Creativity arises naturally as a result of knowing more

The most knowledgeable people aren’t necessarily the most creative. In fact, it’s often the naive newcomer with a fresh pair of eyes that makes a breakthrough. Increasing knowledge means increasing awareness of more and more rules and this can lead to creative doubts before you even begin.

“The important thing (in science) is not so much to obtain new facts as to discover new ways of thinking about them.” Sir William Bragg.

Creativity can’t be taught

There’s no conclusive neurological evidence on this one way or the other, so no one can claim this is true or untrue. What is certain is that some people seem to be more inherently creative than others. And what is also true is that creativity as a process is important to innovation. So it makes sense to try to understand what it is and try to teach it. Should we do nothing and leave it to chance?

Moravcsik: “Even if one believes that creativity is to a large extent a matter of innate ability, one can acknowledge there are many ways education can encourage, practice & enhance traits & skills so that whatever creativity the student has, it is more effectively converted”

Creativity is too vague a notion to properly define.

Of course it can! Creative innovations occur via familiar processes: observation, serendipity, visualisation, adaptation, trial and error, alternative viewpoints, methodical approaches, collaboration, new insights and more. These are well researched, well proven and evidential. Yet they are usually taught as an incidental by-product of classroom learning. If we want to teach young people to be creative we need to be more specific.

Creativity is an arts domain

We need to make it clear that creativity is not the sole property of artists. All educational domains can be creative but in different ways. What does it look like in your domain and how do we learn it?

Creativity isn’t important to the learning of hard subjects

Recent research shows that drawing is one of the most effective ways to remember new information. Drawing especially goes right back in time to our first conscious expressions of thought. It’s a powerful learning tool even in the most complex of subjects if used well. Creativity can also be used to reduce cognitive load by translating complex information into visuals, aural and sensory outcomes. We are human beings first. Emotions come with the territory. If we aren’t engaged emotionally we won’t learn anything. Try teaching the times tables to a kid who’s crying or misbehaving. Facts are learned best when we are emotionally secure. Creativity can help us control our emotions.

Creativity is domain specific.

The argument goes something like this: a creative scientist can’t be a creative artist and vice-versa. You need the knowledge of your domain in order to be creative. It’s easy to swallow this argument. It seems to make sense. Except it’s wrong. A person who knows and uses the tools of creativity will employ them wherever and whenever they can, regardless of what they know or don’t know. It doesn’t make them right, and it doesn’t mean whatever they create will succeed (it probably won’t) but then most people don’t make huge Creative acts, we only make creative acts (see my post explaining big C and little c creativity).  And often, scientific breakthrough’s occur when people switch domains. There’s something profound about it. Francis Crick was a physicist who decided to switch to biology before discovering the structure of DNA. Many great innovations have occurred when people move out of their comfort zone because and apply their talents to new domains.

Do you know how creativity occurs in maths, science, the arts? Have you studied it? Do you understand it? Large-scale creativity occurs through a series of processes such as observation, seeing things from new perspectives, trial and error, serendipity, adaptation and visualisation etc. Whilst we need the domain knowledge in order to make a significant creative act, we can and should employ the same or similar creative processes whatever the domain we are working in. So the creativity can be transferred easily between domains and this is borne out time and time again through history. Francis Crick was a physicist who switched to Biology before making his DNA discovery for example and there’s something about transferring between domains that gives us fresh insight and perspective.

finally

If you’re interested in the neuroscience of creativity then you really should read this! https://theconversation.com/amp/creativity-is-a-human-quality-that-exists-in-every-single-one-of-us-92053?__twitter_impression=true