EDUCATION HOT TOPICS
WHAT CAN SCHOOLS DO TO GIVE CREATIVITY A VOICE? ARE CREATIVE PROGRAMS POSSIBLE WITHIN THE NEW AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM? The good news is that the new Australian Curriculum details ‘critical and creative thinking’ as one of the seven ‘general capabilities’ that, along with specific curriculum content, aim to enable students to live and work successfully in the twentyfirst century. Teachers are also being encouraged to find additional ways of strengthening such talents through their choice of activities. Clare explains, “The Australian Curriculum is a framework for teachers, providing guidance about the teaching and learning scope for each year level, as well as achievement standards to work towards. It is by no means a script for how each lesson must be taught, and there is a large degree of flexibility for teachers to bring creativity into their classrooms. Ultimately though, this will only happen if educators and school leaders believe in its value in the first place.”
When it comes to making education more creative across the board (including in academic subjects such as maths), teachers should try to find ways to inject imagination and innovation into each topic, encouraging children to explore, discover and solve the issues before them. “Teachers need to tap into a child’s curiosity,” advises Jenny. “Let them discover lessons for themselves – learning through enquiry-based activities. Teachers should also encourage discussion by asking open-ended questions and by allowing children to bounce ideas off each other – exploring different opinions and finding new ways of looking at things in doing so. And finally, lessons should cater for a variety of learning styles, for example visual (learning by seeing), auditory (learning by hearing) and tactile (learning by doing).” “All contributions should be valued in a learning environment, not just the ‘right’ ones,” adds Clare. “Each child’s input should be valued, with the focus on the process of learning rather than the end product.”
FAMOUS CREATIVE LEARNING QUOTES! “WE DON’T GROW INTO CREATIVITY, WE GROW OUT OF IT. OR RATHER, WE GET EDUCATED OUT OF IT.” ~ Ken Robinson "TELL ME AND I FORGET. TEACH ME AND I REMEMBER. INVOLVE ME AND I LEARN." ~ Benjamin Franklin "THE JOY OF LEARNING IS AS INDISPENSABLE IN STUDY AS BREATHING IS IN RUNNING." ~ Simon Weil “65% OF TODAY’S PRE-SCHOOLERS WILL GROW UP TO WORK IN JOBS OR PURSUE CAREERS THAT DON’T YET EXIST.” ~ Cathy N. Davison “IMAGINATION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN KNOWLEDGE.” ~ Albert Einstein www.kidsonthecoast.com.au - www.kidsinthecitymagazine.com.au
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