Creativity+and+Imagination+in+Education+in+the+21st+Century

=FINDINGS FROM PROVIDED READINGS= I've summarised the understandings and included quotes from the readings so it can be easily transffered into a transcript for my part of the podcast.

Just to clarify in my research I have focused on
 * why Creativity and imagination is important in education in the 21st century? - If you think i need to focus on anything else let me know as I wasnt sure if I should look at how we can incorporate our findings in education or if this would be covered in one of the other areas?

One quote that I found to be of uttermost importance; 'Creativity is more important than knowledge' - Albert Einstein. Majority of the artciles I read emphasised the importance on fostering creative learning in the 21st century and the need to stop viewing education and teaching as the simple transfer of knowledge. It is our role as future teachers to nurture the creativity within a child, and should hold it in the same regard as academics.

The Australian Curriculum: Crticial and Creative thinking -
The Australian Curriculum itself emphasises the importance of being able to think creatively in order to to respond to issues and challenges individuals may face in the twenty first century. This is highlighted in the statement; 'Responding to the challenges of the twenty-first century - with its complex environmental, social, and economic pressures - requires young people to be creative, innovative, enterprising and adaptble, with the movitatio, confidence and skills to use critical and creative thinking purposefully.' (The Austrlian Curriculum, 2012). Therefore it is imperative that teachers provide a rich curriculum that encourages creativity and imagination. As the Australian curriculum emphasises creative thinking is crucial in order to effectively complete activities that 'require the students to think broadly and deeply using skills, behaviours and dispositions such as reason, logic, resource fullness, imagination and innovation in all learning Iveareas at school and in the lives beyond school’ (The Australian Curriculum, 2010). Such skills are necessary to survive in a twenty first century work force where innovation and being able to think creatively are increasingly becoming more important than knowledge.


 * Creative Teaching, Teaching creativity and creative learning – Bill Lucas **

The 21st century has seen the introduction of technologies and the increase of its use in the classroom as an effective learning tool. This has created an ‘e-learning revolution’ in which teachers and students have access to an array of technologies as well as information at the touch of a button. Technology can be used a way to engage the learner. As for most young individuals technology is present in many facets of their home lives, whether it is from watching television, to listening to music on the iPods or communicating with their peers online. By asking students their view on learning as well as supporting their individual interests through the use of technology teachers can aim to make their students more interested and willing to take responsibility for their own learning. After all, ‘ engaging the heart of what is to be an effective learner, we will make significant progress in understanding more about the conditions in which are likely to foster creativity.’ It can be a catalyst to encourage respect for the individual learner and focus more on activities in the classroom being more learners centred. This is imperative as, ‘ It is their levels of self-esteem, confidence and motivation which will determine whether the environment is likely to be one in which they can engage their intelligences creatively.’


 * 21st Century Skills Creativity and Imagination - **

The 21st century is often referred to as the ‘imagination era’ where education and the world beyond it have placed a focus on things being concrete, abstract, creative, and interactive. We have also seen this shift in education where many of the activities students are provided with allow them to play with concrete materials in which they can manipulate, create and interact with.

In a world where worldwide competition with global powerhouses such as China and the United States of America is of a high focus, the future generation that will make up the work force of the future, need to be critical thinkers and problem solvers. Therefore, ‘ creativity is important for the next generation workforce ,’ as it fosters and develops these crucial and much required skills. As experts say, ‘ it is an economic imperative to teach our next generation to think creatively and more innovative,’ in order for Australians to remain competitive in a global market.

__ How can we create environments that nurture creativity and innovation skills? __

- Learning by Making? Allowing children to manipulate and construct during the process of learning is important as what “ you learn in the process of doing sinks much deeper. Its roots go deeper into the subsoil of the mind than anything anybody can tell you.” (MIT Professor Emeritus Seymour Papert). Art is the academic that encourages this constructivism and therefore should be integrated into all areas of the curriculum. Thomas Friedman Author of the ‘World is Flat’ states, ‘ More than ever our secret sauce come from our ability to integrate art, music and literature with the hard sciences.’

This article also places emphasise on the need to use technology correctly in order to accommodate 21st century learners. As stated in the article, ‘Access to technology doesn’t mean computers. It means recognising that young people today form the Internet generation. Need to incorporate this into learning to accommodate 21st century learners. ‘ The way in which we learn and what we need to learn has shifted completely in the 21st century. Therefore education experts acknowledge, ‘that a fundamental change in the learning environment is required in order to prepare its students for a new working environment. ’
 * Schooling for the knowledge era **

__ Changes that schools can make in order to encourage creativity as well as accommodate for 21st century learners (our future workforce) are __ • create open and collaborative learning environments • install multimedia technology designed for group learning, including Smart Boards, DVD players, sound systems, data projectors, and online access • work with teachers to recognise the skills that students possess and use those strengths to encourage independent self-learning and network-learning skills

One important quote that summarised my understanding: ‘Schools, in responding to the issue of life–work preparation, need to recognise that an important way to start this is to release the talents such as creativity and the information-age and technological skills of young people and use teaching skills to enhance them.’


 * The Imagination Nation: Moving America’s Children Beyond Average Imagination and the 21st century education **

(I know this article is American but I found it raised many valid points that are relatable in Australian Education) 21st century society has seen a shift in regards to what skills are considered to be important and is moving beyond holding knowledge in the highest regard. This is best summarised in the quote, ‘ The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind – creators and emphasisers, pattern recognisers and meaning makers. These people – artists, inventors, designers, storytellers, caregivers, consolers, big picture thinkers – will now reap society’s richest rewards and share its greatest joys.’

Countless industries and companies around the globe are searching for innovation and creativity; however our education system which focuses on teaching the “basics” does not sufficiently prepare the individuals of the future work force to meet these demands. Many individuals feel that not only does education today not give students the skills to survive in the 21st century but is more ‘ stifling student’s creativity and their potential to perform beyond average’. Within a constantly evolving global marketplace where innovation and creativity are at the forefront, schools should be nurturing and developing skills that encourage imagination.

One area of learning that is often overlooked but effectively encourages this imagination development is the arts. Therefore, ‘ the role of the arts in integrated, interdisciplinary learning is essential to developing the imagination and meeting the demands of the 21st century workforce.’ In today’s increasingly competitive society, ‘ we cannot afford to narrow the scope of learning at a time when richer learning experiences for deeper and well-rounded knowledge are demanded.’

One of the most important attributes that any individual can have is being able to adapt to change and harbour a creative imagination. “ As globalization and advancements in technology obsolesce what we know now, success will depend not on knowledge but on the ability to create, to innovate, and the think beyond the ‘so called’ basics.” Thus it is important that this is echoed throughout our education system and the way we approach teaching and learning.