Introduction

Hi there and welcome to my blog!

Throughout this blog, I will be reflecting on key concepts and fascinating creative approaches to education and learning in the classroom, which have been studied in the module: 

'The Enquiring Mind: Creative Approaches'.

I will delve into the concepts which have caught my attention the most

 whilst picking out facets which I liked; had never even thought about or perhaps I didn't really agree with. I will contemplate how they may impact today's ever changing society and the personal effect they may have on myself.

Please feel free to post comments, on your thoughts of the various approaches and explore the different links I have left for your interest to the side of the main posts.

I hope you enjoy!

Perspectives on Creativity

The first topic I want to discuss is that of 

‘Creativity’.

I absolutely love this topic, I find it fascinating and inspiring to say the least. 

I believe I am a creative person, and am an advocate of more creative approaches to education and life in general.

But, first of all… What exactly is Creativity? 

What makes somebody a creative person? Is it an innate personality trait? Is everybody creative? Or is creativity an approach which can be learned and adopted for specific tasks? 

The picture below is a selection of what some students on my course had to say about why creativity is important to us. My views on the matter can be seen on the sticky note located on the bottom right corner!  

Our ideas show come correlations; for example, ‘development’; ‘develop’ and ‘growth’ are words which have been used to define the term and describe why it is important; suggesting that creativity is vital to the development of new ideas, and therefore a growing and developing person, society or world. This correlates with  Pirto (2004) who stated:

'The words CREATE and CREATIVITY, come from the Latin 'Creatus' and 'Creare', which means 'to make or produce' - literally, 'to grow'.'

 The Dictionary of Developmental and Educational Psychology defines creativity as our “capacity to produce new ideas, insights, inventions or artistic objects, which are accepted as being of social, spiritual, aesthetic, scientific, or technological value.” 


I very much agree with this view of creativity, I do not belief that creativity is having the ability to merely produce forms of art, but more of a way of thinking and an approach to life. 

According to Barrow (2010):

'A creative individual takes risks, is not afraid of failing, seeks the unknown, or questions the status quo. Gardner also con- curs with Czikszentmihalyi that creativity comes from the interaction of special talented individuals, discipline and others in the field who will make judgements about the quality and originality. '

 'The General Model of Creativity' proposed by Csikszentmihalyi and Wolfe was one of the perspectives that we touched upon within the module.
Below is a diagram to illustrate his theory.

 Csikszentmihalyi and Wolfe state that:

`Creativity can be defined as an idea or 

product that is original, valued and implemented.’

This means that creativity must be realised (implemented), authentic (Original) and the product must be of worth to someone or something (Valuable).

This is not something that I agree with,  if this was the case then one could not be creative unless he/she comes up with something completely untried. This definition would therefore imply that all artists are not entirely creative as most painters or craftsmen use similar if not the same techniques as previous artists have done before them.

Mihalyi also uses the term 'Big C' and L'ittle C' to differentiate between two types of creative persons. The 'Big C' referring to the superior of the two, most renowned for their prestigious achievements and discoveries, in a notable discipline; such as musicians, actors and nobel prize winners.

The 'Little C' is used to describe the smaller creative ideas and impacts that individuals have on the rest of the world, such as writing a story or the invention of a new recipe. Ideas that do not change the world.

However, the world is full of people who do creative work without large-scale public recognition, and the term “small c” is reserved for describing such creators.' 

I think that this perspective is something that is perhaps more realistic and something which gives people the encouragement in the fact that they too are creative, whether that be in a big c way, or a little c way.

I would argue that creativity is not something that can be measured, each person has a creative capacity but some have a higher degree than others. This does not mean that one is better than the other, but simply born with a certain characteristic. I believe that encouraging creative approaches to learning and teaching within education is vital in providing our children with the most rewarding and beneficial experiences. Living in the 21st century is now about flexibility and the ability to think and question our perceptions and think innovatively instead of simply accepting what we are told. If we do not do this, then our world cannot progress and grow for the better.

The Mantle of The Expert

'Mantle of the Expert',

 is the name given to:

"a dramatic-inquiry based approach to teaching and 

learning invented and developed by Professor Dorothy Heathcote at the University of 
Newcastle upon Tyne, in the 1980’s. Through role-play, children and teachers work 
together, to solve real-life problems in an imaginary context." (Hymers, 2009)
                                                                        

Please follow the link for more photos of Dorothy Heathcote following her Mantle of the expert Approach:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mantleoftheexpert/6905560398/in/set-72157629755554787/

I had often heard of drama based learning for children with Autism and the use of drama to teach different subjects such as English Literature, but I had never come across this approach to learning; so it was an eye opener to me!

According to Heathcote and Herbert, (1985):

"The 'mantle of the expert' system of teaching involves a reversal of the conventional teacher-student role relationship in which the students draw on the 

knowledge and expertise of the teacher. When the mantle of the expert is used 

in drama, the teacher assumes a fictional role which places the 

student in the position of being 'the one who knows' or the expert

in a particular branch of human knowledge."

                                                                               P.173.

As part of Lecture 5 of the Creative Approaches module; I, as part of a group in my seminar class, explored this approach by trying it out for ourselves.

Suzie, our tutor gave us the task of working as a group of experts to come up with a company that specialised in the construction of bridges; we worked collaboratively, using each of our ideas to come up with the branding; work out our roles in the company; the design of our bridge and budgeting costs to name but a few of the things needed in order to design a bridge. As part of this task, we adopted various roles that we believed were critical to the running of such a company, such as: Architect,  CEO, Sales and Marketing Executive/Researcher etc., and even took part in an interview where the objective was to pitche our company and bridge design to the council (played by Suzie, our tutor) who were looking for a company to commission a new bridge in the local area. 

During this interview, I found myself not able to keep a straight face as my tutor remained in-role, questioning my group on our company. It was comical to me and something I had not experienced since I was in Primary School. 
I found it slightly odd, as we were adults pretending to be people that we were not, and talking about things that we didn't have any expertise on. I therefore didn't see much relevance as an Education Studies student, when the task was about building a bridge.  
Of-course the relevance was simply to to try the approach for ourselves!

I began to think about young primary aged students and whether they would enjoy this approach. I thought.. well, of-course they would! What child doesn't enjoy playing pretend? Whether that be masquerading themselves as a pop star or a pretending to be a shopkeeper. When I was in School however, I would never look forward to any kind of drama based activity and would occasionally even suffer from eczema from the worry of an upcoming School concert.  So, bearing this in mind, I believe that the more reserved children may find something like this a little daunting and prefer individual learning tasks; which also relates to Gardeners theory of multiple intelligences. I believe that this approach would certainly cater for multiple learning styles

Heathcote and Bolton (1996) cited by Edmiston (2013), suggested:

“Mantle of the expert provides a centre for all knowledge: it is always
experienced by the students in terms of the responsible human being …. an active,
urgent, purposeful view of learning, in which knowledge is to be operated on, not merely
taken in”                  
                                                    P.32)

John Dewey; Lev Vygotsky; Jean Piaget, Wenger and David Kolb were theorists whose ideologies were closely related to that of Heathcote's, 'Mantle of the Expert' as they were advocates of experiential and child centred learning. Dewey was most notable for his theory of active learning or 'learning by doing' and this approach is a working example of how active learning can be beneficial. 

 "the greatest similarity between Heathcote 
and Dewey’s philosophy is in the reduction of subject boundaries – 
‘Dewey’s most lasting effect upon the educational scene
 is found in the institution and development of project work 
which cuts across traditional divisions between subjects 
and involves pupils actively in solving problems’ 
(Bullock and Stallybrass 1999: 500).

Whereas "Heathcote shares Wenger’s belief that learning must have a real and not an artificial context for it to be rooted and meaningful." Sayers, (2011)

I can definitely see how this approach would gain the attention of young School students that perhaps would otherwise be uninterested, by the teacher simply talking at them. I believe that, as long as students understand the relevance of the 'in role' activity, then the approach can be an extremely influential, and a rewarding learning tool. Although, if relevance is not understood, their ability to apply themselves and stay motivated to actively engage could be hindered.

This approach would put the fun back into education without the student even realising they are learning. It would allow the children to engage in the topic in hand and provide students with the freedom and responsibility to contribute to their own learning.. Through this approach, expertise is developed through capturing the individuals imagination; through playfulness; problem solving; communication; drawing on own knowledge and learning from each other as well as gathering information from sources such as books or the internet, just as individuals would do in every day life.

With regard to the significance of these approaches for the 21st century, it is undeniable that they would be most beneficial for preparing it's students for a questionable future. Developing their life skills and real every day skills needed to co-operate and communicate effectively with others; developing a readiness in the individual to take on challenges; think out side of the box and gain confidence in their own ability and aptitude to work well with others.


Just as the Confucius, the Chinese Philosopher once said: 

“I hear and I forget. 
I see and I remember. 
I do and I understand.”

                                                P.30.



Below are examples of the mantle of the expert in practise 
and the love and enthusiasm towards the MoE approach. 
The students have clearly found enjoyment in this creative and innovative practice. It's amazing how well they have responded to the approach.

The Leonardo Effect

'The Leonardo Effect'; 

is another creative approach to education. It is a four stage method, which links directly to Heathcote's ideology and 'Mantle of the Expert' approach in that it's philosophy is also about putting ideas into practise. It combines both science and art in its methods of research and exploration as it aims to capture the learners imagination; develop ideas; enable creative thinking and provide the opportunity to apply own knowledge and evaluate and reflect upon ideas, instead of simply accepting them.

To experience the Leonardo approach for ourselves, our task this time was to participate in a 'learner led enquiry'. 

Stage 1: Capturing the Imagination - Each group were given a large piece of paper with one of the 4 elements written on it: Fire; Earth; Water and Air; we then had to write on the paper given, what we already knew about the word, eg. Fire - It's the element of fire zodiac signs, such as Leo the Lion or Earth - is the 3rd planet from the sun.

Once each group had completed this, they moved to another piece of paper with a different word. 

Stage 2: Development - Each group then had to further the questions that were already asked.. such as: Why is fire the sign of the Lion? 

Again, each group would swap and ask more questions or give answers to anything asked on the paper they had moved to.

3. Creation - Once this was done, the last task was to investigate out a question that we came up with, when exploring all of these different concepts. My group were interested in finding out how fish breathed under water, which was a result of a discussion about 'Water'. As a group we under took research on the topic and worked collaboratively to find information on this, as part of this we created the poster you see below.

4. Reflect and communicate - After researching this question, as a group we presented our findings to the rest of the class, with a power point show and our poster as sources.

Overall, I would say this was an excellent approach to learning and really made me think about concepts that I had never considered on a deeper level and encouraged me to explore concepts I had always wondered but never actually investigated. This approach provided me, the learner, a chance to share my ideas and expertise and learn from other people. This collaborative learning technique motivated me to find out the information for myself as my imagination and interest had been captured from Stage 1. This along with the Mantle of the Expert is an approach that I would love to take away into my teaching career.

The only negative aspect that I could imagine may arise from this approach is

specific subject matter not being learned in as much detail or perhaps even overlooked as children explore other areas of a topic, perhaps slightly going off task. Also, less assertive or quieter individuals in a group may be left behind as their ideas could be ignored, therefore lowering self esteem and discouraging a motivation to learn and children who are more disengaged may use this experience as a chance to mess around and hide behind others ideas and hard work. Although according to an article by Hepburn (2008):

'Despite the fact that sessions involved an often stressful requirement to throw out lesson plans - leading to "more noisy and messy" classes - they were remarkably successful. External evaluators found that previously uninterested children had become "fanatical" about their work and headteachers felt the project summed up "what good teaching was all about.'

Researchers state that:

"Leonardo is not just about science and art. It is about facilitating co-operative learning in classrooms; about the value of out-of-school personnel (particularly experts and enthusiasts); about empowering autonomous learners; and (above all) about making connections across the learning landscape."

Science and The Arts.. Flip sides of the same coin or poles apart? A look at an Inquiry Based Approach to Learning.

At the beginning of our module, we were all asked to think of what both science and the arts meant to us so that we could compare the two. 

The relationship between that of science and the arts, has been a cause of discussion for many years. There are some who would believe that the two are complete opposites; whilst others would suggest otherwise and believe that one could not exist without the other. 

The arts are subjective; a result of an individuals self expression which often prompts us to find deeper meaning behind ideas; making us question and contemplate our emotions and beliefs. Science however is objective, it aims to solve problems and test theories.

However, I believe that art and science are complimentary to each other and are not poles apart; one would often be flat without the other. By experiencing the different creative approaches to learning that have been discussed throughout my blog, it is easier to see how aspects from both science and art can bring about the best and most influential practice. And as I will discuss later, an imaginative approach through scientific inquiry combines both.

Imagine Science without exploration; an integral aspect of the arts and creativity, perhaps it would just be a combination of symbols, chemicals and gases; without exploration of ideas and the use of imagination and creativity, our planet would not have evolved into this amazing and technology driven place that it is today.

 Imagine an artist without without the understanding of reflection, symmetry, textures and correlation of patterns, and pigmentation in colour; to create a whole, visually pleasing image. Imagine a musician, who composes a beautiful song from countless notes and rhythms to; and even the athlete, who produces a visually flawless performance...is that an art or a science? or is it both?

One of the topics that we covered was that of the

'Inquiry-Based' Approach to Learning.

'According to the National Science Education Standards, there are 3 components of inquiry based approaches to learning. These are: abilities, understanding and teaching. '

'The first domain - abilities of inquiry require K-12 teachers of science to provide multiple investigations for students that are not verification or “cookbook” laboratory experiences. The second domain is understandings about inquiry so students will develop meaning about science and how scientists work. The final domain is teaching where various strategies (e.g. wait time, assessing prior knowledge, effective questioning strategies, long term investigations, etc.) would facilitate students’ under- standing of science.' Barrow, (2010) 

According to a report developed by a group of ten international experts in science education:

'students should be helped to develop ‘big ideas’ of science and about science that will enable them to understand the scientific aspects of the world around them and make informed decisions about the applications of science. For this understanding students need learning experiences that are interesting and engaging and seen as relevant to their lives.'

 This is Mae Jamison, the worlds first female astronaut and an advocate of both science and art working as one.

She says: 

'Research is a formalised curiosity, 

its poking and prying with a purpose'

So, in other words.. she implies that science is just a structured form of art and creativity.

She also believes that:

'Our mission is to reconcile, to reintegrate science and the arts because right now there's a schism that exists in popular culture; people have this idea that science and art are separate.. it's really becoming critical now because we're making decisions about our society everyday, that if we keep thinking that the arts are separate from the science, then we're going to have problems.'

I believe that Jamison is correct in her thinking, we should not see science and creativity as opposite but instead realise the potentials in both, by combining each of their positive aspects, it is only then that our education system will begin to develop more relevance and practical learning to their pupils. I really love the inquiry based apprach mentioned above and the Leonardo Approach and The Mantle of the Expert are perfect examples of this.

'the most beautiful thing we can experience 

is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.' (Einstein, Unknown Date)

Reference List

Edmiston, Dr, B. THE ‘MANTLE OF THE EXPERT’ APPROACH TO EDUCATION
Retrieved 5th May 2014 from:
http://www.mantleoftheexpert.com/studying/articles/BE%20-%20The%20MoE%20Approach%20to%20Education.pdf

Harlen, W (2010) Principles and Big Ideas of Science Education, Great Britain: the Association for Science Education. Retrieved 10th May 2014 from: 
file:///C:/Users/Nigel%20Davies/Downloads/principles-and-big-ideas-of-science-education.pdf

Healey et al (2013), Active Learning and Student Engagement: International Perspectives and Practices in Geography in Higher Education. London: Routledge.


Heathcote, D and Herbert, P. (1985), A Drama of Learning: Mantle of the Expert, Theory into Practice, Vol. 24, No. 3, Educating through Drama (Summer, 1985), pp. 173-180. Taylor & Francis, Ltd.
Retrieved 10th May from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1477037

Simon and Schuster (1931) Einstein, Albert in Living Philosophies. New York.
Retrieved 11th May from:  1931http://sciphilos.info/docs_pages/docs_Einstein_fulltext_css.html


Hymers, J (2009).  ‘Little Children, ‘Big’ Questions’ Does Mantle of the Expert create 
an environment conducive to philosophical thinking in the Early Years?'
Retrieved 5th May from: 
http://www.mantleoftheexpert.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/julie-hymers-dissertation.pdf


Hepburn, H. (2008) 'The Leonardo Effect Takes Flight.'
Retrieved 10th May from: http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=2571081


Mae Jemison on Teaching Arts and Sciences Together (2009)
Retrieved 29th April 2014 from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Vy0ncmUvUw


Leonardo Unlimited Ltd (2011) 'Creative curriculum teaching, unlocks children's learning potential'
Retrieved 6th May from:
http://www.leonardoeffect.com/connecting_learning_to_hard_to_reach_children.html


Leonardo Unlimited Ltd (2011)
http://www.leonardoeffect.com/resources/Factsheet.pdf


Moyles, J (2010)The Excellence Of Play: McGraw-Hill International, 2010


Ornbo, J. Sneppen, C, Wurts, P.F. (2008) Experience-Based Communication: Springer, 2008


Reiman, J. (2001). Thinking for a Living: Creating Ideas That Revitalize Your Business and Career: Rowman & Littlefield.


Sayers, (2011) .The implications of introducing Heathcote’s Mantle of the Expert approach as a Community of Practice and cross curricular learning tool in a Primary School. English in Education, National Association for the Teaching of English. Blackwell Publishing Ltd: Oxford, UK.