Creative Teaching Practices Research Articles

Teaching practices and teachers' perceptions of group creative practices in inclusive rural schools

The central purpose of this paper is to highlight the research in a context where inclusive education is recognised within current global challenges in education. We aim to present different teaching practices and perceptions of teachers from rural schools regarding attention to diversity, before and during a collaborative action that reinforces and develops creative teaching practices. Participant observation, informal conversations and video-recording are the methods that we used. The data show the adoption of relevant group creative teaching practices and the development of inclusive thought. These aspects seem to promote the access to the curriculum of all children. The collaborative work is interpreted as encouraging the professional development. The study is of interest as it shows how the knowledge of creative teaching practices from a collaborative work can be systematised. This paper considers implications for founding research that contributes to the comprehension and development of educational contexts of diversity.

Massification and the large lecture theatre: from panic to excitement

In this article I examine the role of the contemporary university in light of the mass increase in class sizes that has occurred on an international scale. While we may look nostalgically back to a time when lectures numbered a few hundred students and tutorials had as few as ten, massification at undergraduate level is an inescapable fact of academic life today. I argue that this development is an opportunity and a challenge for lecturers and particularly teacher-researchers, who can and have risen to this challenge to strive for better and more creative teaching practices, without compromising the quality of content or delivery. I outline some of the strategies that I have employed with my first year sociology cohort, which numbers over 1,000 students, and the satisfaction and inspiration that comes from successfully reaching out to such a large student population. In addition, I canvas the positive impacts that derive from including students in the course development process, including to the extent that their input contributes to pedagogical research.

Creative primary schools: developing and maintaining pedagogy for creativity

This micro-ethnographic study investigated pedagogy in two English primary schools, following a change of government and challenges posed by economic austerity. Unlike the previous decade's emphasis on children's curiosity and agency and valuing arts and partnership, emphasis on knowledge and attainment was now foregrounded. A two-stage National Curriculum government review (2011–2012) brought primary schools little clarity. During the review period, the authors researched two purposively chosen schools, recognised nationally for their creative approaches. This paper discusses their creative teaching and learning pedagogic practices. Three shared characteristics emerged through triangulated qualitative analysis: co-construction, high value placed on children's control/agency/ownership and high expectations in skilful creative engagement, evident through the arts, use of integrated themes and topics, flexible time, children's immersive involvement and attending closely to children. Thematic findings are discussed alongside unique qualities of each school's pedagogy and implications for primary education considered.

Managing creative teaching and performative practices

Policy discourses are one of the main means whereby policy texts influence the value, the implementation and the embedding of policies in the settings in which they operate. However, a number of discourses operate at the same time in any given context and they also influence the interpretation and implementation of them through the way in which practitioners manage policy processes as mediators. This research, sponsored by the ESRC, focuses on two such discourses in education in England, that of performativity and creativity and investigated how primary teachers managed these policies and how they were influenced by them.We found that performativity and creativity policies were mainly being developed in primary schools in parallel although we also found some examples of integration of them in what one teacher described as ‘smart teaching’. The major finding was that teachers sought to ensure pedagogic and professional success for both these fields to the best of their ability and to maintain their professional wellbeing.

Five Experiential Learning Activities in Addictions Education

This column is designed to underscore relationally based creative teaching practices used by counselor educators in the classroom. Our intention is to provide examples of novel, innovative ways for counselor educators and students to deepen their learning while collaborating toward a spirit of connection and cooperation. If you have implemented a creative teaching method or if you have adapted an existing method that you would like to share with readers, please follow submission guidelines in the author information packet available at http://www.creativecounselor.org/Journal.html This article describes five creative experiential classroom activities used in teaching addictions. The activities were integrated into the classroom curriculum and were processed weekly in focused dialogue. Student reflections throughout the article add depth to the meaning gained from the experience of the change process. The students' feedback suggests that experiential learning in addictions education can notably and positively impact attitudes toward change, addictions, and persons with addictions.

The Use of Bookmarks in Teaching Counseling Ethics

This column is designed to underscore relationally based creative teaching practices used by counselor-educators in the classroom. Our intention is to provide examples of novel, innovative ways for counselor-educators and students to deepen their learning while collaborating toward a spirit of connection and cooperation. If you have implemented a creative teaching method or if you have adapted an existing method that you would like to share with readers, please follow submission guidelines in the author information packet available at http://www.creativecounselor.org/Journal.html This article includes a description of the bookmark as a creative arts experiential strategy useful in teaching counseling ethics education. Three bookmark examples illustrate how counselors-in-training utilized bookmarks to conceptualize their counseling ethics understanding. Illustrations and written feedback from the counselors-in-training suggest that the bookmarks reflect developmental aspects of understanding of counseling ethics knowledge integration and enhance creativity and self-expression. Implications for counselor education and suggestions for further research are discussed.

A Learner-Centred Game-Design Approach: Impacts on Teachers' Creativity.

This study presents an innovative pedagogical approach where teachers become game designers and engage in creative teaching practices. Within co-design training workshops, 21 Spanish primary and secondary school teachers have developed their own Game-Based Learning (GBL) scenarios, especially tailored to their teaching contexts and students profiles. In total, teachers developed 13 GBL scenarios and put them into practice in real teaching contexts. The present paper analyses the impacts of this learner-centred game design approach on teachers' creativity from three different points of view: the GBL design process, the GBL scenario, and the teaching processes at stake.

Ethical Fairy Tales: Using Fairy Tales as Illustrative Ethical Dilemmas With Counseling Students

This column is designed to underscore relationally based creative teaching practices used by counselor educators in the classroom. Our intention is to provide examples of novel, innovative ways for counselor educators and students to deepen their learning while collaborating toward a spirit of connection and cooperation. If you have implemented a creative teaching method or if you have adapted an existing method that you would like to share with readers, please follow submission guidelines in the author information packet available athttp://www.creativecounselor.org/Journal.html Learning to navigate ethical dilemmas is important in counseling students' training. According to the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (2009 standards, counseling students must receive ethics education. A common goal for counselor educators is to assist students in translating ethical theory into practice. One method traditionally used within counselor education is case examples. A creative way to apply case examples to ethics education is adapting well-known fairy tales into ethical dilemmas. We adapted six fairy tales to address typical ethical and legal dilemmas counseling students may face once in practice. Following each case example is a brief analysis, including corresponding ethical standards from the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics,viewed from a relational-cultural perspective.

Teaching a Course on Creativity in Counseling: Ideas for Counselor Educators

This column is designed to underscore relationally based creative teaching practices used by counselor educators in the classroom. Our intention is to provide examples of novel, innovative ways for counselor educators and students to deepen their learning while collaborating toward a spirit of connection and cooperation. If you have implemented a creative teaching method or if you have adapted an existing method that you would like to share with readers, please follow submission guidelines in the author information packet available at http://www.creativecounselor.org/Journal.html The benefits of creativity in counseling have been proclaimed by authors; however, training on creativity is sparse. Some literature exists on ways to implement a course on creativity in counseling, and certain counseling programs have incorporated classes and workshops on creativity in master's-level counseling programs. Still, there has been a call for more detailed descriptions for teaching the arts in counseling. In addition, bridging the gap between academia and creativity has been cited as an important consideration for educators interested in creativity in counseling (Carson & Becker, 2004). This article is an answer to the call for more detailed descriptions for teaching creativity in counselor education. As well, it details how to bridge the gap between academia and creativity.

Teaching About Genetic Testing Issues in the Undergraduate Classroom: A Case Study

Educating undergraduates about current genetic testing and genomics can involve novel and creative teaching practices. The higher education literature describes numerous pedagogical approaches in the laboratory designed to engage science and liberal arts students. Often these experiences involve students analyzing their own genes for various polymorphisms, some of which are associated with disease states such as an increased risk for developing cancer. While the literature acknowledges possible ethical ramifications of such laboratory exercises, authors do not present recommendations or rubrics for evaluating whether or not the testing is, in fact, ethical. In response, we developed a laboratory investigation and discussion which allowed undergraduate science students to explore current DNA manipulation techniques to isolate their p53 gene, followed by a dialogue probing the ethical implications of examining their sample for various polymorphisms. Students never conducted genotyping on their samples because of ethical concerns, so the discussion served to replace actual genetic testing in the class. A basic scientist led the laboratory portion of the assignment. A genetic counselor facilitated the discussion, which centered around existing ethical guidelines for clinical genetic testing and possible challenges of human genotyping outside the medical setting. In their final papers, students demonstrated an understanding of the practice guidelines established by the genetics community and acknowledged the ethical considerations inherent in p53 genotyping. Given the burgeoning market for personalized medicine, teaching undergraduates about the psychosocial and ethical dimensions of human gene testing seems important and timely, and introduces an additional role genetic counselors can play in educating consumers about genomics.

A team-teaching model for practicing project-based learning in high school: Collaboration between computer and subject teachers

Project-based learning (PBL) is a highly effective means of motivating students to learn independently. However, training or encouraging teachers to practice PBL in their classrooms is challenging, especially if the educational system does not accommodate creative teaching practices. In particular, in a test-driven educational system, time constraints and an excess of teaching content makes it difficult to practice PBL at the high school level. This work presents a novel team-teaching model that is based on collaboration between subject teachers and the computer teacher to facilitate PBL in the classroom. A two-year experiment was conducted to study the feasibility of the proposed model, in which the school computer teacher conducts PBL with the 10th grade students in the first year, and subject teachers conduct PBL with the 11th grade students in the second year. Experimental results indicate that the proposed model is feasible in the given educational setting. No class time was lost, and the subject teacher successfully conducted PBL activities. Furthermore, a follow-up survey indicated that the students enjoyed the PBL activities in both classes.

A study of high school English teachers’ behavior, concerns and beliefs in integrating information technology into English instruction

This study investigates the current trends and patterns of teachers’ concerns and teaching behavior with respect to technology integration. The following concerns of English teachers are addressed: teaching practice, perceive barriers of technology integration in the English instruction and the technology deployed in the classroom. Participants in this study were 332 junior and senior high school English teachers from Taipei and Kaohsiung Cities. The study found that despite pressure on schools to increase the application of technology, the adoption of teaching and learning practices using new technologies has been limited in terms of teachers’ SoCQ (The Stages of Concerns Questionnaire), their teaching behavior as well as their use of technology. Teachers’ concerns are generally oriented toward Personal and informational issues. English teachers’ technology-mediated English teaching behaviors are modest, and most teachers used technology to prepare their teaching activities instead of structuring higher levels of usage. As identified in the literature, higher levels of computer training, computer literacy, well-supported school environment, creative teaching practices and positive beliefs about technology integration among teachers result in higher task intensity, impact concerns and more technology-mediated teaching behaviors in the classroom. In terms of the difficulties affecting teachers’ technology integration into English instruction, this study identified significant relationships between first and second-order barriers. Implications for teachers’ technology integration are proposed.