EXPLORING AND PROMOTING
THE CREATIVE PROCESS
The following lecture notes primarily
reflect an overview of chapters 1 & 2 in
Mayesky, 2002.
The Concept of Creativity
• Children tend to exhibit a natural disposition towards creativity
and expression
• Oftentimes, what seems to be an endless exhibition of behaviors
where children are going from one task to another or asking one
question after another is really children engaged in internally
motivated creativity
• Creativity.
– The process of bringing something new into being (May, 1975).
– The ability to produce something novel, something with the stamp of
uniqueness upon it (Torrence, 1970).
– The combination of abilities, skills, motivations, and attitudes.
Types of Creativity
• Types of Creativity
– ―Capital C‖ creativity. Bringing into existence something genuinely new that receives social validation (enhances culture).
– ―Small C‖ creativity. Ideas or products that are new to the person, but only to the person.
The Creative Process
– The process of creativity consists of two parts: Discovery & Process
• Discovery. Using the imagination, playing with ideas, and exploring
• Process. Using learned skills, evaluating, and testing
• Types of Thinking
– Convergent. Thinking that results in a single solution or answer to a question or problem.
– Divergent. Thinking that opens things up and results in many answers or solutions to a single problem. Creativity Continued
• Child Creativity vs. Adult Socialization
– The process of socialization restricts creativity in many children
– As a function of age, expectations regarding creativity changes
• For young children, creativity is open to pure discovery.
• For much older children, creativity is limited to originality.
• Process over Product
– The exploration and experimentation with materials is more important in the creative sense than the product, or end result.
• Characteristics of Creativity
– Behavior that is associated with the creative personality. Some of these are
• Stubbornness
• Finding fault with things
• Appearing haughty and self-satisfied or being discontented
• Others are Determination, curiosity, intuition, risk taking, sense of humor
Identifying Creativity
• Are we always effective in creating and identifying creativity?
– Albert Einstein. 4 years old before he could speak and 7 before he could read.
– Beethoven’s music teacher once said of him, ―As a composer, he is hopeless.‖
– Leo Tolstoy flunked out of college.
– A newspaper editor fired Walt Disney because he had ―no good ideas.‖
– Winston Churchill failed the sixth grade.
– Isaac Newton did poorly in grade school.
– Thomas Edison’s teachers told him that he was too stupid to learn anything.
– VRW. Last chair in music class.
• Creativity needs to be seen as a developmental process. What we look for
regarding creativity in young children is quite different with what we look for
among older children.
• Necessity is often seen as the mother of invention, but somewhere lodged in
that statement is the talent of creativity.
Structuring Creativity out of Existence
• Children today are socialized to be less creative;
however, future societal demands may require them to
be otherwise. What of creativity?
• Oftentimes parents/teachers over structure the
environment of children to ensure they don’t get in
trouble (Rosenfeld & Wise, 2000). What of creativity?
– Creativity is fostered in an environment of freedom.
– Creativity is fostered when there are few evaluative outcomes
associated with children’s performance.
• According to Paul Torrance, we have to free ourselves to
be creative before we can ever really be creative teachers.
• According to Paul Torrance, the kind of behaviors
teachers tend to desire among students are typically
counter productive to creativity.
– Adults don’t always find it pleasing when a child spills content
because of early experimentation with the proper use of drinking
or eating.
– Creative children typically have different personality traits. This
is often a challenge to parents/teachers.
Characteristics of Creativity
• Accepts and is attracted to disorder
• Adventurous, full of curiosity
• Strong affection
• Altruistic
• Aware of others
• Always baffled by something
• Attempts difficult jobs
• Outwardly bashful
• Constructive in criticism
• Deep and conscientious in convictions
• Determined & energetic
• Emotionally sensitive
Helping Children Express Creativity
• Help children accept change. A child who becomes overly worried or upset in new
situations is unlikely to express creative potential.
• Help children realize that some problems have no easy answers. This may help
prevent children from becoming anxious when they cannot find an immediate answer to
a question or problem.
• Help children recognize that many problems have a number of possible answers.
(story. Geometry class)
• Help children learn to judge and accept their own feelings. Create an environment
rewarding of creativity.
• Reward children for being creative.
• Help children feel joy in their creative productions, and in working through a
problem.
• Help children appreciate themselves for being different
• Help children develop perseverance—”stick-to-itiveness.”
PROMOTING CREATIVITY
• The talent of creativity may be inherent but the
awareness of the talent may not be prevalent.
Therefore:
–Creativity, the curriculum, and the overall learning environment should
complement each other.
–Creative thinking is contagious- from teacher to child, from child to teacher,
and also from child to child and teacher to teacher.
–Children cannot develop high- level creative thinking skills without the basic
knowledge and skills of a particular area.
•According to Barron (1988), the absence of knowledge yields the absence of
creation.
•Convergent learning gives us our skill base, divergent learning gives us our
essence
PROMOTING CREATIVITY THROUGH PLAY AND
EXPLORATION
• As children explore and play with materials in the environment, they are also in a sense ― shaping the brain.‖
•The opportunities to learn actively in an environment provided throughout life and particularly in the early years, helps
to create us as unique individual.
•― Challenge and interaction (in the environment) are essential.‖
MODIFYING CURRICULUM TO PROMOTE CREATIVITY
• Each child learns the same knowledge and skills in a unique way.
• One needs to keep in mind that developmental needs serves as a guide to the mind and the sequence in
which all concepts are introduced.
• Consider the following question when modifying curriculum to encourage creative thinking
Is the content/concept developmentally appropriate for young children.
Are the children truly interested in the content. Are they challenged to think divergent and
critically.
Are there opportunities for children to interact and communicate with other children and adults
PROMOTING CREATIVITY THROUGH POSTIVE
ACCEPTANCE
• Adults are in a unique position to foster creativity. By providing a child with
unquestionable acceptance of their uniqueness (approaches), they will feel
safe in express their creativity.
• Guidelines to help transmit positive acceptance to children are as following
1. Openly demonstrate to young children that there is value in their curiosity,
exploration, and original behavior.
2. Allow the children to go at their own pace when they are doing an activity which
excites and interest them.
3. Let children stay with what they are making until they feel it is done.
4. Let children figure out on their own ways of doing things if they prefer to do so.
Encourage guessing, especially when the answers make good sense.
5. Keep the atmosphere relaxed.
ENCOURAGING CREATIVITY IN OLDER CHILDREN
1. Encourage children’s own pride in the work they have done; but, avoid setting up competitive
situations for children.
2. Lead them to become more proficient at recognizing their own strength and weakness. The
goal of introspection.
3. Encourage children to monitor their own work and when possible, give children choices
about what activities they do and how to do those activities.
4. Make intrinsic (internal) motivation a conscious factor of the discussion with children,
Encourage them to become aware of their own special interests and to take their focus off the
extrinsic (external rewards)
5. Help them build their self-esteem and help them focus on and appreciate their own unique
talents and strength. Encourage active/independent learning.
6. Give ample opportunities for free play with various materials, and allow them to indulge in
fantasy play.
7. Show them that you value creativity and are intrinsically motivated adult who enjoy thinking
creatively.
CREATIVE QUESTIONING FOR CHILDREN
• Questioning strategies that are intended to help an adult
encourage creativity in young children.
1. Making things better with your imagination.
1. Using other senses.
1. Divergent thinking questions
1. What- would –happen-if technique.
1. In how many different ways.
MOTIVATING SKILLS FOR TEACHERS
– Several ways to help children become motivated for
the creative process.
1. Physical needs
2. Interest
3. Friends
4. Activities for fun
5. Goals
6. Variety
7. Challenge
8. Reinforcement
9. The children’s feelings
Curriculum Based Programs Which Promote
Creativity (Jackman, 2001)
• Friedrich Froebel.
– Developed the first curriculum based program
exclusively for young children.
– Froebel identified key objects/resources to
promote learning; consequently, these resources
continue to be used today (Developed in
Germany).
Maria Montessori
• The second to develop a curriculum based program
exclusively for young children.
• Montessori’s ideas initially came from working with
impoverished children in Italy.
• Key Points to Model:
– Children learn best from child-sized environments that are
stimulating and inviting.
– Children copy their environment rather than construct it.
Consequently, by observing and later practicing what they
have witnessed, children begin to internalize the properties of
their environment.
Head Start
• The largest publicly funded educational
program for young children
• Since 1965, Head Start has provided
curriculum/classroom based learning to children
in low income families.
• Head Start has been effective in providing
family center education in an effort to improve
upon the lives of young children.
High/Scope
• Developed in the 1960s under the leadership of David
Weikert.
• Key Points:
– Children learn best through active experiences with
people, materials, events, and ideas.
– Autonomy is fostered in children as teachers
facilitate a daily ―plan-do-review‖ process.
Reggio Emilia
• Founded in the 1970’s by Loris Malaguzzi.
• Key Points:
– Children are capable and competent to construct their
knowledge and understanding of the world through
explorations, self-expression, and social interaction.
– A goal of interdependence of teacher, parent, and child
– The importance of creating an environment that
promotes development.
Bank Street
• Founded in 1916 by Lucy S. Mitchell
• Key Points:
– This developmental-interaction program works at fostering all the aspects
of children’s development, not simply to promote specific learning.
– Cognitive growth cannot be separated from the growth of personal and
social processes.
– Classrooms are arranged into distinct learning centers. Learning is
encouraged by bridging play, choice management, taking risks, and
accepting help.
– The Bank Street approach employs an open education which believes that
children are capable of selecting and learning from appropriate activities.
The goal is not to teach new concepts but to better employ the skills
already obtained.
Additional Sources Integrated in Lecture Notes
• Jackman, H. (2001). Early Education Curriculum—A Child’s Connection to the World
(2nd ed.). Delmar Thomson Learning: Africa.