Creative Learning Process Research Articles

Наблюдение за творческим учебным процессом

Наблюдение за творческим учебным процессом

Bridges of Joy – A Case Study of the Collaborative Design Learning Process the University Teacher Students

This is a qualitative case study of the design learning process in one arts educational project of 14 student teachers. The purpose of the study is to explore and describe the design process of the student teachers during their collaborative study project with pre-school and school pupils for children’s hospital children. They created animated films for the hospitalized children. The theme of this project was Bridges of Joy and its purpose was to bring joy to and connect children from different learning environments. In this arts educational project, new learning technological applications and techniques, like iPads and social media were used and combined with an integrated collection of children’s stories, visual arts and sound colours made of instruments and human voice. Data was gathered through participatory observations and writings from a closed Facebook project group. The qualitative research methods used include analyses, descriptions of observations, and discussions with the students. Content analysis of students’ reflective and evaluative writings about the creative learning process was also performed. The results show that the collaborative design learning method fits very well into integrated arts educational studies, as does the use of modern technological applications.

Improving Students Listening Skill through Interactive Multimedia in Indonesia

Leraning method inovation will influence learning media used and it is hoped to improve learning qualities. One of them is improving students’ critical listening ability. This research was done to know the students activities in learning critical listening by using interactive multimedia and to measure the effetiveness of that multimedia in improving students’ critical listening ability. The data was taken through test, observation, and interview. The result of the research were (1) the students created active, creative, and effective learning process independenly in measuring and developing each step of listening learning model. (2) Interactive multimedia was effective learning media to improve students’ critical listening skill. It could be seen from improving critical listening ability in limited test at experiment class was 42,98%, whereas at control class the rise was only 7,36%. For extensive test, the improving of critical listening ability at experiment class was 33,88%, while control class was only up at 2,62%. (3) Critical listening strategy performance in PMAI Model could improve students’ critical listening ability so that this model is better to be applied as an implimentation of reference in listening learning model. (4) Learning media with interactive multimedia can improve students’ critical listening skill than audio learning media because listening is not only aural aspet but also visual aspect integrated with multimedia.

Exploring Creative Environments through the Child’s Lens

There is strong governmental support within the UK to develop creativity and emphasise the importance of its role in learning and teaching. Sharp (2003) identified issues, gaps and priorities for further research that looked at the impact on children of working with professional artists in terms of their creativity. This paper explores the initial findings of an evaluation report conducted by a university research team, exploring the creative performances designed by Starcatchers , an organisation developing performing arts experiences for children aged birth to 4 years. The research team consisted of four action researchers who were each attached to an artist in residence working in four theatre venues across Scotland. The artists involved represented four different art domains: puppetry, visual arts, artistic experiences informed by playing therapy and installation work. The researchers collaborated with the artists to observe children’s engagement, provide feedback, discuss projects, and record the processes of project development. This paper seeks to explore the artists’ experience of designing and implementing participative performance events and the nature and processes of working with young children in performing arts. It focuses on an exploration of the creative learning processes which were developed by the artists in residence to promote children’s creativity and involvement in the visual arts. The role of the artist is examined and key aspects are suggested with a view to enhancing the creative learning experiences provided for children within educational contexts, indicating points for consideration by adults charged with the responsibility of planning and developing environments which support young children’s creativity.

Games and Gamification: A Proposal for a Creative Learning Process in Education

This article proposes to discuss the theme of docent formation in the perspective of creativity and emergent technologies pointed by the Horizon Report 2103, specifically games and gamification. Based on a literature review about the themes, through a systematic research and reading of authors which refer to these, it presents reflections, inquires and provocations with the objective to contribute with the change of the actual paradigm in the purposes of the Licensure courses in the Superior Teaching Institutions, with a cutout to the Federal Institutes of Education, Science and Technology from Brazil. These considerations are made from the principle that we live in a digital age and that the education did not follow the step and, because of this, it still needs a more creative view to the docent actuation in this aspect. It concludes that the use of games and specifically the gamification as an example of emerging technology can be a possible step to remit the schools, the space of knowledge construction, to creativity with a view to innovate the forms of teaching and learning.

Are we all on the same boat? The challenge of adaptation facing Portuguese coastal communities: Risk perception, trust-building and genuine participation

The Portuguese coast is experiencing severe erosion and loss of beachfront, processes which are expected to become worse with climate change impacts. These additional alterations are beginning to show at a time when financing for conventional coastal protection is no longer guaranteed at scales of investment which are likely to be required if future coastlines are to be maintained. This paper looks at how residents and key stakeholders of three coastal communities in Portugal perceive such possible changes, how far they judge and trust current coastal management, and how they perceive their current participation and foresee future forms of involvement on adaptive coastal change. The evidence from these surveys and interviews suggests that there is a strong commitment in each location to maintaining current levels of coastal protection, and to preserving the integrity of local societies and economies, even though there is also recognition that adaptation in some form will eventually be required. However, our research reveals that there is not yet sufficient trust between coastal stakeholders, especially towards public institutions and policies, for any degree of progressive coastal adaptation to take place. Building trust in creative learning processes of progressive adaptation could lead to improved science and participation along with a meaningful dialogue over cooperative coastal planning and financing. The research undertaken for this paper lays the groundwork for such a process of trust-building to begin.

Integrating Literature with Craft in a Learning Process with Creative Elements

Art-related learning should be the central way of doing and playing in preschool, because the high quality of art-related education has a positive effect on children’s well-being, identity development, and creative thinking. In our study we tested an integrated learning process where reading literature and telling stories is combined with the making of a craft product. In addition we created a framework of compulsory, optional and free elements to plan and evaluate the creative learning process. Our research material consists of anticipatory stories collected by storycrafting, characters made by children with craft materials/techniques, and character descriptions. The storycrafting method is implemented in this study as an anticipatory story based on a fragment of a fictional text. The character is made using the concept of a holistic craft, where the pupil designs, produces, and evaluates the whole process. The data were collected in a preschool group that consisted of 10 children, 7 boys and 3 girls. Based on the study results, it is possible to conclude that most children benefitted from the process. It seems that literature and storycrafting support designing craft products. Our study showed that integrated learning process could be an effective and a creative way of working in a preschool group.

Machinima as a learning tool

This article proposes that machinima is a practice-based approach to learning digital creative practice. It features excerpts from key informant interviews with six prominent machinima artists: it is the first time they have been brought together to consider the role of machinima as a learning tool from their different perspectives. The article begins with a review of machinima as an example of digital creative practice, akin to mashup and remix genres. The nature of machinima is presented through interviews, providing an overview of its authenticity, roles of networks and communities of practice, transdisciplinary creative practice, transliteracy, transferability and accessibility as a learning tool in developing competency in digital creativity. It is suggested that machinima is ‘digital clay’ that has the potential to add value to practice-based learning in a connected world. The article concludes with a summary of the unique contributions that machinima gives the creative learning process.

Imagination first

The creativity program, “imagination first: unleash the power of possibility,” implemented in public primary and secondary schools in Northern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, deals with the power of imagination in unleashing creativity among gifted students and teachers. Following an in-depth literature review on creativity for gifted students, a Learner-centered Framework of Creative Pedagogy was developed. The framework is guided by the key question: “How can creative development be enhanced among gifted learners in schools?” The framework proposes that creativity can be fostered through the interplay of three key dimensions: creative practice, creative learning, and creative process. The program demonstrates that the role of imagination is at the heart of creative learning. Activities that foster creative thinking should challenge gifted learners to think laterally, be open-minded, inquire into possibilities, and kindle their imagination. Significantly, schools need to promote creativity across all areas of the curriculum. Practical strategies for implementing the framework in schools are shared.

Learning Circus Skills in a Day Care Centre: Student Teachers in a Cooperative, Integrative Arts Education Project

The article is a qualitative case study of the integrative arts educational learning process of 11 teacher students during one study project in which they created an integrative and interactive educational project for 1- to 7-year-old day care centre children. The theme of the project was Circus. The qualitative research methods used include analyses, descriptions of observations, discussions with the students, and content analyses of students’ reflective and eval uative writings about the creative learning process. The results show that the cooperative learning method fits very well into integrative and expressive education studies.

Creative management in TAMK Proacademy

PurposeThis paper aims to focus on the management of creative learning process in Proacademy, an entrepreneurship education unit of Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK) where all coaching, learning and business development activities are focused on facilitating the entrepreneurial path, which consists of five core value‐activities of trust, courage, actions, learning and success.Design/methodology/approachTAMK Proacademy implements a unique approach to continuous development of a learning community, based on team learning and self‐managed development of relevant knowledge and skills. The paper describes this process, part of its theoretical basis and major outcomes.FindingsThe shared decision making in Proacademy allows for student‐entrepreneurs to take an active and responsible role in the management of the study programme and leaves enough room for creativity and innovation in practice. Capability of self‐leadership of teams and individuals is enabled by a shared vision and values, and the shared domain of entrepreneurship as the focus of learning activities.Originality/valueThis paper demonstrates the key factors found to be most important in managing a creative organization and it will be of value for anyone investigating learning organizations. It presents an example on how an organization that supports active co‐operation between the university staff and the students can be structured.

Researching Student Experiences of Digital Workshops in Art Gallery Education: A Q Methodological Approach

In the development of methods to explore student views on creative learning processes using digital media, Q methodology and its applications offer a promising framework. The method addresses the complexity of subjective viewpoints by applying a technique and analysis that combine materials to investigate shared patterns among students’ experiences. The integration of a qualitative approach with quantitative technique provides a special interview and ensures that the analysis remains focused on the students’ perspective. This approach offers a way to overcome problems with weak links between data materials in mixed-method studies, as the viewpoints expressed by study participants are initially mapped by a quantification procedure designed to integrate open-ended questioning and survey technique. The study presented here illustrates the use of this approach in an enquiry into students’ experiences of activities in digital media workshops in a Danish museum of contemporary art. Data were collected from 85 s...

A review on the pragmatic approaches in educating and learning creativity

Current educational programs have always focused in knowledge building. However, developing ones creative skills is also considered as one of the major function of education. This paper reviews on the pragmatic approaches in educating and learning creativity. Starting from defining creativity, pragmatic techniques in learning creativity, strategies in creative education, and assessments method involved. Review concluded that creative skills can be train and develop. Future researches should try to empirically test the validity of such creative learning processes.

Future Thinking and Learning in Improvisation and a Collaborative Devised Theatre Project within Primary School Students

This study examines the nature of the learning process and future thinking of primary school students during improvisation practice and a devised theatre project about the future. In this research project drama education is used as an integrative method for education for a sustainable future. The main goals for the devised theatre project are to reflect prevailing cultural and individual future thinking and images and to collaboratively create future images for a theatre-play on how to change the world. Collective reflections of learning, cooperation and our future images are a crucial part of this kind of creative learning process. The prevailing media culture and the worldview could be seen as reflections in students’ future thinking. Group dynamics and students’ orientation during the lessons influenced students’ future images, improvisations and the play-creating process as a whole.

Preschool Children and the 5-String Kantele: An Exercise in Composition

The article discusses the 5-string kantele as an example of the Finnish national heritage and its use as a teaching device in kindergartens and music schools. The article focuses on creative orientation and improvisation of kantele playing in one day care center. A qualitative case study was made in which the teacher supported six children aged 5-6 to improvise and use their creativity to make music at a particular moment. The research problem was to discover which aspects of musical learning and improvisation can be seen when children compose a song or a melody with a 5-string kantele. The research method used was observation during composing and interviews after the group composing sessions. The process and performances were videotaped and analyzed. The results present the reactions of the children and their interests in music and abilities to concentrate on making their own music. The creative learning process showed children's motivation and ability to create their own lyrics and melodies. The 5-string kantele is suitable for early music education and early musical improvisation. Group composing increases social skills and children's creative musical orientation.

Creativity in Collaborative Learning across the Life Span

Creativity is one of the competencies required in order successfully to meet challenges across the life span. After defining the broad concept of creativity and its relevance in education, this paper discusses the outcome of a literature review on creativity in collaborative learning across the different stages of an individual’s development, with a specific focus on the use of ICT as a means of fostering the creative learning process. Although much of the literature concerns creativity and critical thinking skills in children and adolescents, we analyse the specific requirements and specificities of these competencies in advanced adulthood. We aim specifically to characterise the capabilities of older adults to collaborate through Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs). The last part of the paper discusses means of promoting the development of creative skills at different ages, notably in elderly persons, and the use of collaborative learning technologies.

Evolutionary Learning in Complex Social Systems: The Case of Pharmaceutical R&D and Strategy

This paper presents a framework for an evolutionary theory of the social sciences applied to the macro-level patterns of creative innovations in pharmaceuticals and their explanation through micro-level processes in social systems. It draws together research and perspectives developed by others into a coherent framework that can unite meaningfully the fragmented area of social science research. Conceptually, it is based upon a ‘epistemological-cognitive’ interpretation of evolution as learning process. Creativity, as evolution, is about the selection and recombination of new variants in often modular and complex structures. The paper specifically illustrates how far an evolutionary analysis of social systems carries to explain creative change in the pharmaceutical industry. The paper is organized as follows: after the introduction, it presents the basis of the frame-work from evolutionary biology, followed by the discussion of innovations in the pharmaceuticals industry and its predominant blockbuster strategy. It then discusses how the case characteristics map into psychological and social processes and proposes a framework for social evolution. The paper concludes by arguing that evolutionary approaches can be applied meaningfully to those issues which involve creative learning processes such as strategies, innovation and research.

The Intersubjective Psychobiology of Human Meaning: Learning of Culture Depends on Interest for Co-Operative Practical Work–and Affection for the Joyful Art of Good Company

Cultures depend on a ceaseless, highly creative learning process, which is not just an acquiring of information transmitted by instructing the young. It is motivated by an innate human talent for companionship in experience, which is mediated by an intersubjective transfer of intentions, interests, and feeling in conversations of rhythmic motor activity. All achievements of technique and art depend upon the affections and shared enthusiasms of interpersonal relationships. Research on how infants communicate with parents has revealed the natural process by which this learning grows and how it may recover from traumatic events. Brain science confirms that the proprio-ceptive regulations of intentions can be shared by sympathetic “altero-ception,” so that creative actions and experiences may be cooperative. Both language and rational thought rest upon this dynamic intersubjective coordination of conscious activity. Individual personalities and self-consciousness grow in relationships and come to recognize traditional beliefs and practices of the community.

Challenges and possibilities in Norwegian classroom drama practice

My specific teaching and research interest is drama in the classroom – drama as a teaching and learning medium to fulfil a curriculum demand for student-active, creative and aesthetic learning processes. In this article I will focus on the challenges and possibilities that exist in Norwegian classroom drama. The article is based on my latest research projects, ‘Drama and student-active learning’, and my 2008 unpublished PhD thesis which looked at general teacher-training practice and teachers’ and students’ drama experiences in grades 1–10. My methods involved a review of literature, group interviews, classroom research, reflective individual interviews and a net-based questionnaire.

‘Patterned Palace’: A case study supporting the benefits of creative partnership within the Welsh Foundation Phase

‘Patterned Palace’ is a case study that was developed in response to the current global interest that surrounds creative learning, and partnerships between artists and teachers in education. The case study involved a group of researchers (including a teacher, an education advisor, a professional artist and an academic researcher) working together to plan, implement and evidence the role and value of mark making during the creative learning process. The case study was conducted with a Key Stage 1 class, now superseded by the Foundation Phase in Wales. The aim of the study was to increase children’s creative learning experiences through their engagement with the concept of pattern and in particular to consider whether children’s communication of interpretations; generated understandings; reflective activity and ability to predict outcomes could be evidenced when partnered with a professional artist. Parallels between play and creativity are highlighted and the paper describes successful features of the collaborative partnership with reference to implementing the Foundation Phase in Wales.