Perceptions of Creativity – Trends Reflection

[Leena Riethmuller]

Creativity has long been valued in disciplines including art, design, music, writing and fashion, and in recent years has become a hot commodity in advertising, marketing and management theory. Often it is considered a recreational pursuit or designated to small children and eccentric loners.  This reflection discusses how perceptions of creativity alter experiences of it.

The word ‘creative’ is often used loosely or grouped with other words that dull its potency. For example, in the David Kelly talk, he clearly values the pursuits of the makers he is discussing, yet also describes what they do as “fuzzy” and “unconventional”. Dale Dougherty refers to his makers as “enthusiasts” and “amateurs” which renders their creative endeavours into frivolous escapades. Sure, some of them are building motorised cupcakes, but every idea has to start somewhere. As The Grommet poster says “The maker movement isn’t just a hobby”. Kelly and Dougherty both believe in the importance of creativity, so why keep it in a special category of zaniness, separate from other skills like reading, writing and mathematics?

There is a lack of support in the education system to support creative skills throughout our lives. The most recent reforms to the national curriculum from Foundation to Year 10 focus on overcrowding, phonics and Western influences on Australia’s history. There is also a push for students to work with the latest technology which can be very useful for creative thinking. However, technology doesn’t drive creativity, it is a tool that can be used creatively to teach, learn, think and make. Oon Seng Tan provides an informative assessment of the way creativity can be nourished through education. The article focuses on process, problem solving, flexibility, collaboration and self-regulated learning. He emphasises that these skills will equip students to work constructively in our rapidly changing world, now and into the future. These are skills that anyone can apply to any situation, rather than just being kept in a tool-box when someone calls for an unconventional thinker.

Information researcher, Margaret Blackmore, looks at the processes of creative practitioners at an academic level. Blackmore notes that many universities have not successfully tailored their creative degrees to be compatible with creative processes. More research needs to be done into the literacy skills of creative practitioners in order to better teach and assess creativity, and learn from it.

Beyond the university, makerspaces in libraries seem like a primary location for teaching the skills and processes involved in creative thinking. These spaces are especially important because they are free to the public and offer classes which encourage newcomers to the space. As creativity becomes an increasingly important skill to have in the workplace, makerspaces may be able to provide services to help deepen creative skills in adults that might have been underdeveloped when they were at school.

I strongly believe in the value of practicing creativity. But there needs to be a change in public perception, more research and better education models to support creative thinking. Otherwise, creativity may remain an illusive practice designated to the very few, and kept on the frills of everyday life.

• This topic was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by Leena Riethmuller.
• This topic was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by Leena Riethmuller.
• This topic was modified 8 years, 6 months ago by Leena Riethmuller.

[Leena Riethmuller]

An additional discussion topic I was thinking of looking at was definitions of ‘creativity’. Wikipedia provides a lot of information on it, and I was particularly interested in the historical discussion on the origins of the word.

[Shannon Franzway]

Ooh, the definitions of ‘creativity’ you mention got me thinking . . . I looked at the Wikipedia definition and it talks about a “phenomenon”, somewhere else I looked described it as an “act”.  That makes sense, but I think there is a general perception that a person either has it or they don’t – even using the term “phenomenon” in a its definition implies to me that a person might be creative simply because they are so.  However, I think creativity is a skill that can be built over time and must be practiced to see improvement; I think there is also an element of nurture.  As I write this, the thought comes to me that creativity is a bit like talent really – a talent must be practiced to improve, I think the same is true of creativity.  Nice one – a thought provoking post!  For me anyway 🙂

[Leena Riethmuller]

Thanks Shannon. I agree that calling creativity a phenomenon makes it seems like some ungraspable thing. I like your idea of thinking of it as a talent because some people are naturally inclined to be good at certain types of things, but they still need to  practice and develop their skills. And just because you’re not naturally good at something doesn’t mean you can’t learn to be good at it! 🙂

[Chris Sonneveld]

Hi Leena

Thanks for the great post. I agree that not enough is being done in schools to give children time to develop their creative skills. There is too much focus on outcome and achievement that the act of being creative with no constraints is not seen as valuable. I’m guessing it all comes down to funding. The schools that are seen as better are the ones that produce more successful students. I think the perception of success needs to change in schools so less pressure is put on students to constantly achieve. Students need time to discover how they can be creative and to develop those skills before life gets in the way.

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