Arts and Creativity in 21st Century Teaching

This literacy can be manifested in creative ways of problem-solving and expressed through the production of various art works. Teachers and students need to be more adept in the arts and manifest creativity in various activities. (The Peak Performance Center, 2020). The 21st century teaching-learni...

This literacy can be manifested in creative ways of problem-solving and expressed through the production of various art works. Teachers and students need to be more adept in the arts and manifest creativity in various activities. (The Peak Performance Center, 2020). The 21st century teaching-learning must adhere to creativity and arts as literacies. This is actually called the Design Thinking skill. This is aside from the philosophical points of view of the different thinking skills. Thinking skills are the mental activities you use to process information, make connections, make decisions, and create new ideas. You use your thinking skills when you try to make sense of experiences, solve problems, make decisions, ask questions, make plans, or organize information Lesson 1. Meaning of Arts and Creativity Literacy According to Education (2020), arts and creativity literacy is the ability to identify and understand ideas communicated through actions or images (decode), as well as to be able to communicate ideas or messages through imagery (encode). Lesson 2. Benefits of Arts and Creative Literacy The benefits are numerous and wide-ranging. It encourages greater pupil engagement, brings a subject to life -- therefore capturing pupil's interest, and improves knowledge retention. It can also improve oral and listening skills, encourage team building, and can be made practical, suiting those who may struggle with some traditional methods of teaching, e.g., children who are dyslexic. Creative literacy can also encourage reluctant readers, build confidence, and help teach practical skills (Alba, 2010). Alba (2010) for Education Scotland has shown through its research that creativity in learning encourages pupils to think creatively. They were more open to new ideas and challenges. It gave them a greater ownership over their learning, they became more interested in discovering things for themselves and were more able to solve problems, so they became more effective learners. In addition, research carried out by Kimberley Stafford and Myra Barrs for the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) in 2005 also found that linking creativity through arts and literacy was a powerful tool. They found it aided sustained learning as the children made strong connections between reading, writing and their work in creative arts. It enhanced their oral language skills, and a workshop atmosphere promoted concentration and confidence and deepened their understanding so they could reflect on their learning. It also encouraged the children to work as a team (Education Business UK, 2015). Lesson 3: Arts and Creativity as 21st century skill (as retrieved from "Becoming 21st Century School", 2020) The need for creative ideas is great. As Sir Robinson, Ken (2015) stated: "Creativity is not an option, it's an absolute necessity." Therefore, we must find ways to bring creativity into learning. But first, we have to understand what conditions foster true creativity, which Robinson defines as "the process of having original ideas that have value." Creativity is now the number one skill in demand by employers. It is interesting to note that current employers keep asking us to graduate students with the skills of creativity, collaboration, entrepreneurship, innovation, problem solving and critical thinking, but that the schools themselves continue to deliver a narrow curriculum devoid of the arts and creativity ("Becoming 21st Century School", 2020). Integrating and Supporting the Arts and Creativity 1\. Physical Environment - Design a physical environment to support creativity. For the school building or facility itself, create Maker Spaces, a DaVinci Studio (art and science), Living Schoolyards, a Labyrinth, Multimedia Production Studio, Lecture Hall for student presentations, Student Conference Room, Outdoor Amphitheater, an open area Plaza, and lose the cells and bells!\[ii\] What other places, inside and outside, can you create or identify, at home or at school, where children can go to daydream, reflect, design and create? Rearrange the furniture in your current campus, library or classroom to incorporate the concepts of the Watering Hole, the Campfire and the Cave. See this article also about the Da Vinci, Einstein and Jamie Oliver studios ("Becoming 21st Century School", 2020). 2\. Emotional Environment -- take time to create and maintain a climate of respect and caring and that supports making mistakes. A former principal told us, "The man who makes no mistakes, makes nothing." 3\. Project-based learning -- introduce choice, freedom and space for creativity. The PBL units you design should be relevant, rigorous and real world in order to achieve the highest levels of student motivation, engagement and learning. Preferably, they are interdisciplinary. Begin by brainstorming a theme, topic, issue or idea you'd like the students to explore, then brainstorm the possibilities for each discipline ("Becoming 21st Century School", 2020). 4\. Teach Creative Thinking Skills -- first teach students about "metacognition" -- "thinking about their thinking." You can teach that to the little ones, too; they love being able to know such a big word! Teach them how to use Edward DeBono's Six Thinking Hats , how to brainstorm, compare and contrast, problem-solve, concept map, analyze, evaluate and more! (Just "Google" thinking tools for K-12!) 5\. Alternative Assessments -- instead of a worksheet or an assignment in which every student creates a poster (about the same thing), provide plenty of leeway for students to create products in a medium of their choice ! For example, a student-produced video, film, television or radio broadcast; a student-written and produced play; a debate; a public service announcement; design a product; create a marketing campaign; a mock trial; write and publish a class book; simulations; digital or multimedia portfolio; student-organized conference; dinner theatre for the community (Shakespeare or Charles Dickens?); create a board or video game; a musical production Note: these assessments are not something students will do in or two class periods, but are final performances, or products, which demonstrate and celebrate what they have learned throughout all (or a significant portion of) their project-based curriculum unit. In the meantime, you can conduct simple, quick formative assessments, mainly through close teacher observation. 6\. Scheduling -- project-based curriculum and performance-based assessments require adequate time. The most effective learning and teaching will take place when you create Smaller Learning Communities, for example, six teachers with expertise in various disciplines who work with the same group of students all day every day. Another option, although not as effective, is creating a block schedule. Students will attend 3 classes per day instead of 6, and for 90 minutes each instead of changing class every 45 minutes. A daily schedule of 7 or more 45-minute class periods per day is absolute anathema to creativity and learning! ("Becoming 21st Century School", 2020). 7\. Student-Centered and Personalized Learning -- give students voice and choice as much as possible regarding what they will learn, how they will learn it and how they will demonstrate what they have learned. 8\. Incorporate the Arts -- seamlessly integrate music, art, drama and dance into your PBL curriculum. Try not to make creativity time be separate from the rest of the curriculum, but let these disciplines become a vehicle for delivering the curriculum while developing creativity ("Becoming 21st Century School", 2020). 9\. Integration of Technologies -- student blogs and web sites, Glogster, VoiceThread, student publishing, video game design, coding, filmmaking, photography, global collaborative classroom projects using Google Hangouts... 10\. Preparing the Body and Brain for Creativity - offer students (and faculty) opportunities such as yoga, tai chi, ballet, jazz, and palates ("Becoming 21st Century School", 2020).