Teaching for Creativity in Universities

Abstract

It is more than obvious, that Creativity is not the gathering of knowledge as such, that is important, but "what we can do with our knowledge" (Quintin, 2009, p. 3). If we are to prepare our students to be able to adapt to change, to work in jobs that may not even exist at present and face unpredictable encounters, we need to rethink education. We have to move away from delivering knowledge/information and concentrate on how our students can use such knowledge. Thus, in the face of such stormy times, creativity, originality, and innovation are at the top of the list in importance, now, more than at any time before. In a summary of scientific research into creativity Michael Mumford suggested that "creativity involves the production of novel, useful products" (Mumford, 2003, p.110). From the same perspective, Prof. Teresa M. Amabile from Harvard Business School noted that "creativity is the production of novel and useful ideas in any domain" (Amabile, 1996, p.1). Yorke (2001,p.7) defined it as "the ability to be original or inventive and to apply lateral thinking". The importance of educating for creativity in higher education can be derived from arguments in favor of a focus on student empowerment and employability. In some domains, the performing arts for instance, creativity is supposedly already generally accepted as a critical personal quality needed for performing adequately as a professional. The question is how we can achieve the development of creativity in University students.

University Education and Creativity: An Assessment From Students’ Perspective

“…Students found this situation as threatening their creativity potential. This view supports some of the researchers criticizing university education to create "parrots" through rote memorization skills (Papaleontiou-Louca, et al 2014), and students not having an active role and creativity not playing a central role (Cachia et al 2009). The research results point out critical information to consider about creativity for the research group.…”

“…Creativity in education has received strong concern since 1950s basing on the idea that education needs to prioritize the development and encouragement of creativity (Papaleontiou-Louca, et al 2014). The success of the Soviets to launch the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, is another development that has accelerated creativity efforts (Özaşkın & Bacanak, 2016).…”

“…Torrance (1965) examined the attitudes of over 1000 teachers in five different countries and found out that teachers were rewarding students for being well mannered, doing work on time and being obedient, popular and willing to accept the judgements of teachers, but on the other hand punishing students who were good at guessing, questioning and who were daring in their opinions. This approach is still considered widely and prevails in many educational establishments of today (Papaleontiou-Louca, et al 2014). However, creativity needs change and change needs going out of what is standard.…”

“…If students are to become unique, autonomous individuals, they need to feel worthy, competent and trustworthy. However, the education system does not promote and welcome creative thinking well enough because in some cases creativity does not "go with" the curriculum, the education system has focused and promoted "parroting" which is the favored and "right/correct" way to learn although it may result in uncreative ways of teaching (Papaleontiou-Louca, et al 2014). University education is expected to be far from creating similar "parrots", but rather it concentrates on achieving individuals who will be able to take risks and be innovative.…”

"Không tìm mà thấy" trong hoạt động khởi nghiệp

“…Nhiều nhà nghiên cứu nhìn thấy giá trị chiến lược của tiếp cận này trong việc đào tạo ra một năng lực khó nắm bắt: sáng tạo (Makri, Ravem, & McKay, 2017;Papaleontiou-Louca, Varnava-Marouchou, Mihai, & Konis, 2014;Koivisto, 2017).…”