Why Should Schools Be Interested in Creativity? And, How Can We Nurture It? Bonnie Cramond, Ph.D. Department of Educational Psychology and Instructional Technoloty University of Georgia
Creativity is Analogous to Intelligence in Several Ways • Everyone has some • It can be developed and nurtured • There are levels • It can be expressed in many ways • It can be viewed as a general ability and as a domain specific ability Bonnie Cramond
The University of Georgia
We Should Be Interested in Developing Creativity for the Good of the Individual and the Society
Creative Expression Fosters Mental Health
Creative Students Can Become Creative Adults
Bevin Carnes She was “different” “In her own world” Other kids teased her Her parents encouraged her creativity and supported her. • Won an academy award in student division for animated film • Works for Disney • • • • •
• http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4276368&affil=wsb
• “Every talent that goes unused… every potential for making a contribution in any endeavor that goes unrecognized, or unstimulated, is a loss that cannot be measured nor can ever be retrieved.”
Dr. Mary M. Frasier
Behaviors Associated with Creativity May Be Mistaken • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) • Asperger’s Syndrome • Asocial or antisocial behavior • Clinical depression or Bipolar disorder • Etc.
Cognitive Processing • Spontaneous and diverse ideation-may be seen as hyperactive • Studies found higher ideation among ADHD students during problemsolving exercise
Comparison of ADHD and Creativity Attention and Interests
Often fails to finish things;
Broad range of interests tendency to play with ideas
Frequently shifts activities; Easily distracted Concentration and Imagination Often does not seem to listen; Daydreams Difficulty concentrating;
Hypomanic: think and act at great speed; Preoccupation; Daydreams Good imagination; driving absorption; internal visualization Organization
Difficulty organizing work Often loses things necessary for tasks
Tolerance for ambiguity; Finding order in chaos
Independence Needs a lot of supervision
Freedom of spirit that rejects limits imposed by others
Comparison of ADHD and Creativity Energy and Activity Excessive running and climbing; Excessive fidgeting; Difficulty staying seated; Motor restlessness; Always on the go
Radiate vitality High energy level
Risk Taking
Often engages in physically dangerous Willing to take chances; Risk taking: activities without considering possible Type “T� personality consequences Impulsivity Often acts before thinking;; Frequently calls out in class; Difficulty waiting turn
Impulsive
Comparison of ADHD and Creativity Sociability Negative social interactions; Solitary play Unconventional behavior; Emotionally independent--preferring solitary to group activities ; Difficulty or little interest in establishing warm interpersonal relationships Emotionality Mood changes quickly and drastically; Difficult temperament (Werry, Reeves, & Elkind, 1987) Self
Experiencing deep emotions (Sternberg, 1988) Emotional instability (Ochse, 1990) Talk
Talk during tasks (Werry, Reeves, & Elkind, 1987)
More self talk during problem solving (Daugherty, 1990)
Study Comparing Identified ADHD and Creatives • ADHD group = 34 students, aged six to 15, 8 females and 26 males • Highly creative group = 76 participants, 33 females and 43 males, age 13 through 15 from the Torrance Creative Scholars Program in Louisiana.
• Measures: – Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking – SNAP Checklist
8.82% 5.88% 32.35%
10-19 %ile 5.88%
20-29 %ile 30-39 %ile
5.88%
40-49 %ile 50-59 %ile
5.88%
60-69 %ile 70-79 %ile 80-89 %ile 90-99 %ile
8.82% 17.65% 8.82%
13.16% 1.32%
11.84%
1 ADD with Hyperactivity (DSM III) 2 ADD without Hyperactivity (DSM III) 3 ADHD (DSM-III-R) 73.68%
4 Not Symptomatic
Sensation Seeking • Emotionally expressive • Synesthesic --one sensation involuntarily conjures up another • Related to ADHD and creativity
Type T Personality • Farley: daredevils, doers and delinquents share a common personality, Type T (for thrill seeking). • constant stimulation and risk taking--both physical and mental • Can be positive or negative
Sensitivity to Stimulation • Dabrowski’s “Overexcitabilities” or hyper sensitivities – Intellectual--curiosity – Emotional-expressiveness – Physical--energy – Imaginational--ideas – Sensual--media to communicate
• Intensity used to describe creative individuals
Depression
Virginia Woolf
Sylvia Plath
•  Depression and bipolar disorder have been noted in the lives of creative people and/or their families
Creativity and Mental Illness • Suffer from certain mental disorders & higher suicide rates • High MMPI psychopatholog y scores, but also higher ego strength
Stereotype of Dropouts as Incapable of Doing the Work • Many dropouts are bright • Maybe they are creative? – Don’t see connection of curriculum to life plan – Resist the regimentation – May have problems with behaviors indicative of ADHD, depression, sensitivity to stimulation, social isolation, etc.
Contacted Bright Dropouts • Creativity test • Measure of hyper sensitivities • Interviews • They did tend to be creative • They did have heightened sensitivity
• They also couldn’t stand – The loud, noisy, crowded schools – The unfair and demeaning discipline – The irrelevant interests of their age peers – The pedantic curriculum – The detached faculty – The early start time
In the U.S. Recent reports warn that our nation cannot retain its economic and scientific position in the competitive world with a work force that has mastered only minimum 2009 competencies Cramond UGA
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From Tough Choices or Tough Times (2006) “…candidates will have to be • comfortable with ideas and abstractions, • good at both analysis and synthesis,
• creative and innovative, • self-disciplined and well organized, • able to learn very quickly, and • work well as a member of a team, and
• have the flexibility to adapt quickly to
frequent changes in the labor market as the shifts in the economy become ever faster and more dramatic.” (p. 8, Executive Summary). 2009
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2009
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Richard Florida, Economist
The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life (2002)
There is a new social class, the creative class, who generate new ideas, new technology, and new creative content that profoundly influence work and lifestyle issues. 2009
The Flight of the Creative Class: The New Global Competition for Talent (2005)
Nations are in competition to nurture and retain their most creative talent because they are linked to a nation’s prosperity.
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Even Universities Are Recognizing the Benefits of Creativity Bonnie Cramond, Torrance Center; Jo Walthers and Nadia Kellam, Faculty of Engineering; Tracie Costantino, Art Education
• NSF Grant With Art and Engineering • Develop New Interdisciplinary curriculum –art, engineering, and creativity
Creativity in All Domains Improves Our Lives
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Other Countries Are Emphasizing Creativity • Asian Countries Are Keenly Interested • European Year of Creativity
Even The Tibetan Children’s Villages’ Schools Want an Emphasis on Creativity
Dalai Lama, Natalie Anders, Ted Anders, Charles Martin
How Can We Nurture It? • Infuse creativity into all subject areas. • Use tried strategies • Make students aware of their creative thinking—Creative Metacognition • Engage students in creative programs • Purposely teach students thinking skills and when to use them • Promote a sense of wonder
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Sparks of Genius
The 13 Thinkin g Tools Of the World’s
Most Creativ e People
Based on the book by Robert & Michele Root-Bernstein Bonnie Cramond UGA