Highlights •We examined the effects of exposure to live plants, views to nature and the colour green upon visual and verbal creativity in classroom settings. Participants completed a visual and verbal creativity task. Three groups were used; one group in a classroom surrounded my plants and view to natural settings, one with no views to nature but who completed the task on green paper, the third, with no plants present and no views to nature. Findings indicate visual creativity is increased by exposure to natural views, plants and the colour green. Findings indicate that access to natural views, plants and the colour green increase visual creativity, but have no impact on verbal creativity in classroom settings. The results suggest that creativity is domain specific and any practical measures taken to enhance creativity need to be aligned with the target domain. AbstractWe report upon a study concerned with the effect of exposure to live plants, views to nature and the colour green upon visual and verbal creativity. The study reported in this paper was undertaken with 108 business students at a British University who were randomly allocated to one of the three conditions. The control group were placed in a classroom with no plants present and blinds drawn to block view to natural settings, the first experimental group were placed in a classroom with no plants present, blinds drawn to block views to nature but completed the creativity tasks on green paper. The second experimental group were placed in the same room as the other groups, but were surrounded by live plants and had views to nature through the large classroom windows. All participants completed two creativity tasks; a visual creativity task and a verbal creativity task. Visual creativity was assessed using a modified version of Amabile's Consensual Assessment Technique (Amabile, 1982). Verbal creative was assessed using a modified scoring method of Guilford's alternative uses task developed by Silvia (2008). Findings indicate that access to natural views, plants and the colour green increase visual creativity, but have no impact on verbal creativity in classroom settings. The results suggest that creativity is domain specific and any practical measures taken to enhance creativity need to be aligned with the target domain.

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This study challenges understandings on the ‘redundancy effect’ of cognitive load theory and visual/verbal classifications of dual-coding theory. Current understandings assert that a multimedia mix of narration and text displayed via e-learning leads to cognitive overload, thus, impeding learning[1][2]. Previous research suggests that for optimal learning to occur, the most effective multimedia mix for e-learning presentation is the use of pictures and narration[3][4][5][6]. The study was undertaken with 90 undergraduate students at a British University. Participants were allocated to one of three groups. Each group used a different multimedia mix of a music e-learning program. The experiment groups were; Redundancy mode, Modality mode and Mixed mode. Participant’s prior level of music learning was assessed, as was their level of knowledge after using the system. Results indicate that the Redundancy mode is most effective for learning, that is, the simultaneous presentation of text and narration enables significantly more optimal learning that modality modes (i.e. Narration and graphics) and Mixed modes (i.e. text and graphics). These findings challenge the currently accepted stance on the redundancy effect in e-learning design.

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In this special issue of the Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, we take a step back from the events of the last 2 years and the changes that we have seen in the education arena, to remember that which has remained constant – how students learn best. Developing teaching and learning pedagogy based on lasting education theory and practice makes the past of education relevant to the present and future and creates a context where innovation can be scaled and taken further, from a single instance of impact to many. In this editorial, we present an argument for going back to our roots and present examples of the effective use of established theories of learning that continue to advance online education practice. We discuss the scaling of educational best practice to more students and more institutions, and we provide recommendations for creating sustainable and lasting future practice.