and Technology)
GOLDSMITHS COLLEGE Page 1 of 15
PGCE Design & Technology
Inderjit Singh Mand Creativity Assignment-Part 1 February 2004
