I teach ICT but the new Training Package includes many more “soft skills” as core. Topics such as “Develop critical thinking skills” – I am stumped as to how that will be assessed.
Jennifer Wills
3 years ago
Low regard by society. See recent government decision to raise cost of humanities subjects at universities and lower fees for STEM subjects.
Alicia Cheng
3 years ago
Attention span. Students have trouble focusing which is a barrier to foster creativity.
Time allocated to teaching particular units is so limited and the amount of content so large, it leaves little time to allow students to explore their own creativity.
Agree, schools have been forced to take on the role of parents in some areas and creativity takes time……
Elizabeth Willett
3 years ago
In order to be creative people need time and this for some is a luxury. The world moves so quickly and the cost of living is so high that people often feel guilty being idle and letting their minds wander.
When studying In tertiary education, time is taken up with study, work and personal life commitments (eg children) – their is little time for creativity. Perhaps the inclusion of creativity in the study program would assist with this and improve future employment opportunities.
Lana
3 years ago
The biggest barrier is the perceived lack of time people have – everyone is conditioned to be ‘busy’ all the time.
Jennifer De Goursat
3 years ago
Imagination cannot be taught, only prompted. It has been said that we analysed too much, and work too much to achieve perfection ( the unachievable), which destroys the ‘what if’ kind of thinking that is the flint that ignites the imagination.
It is up to educators to foster an environment where ‘what ifs’ are explored – and students are given opportunities to explore both the possible and the impossible – imagination.
Creativity is taking the imagined and making it into something -and through that process, learning and innovating as one makes.
Absolutely Jennifer. The fear of failure often stops people from suggesting things. Over a period of time being creative falls from our habit sequence.
That’s true. Curriculum is so ill designed , focus is always there to finish the topics and complete the assessments which are more knowledge based rather than exploratory and imaginative.
Well said, Jennifer. I also think it’s up to the educators – policymakers, teachers, et al. who need to give students the opportunity to think outside the square, apply knowledge, be innovative in their application and creative in their thought process. That would keep them well-informed and better equipped for the ‘real’ world.
Brigid
3 years ago
Compliance and ‘ticking the boxes’ need to be done but often at the expense of creativity.
Compliance is the ultimate innovation killer. Although it can be achieved by taking a timely approach, compliance can kills organisational innovation if it is not managed well.
MBozic
3 years ago
One new huge barrier has just been introduced: a $45,000 Bachelor of Arts degree. More than doubling! If you think history, what remains is literature, sculpture, architecture, artefacts,…culture. What will we leave behind – plastic? We’re creating dull minds with our overemphasis on training for the workforce under the guise of education. We need to give them freedom and time to explore before becoming.
I absolutely agree with you. Although I would add the corollary that today, university humanity courses and applied arts – tend to be very biased in terms of what and how they interpret ‘things’. This in itself is another limiter of creativity simply because creativity and innovation demand freedom from group think.
Yes, I only just paid back my HECS on my B Arts – after completing it over 10 years ago – now I wouldn’t stand a chance.
William
3 years ago
I agree with a lot of the comments posted. However, I believe that creativity and originality can still be fostered through good creative teaching strategies, flexibility of thinking and encouragement.
Schooling……”Colour the apple red!” Unfortunately this is still a key component of kindergarten classrooms, we need to allow children to explore the colours that apples really are…let’s stop stifling creativity.
I have a story I read my students about this very topic, when we are teaching our creative units at TAFE. It is really difficult for students who have come though a school system that thinks this way, to rediscover their own creativity in order to support the creativity of children they will be working with.
Naim Tooma
3 years ago
The current curriculum is the biggest barrier to creativity.
STEM subjects have become over-prioritised; they’ve taken over the creative arts subjects, like weeds take over a fragile flower bed. Stifling eventually leads to extinguishing. Bring back choice and you will get self determination.
Lisa Conyers
3 years ago
That’s a hard one but I might put forward the thought that there often seems like a uniform way to look to be considered beautiful. What about standardised, school testing systems that focus on test results to establish how well the school is doing
With the emphasis on marks, for teachers it often has to be teaching to tests and assessments and for students (and parents), subjects are often chosen based on what will get them the highest marks rather than what they might like to do. We even had a mother explain that the school offered too many “distractions” and that would not help her child get into university.
I agree. How often do we discourage free thinking and following interests because we have to conform to a standardised curriculum?
Sharon Crowther
3 years ago
A structured view of delivery of materials and of assessment of competence – a one size fits all model. I realise this is often compliance driven but would love to see greater flexibility here !
A right wing conservative government and society that just doesn’t value the arts or creativity because it doesn’t make money. I feel also that art in all its forms represents a level of diversity that society at large doesn’t want to acknowledge.
True, creativity in not valued in our education system
Sharon Newall
3 years ago
I see lack of time as a barrier to fostering originality and creativity in our students. There is so much that we have to ‘get through’ that we just don’t have time to let their imaginations ‘run wild’.
The curriculum drives us with out teaching and we often don’t have time to let our learners explore and be creative with their ideas and thinking – we are in fact are stifling their initiatives and innovativeness.
Anna and Lorraine – I agree… the ‘crowded curriculum’ with no room to move is an issue– I believe it is further complicated by the students who want direct and clear responses without investment of time in thought or creativity.
Donna
3 years ago
Societal expectations/ education system does not support round peg in a square hole, there is a lack of disregard for the importance of creativity – many a time I have students say but… I Am not creative. This is one I refer to Malaguzzi 100 languages as there as the perception that creativity is just about art/craft.
Was blown away that the adult attention span is now only 8 seconds and I can know clearly see where it is all coming from!
Lisa
3 years ago
Systemic low regard – seen in underfunding of the arts, increasing fees for arts courses from TAFE to now universities, the high profile of STEM courses, and school curriculum and marking systems that reward regurgitation in answers rather than new and creative perspectives. The distractions of technology and social media may be taking up a lot of our precious thinking time, but equally they are a forum for sharing new and creative ideas and encouraging imagination and innovation. Many new business ideas have found their feet in crowd funding and marketing online. Creativity breeds creativity, and the sharing of ideas and information can lead to further creativity.
Absolutely Lisa! Our government values economics and financial rewards. Where is the motivation to be a creative and original thinker if there is no reward in it, and no way of financially supporting yourself.
joanne madden
3 years ago
The biggest barrier for students is the lack to try to be creative, being to distracted with things happening in their life and their devices
Yes, our students are often so focused on their devices that they don’t feel inspired to be creative. They are saturated by other peoples’ ideas and don’t feel that they can make a worthwhile contribution.
Yes they only have this for their devices – not for their learning they want to have it easy. Maybe we need to start and teach more through our phones and social media – we need to be creative with our delivery – that’s just a thought.
Baldev Batra
3 years ago
The social media and the internet have provided solutions to any problem. This really limits their degree of creativity and originality. They always seem to look for easy solutions which they can easily find on the internet. Before the internet we were forced to think and create solutions and we were quite successful.
Not to mention the fact that people rarely open books to search for information these days.
Amanda
3 years ago
I agree that students are not given the chance to be bored or think without distractions. They are so dependent on their devices and the need to be constantly entertained.
I like to think about it as an opportunity to day dream rather than boredom
Glen
3 years ago
I agree social media etc can have a detrimental effect but I do think expectations have changed a lot since when I was a student. Back then there a sense that learning arts, for instance, was fine but now students seem to be much more business orientated. The fact they have to cough up more fees than my generation did perhaps means they don’t believe they can afford the “luxury” to be creative. That that is somehow a bit too frivolous.
Hi Glen, I agree with you that social media and the internet have provided solutions to any problem. This really limits their degree of creativity and originality. They always seem to look for easy solutions which they can easily find on the internet. Before the internet we were forced to think and create solutions and we were quite successful.
I think this is even harder than in previous generations because of the ‘on tap’ nature of social media. Students have a computer in their pockets and instead of allowing their own creativity and originality to develop they log into Pinterest or Instagram or google and find pictures of other peoples creativity.
I agree, you only have to look at what is the latest trends and know that this is copied over and over by people accessing social media. There’s no imagination in that.
Carinya
3 years ago
Quite simply I just don’t think we allow them enough time. And so many haven’t even learnt how to be imaginative. There’s still very much the school of thought that you’re either creative or you’re not. And that creativity and the arts isn’t an overly ‘valid’, well-paying role for the majority.
Yes Carinya, the opportunity to just be in the moment, here and now
Brad Taylor
3 years ago
The prescriptive nature of so much of our syllabuses certainly stifles original thinking and creativity. Lack of financial reward for creative work certainly doesn’t help either.
I agree with this, I teach Floristry and the first question prospective students ask is “How much do Florists get paid?”
Matthew
3 years ago
The ability to copy and paste so easily and crammed syllabus, systems with ticks and balances, pressure to push required information through to get to the next. Even when students have sometimes gone creatively off the prescribed content there is pressure to keep them to where you can assess because that is the indicators that need to be meet.
Hey Matthew, this is exactly how I feel. However, I encourage students through incentives to complete tasks and then work on their own projects that can be related directly to other units.
Sue Bailey
3 years ago
Evidence to support what we just listened to…Our government proposes that the cost of humanities/arts degrees are going to double while the cost of STEM degrees will halve. Our graduating students are being discouraged from engaging in creative courses.
Further evidence – today’s announcement that the NSW curriculum will be overhauled over the next four years with special emphasis placed on literacy and numeracy. No mention of creativity.
The well being of our students is nourished by creativity.
The current government wants to block critical thinking and questioning, which is seen as a threat from the “radical left”. I’m a literacy teacher, and defender of its importance for individuals and society, but I’m in awe of the many innovative, creative and talented people, including successful entrepreneurs, who dropped out of school early or experience dyslexia.
Dalwinder Pooni
3 years ago
In teaching some Barriers to Creativity:Uniformity of knowledge, Repetitive teaching,Traditional process of teaching and learning,Lack of creativity and innovation during classes.
Andrew Somerville
3 years ago
Our education system and broader society aren’t really set up to support creativity. Even the term ‘creative genius’ tends to imply that it is either gift – something you either have or don’t – rather than something that can be developed and worked at. Eg. artists, inventors, musicians, innovators. Usually, I think this is taken to mean that it is something that other people have (and is to be admired) – but ‘not me’. I was not surprised by the concept that 3 years olds score far higher on measures of creativity than adults. We as a society essential socialise it out of people. Conformity is still valued and rewarded more than difference.
But not in the Creative Arts courses Andrew. We value and reward originality and creativity. Our NSW curriculum must incorporate and value creativity in the syllabi of all KLA’s not just Creative Arts and other practical courses. This will turn the tide.
Very valid points raised. I agree, it’s implied that you are either creative or you’re not.
Mat Watts
3 years ago
I think that we try to foster originality and creativity in students where we can- creativity manifests itself in different ways across the various subject areas. I agree with the view that there is a lot of content to ‘get through’ in most courses and a limited time frame to do so.
It’s broader than the education system I think. I liked the quote that “schools are a reflection of what society has valued”. This is even true in professional sports. Creative players are highly valued and sought after – yet the system of overcoaching and result driven measures of success basically “trains it out of people” in a systematic way. eg. be creative – but don’t make a mistake that might cost us…
When the system doesn’t promote creativity as a highly valued attribute teachers and students find it difficult as well. Ingrained practices across the ‘rigorous’ areas rarely promote it and many do not see the value in stepping outside their comfort zones.
I think the system actually does a pretty good job of acknowledging excellence in creativity but probably not so much the attempts. Without financial reward I don’t think creativity has much chance of grabbing a generation who are driven by extrinsic reward.
Liz Baker-Matterson
3 years ago
The constraints of content and what we need to teach stifles our ability to encourage creativity. something to think about as we look at changing what we are doing in schools.
I find it such a contradiction to battle with that we (our system) says we want to develop creative and critical thinkers and life long learners, however, we still teach ‘to a test’. eg. the HSC. It is definitely one of my moral dilemmas as a teacher.
We are fortunate in the Creative Arts courses to have very broad syllabus content. I really feel for teachers who must cover huge amounts of mandatory content within the hectic school schedule.
Tony Chamberlain
3 years ago
I think the syllabus id too dense and there is too much assessment. More time should be allowed to teach in a context, i.e. select a local real-life situation and apply student learning to an assignment or project with plenty of scope to be creative.
Tony it can depend on your teaching area. I am an arts teacher and even there, where we are quite free to roam, many teachers are still stuck in the assessment merry-go-round.
I think we are realizing this now and things will be changing soon to adapt. But, at the moment, it is not catching up.
Alyssa
3 years ago
The biggest barrier is time and the lack there of. Teachers are under pressure to keep up with the areas of learning that are valued and deemed important and often don’t have the time.
Another barrier is the lack of effort- I think sometimes our control and expectations as teachers, over assignments or activities can get in the way of our students imagination and creativity
I agree Alyssa, I think the syllabus is too dense. I also think that syllabus is being brought forward into earlier years. We need to get back to a simpler curriculum where basis skills can be scaffolded over a progression of years.
I agree that teachers are sometimes having to focus so much on ticking all the syllabus boxes that it gets in the way of students imagination and creativity.
I feel like one of the reasons we as teachers don’t seem to value imagination so much is the prevalence of standardised testing… It’s very hard to teach children how to be imaginative, especially with so much pressure to reach targets in NAPLAN under the strain of an already crowded curriculum. I know that these skills should go hand in hand… but I wonder if we drop the ball a bit as a result of this pressure… Such a sad outcome!
I often question the over-testing of kids Julia. I see the benefit of a national test for comparing achievement around the country, but perhaps that could be part of the school testing regime.
Don Dixon
3 years ago
Conservatism. The belief that what has been done before is what needs to be done again. This should not be mistaken for thinking nothing good comes from the past but more to understand that change is ever present and we best adapt to that change through creativity .
Rebecca Huett
3 years ago
The way some school systems place higher order (left) thinking subject above or regarded as being more important than creative subjects.
I remember being in high school and funding was cut and the first things to go were the creative subjects!
Ashley
3 years ago
The biggest barriers to fostering originality and creativity in students is a lack of time in a busy world with ever increasing pressures. We have so much content to cover that it is difficulty to provide students with the time to ponder a task, be bored or be creative.
I agree!
Maybe we need to think about it more creatively- We need to look at how we can make time and space for creativity across all learning areas and look at how to incorporate it more- easier said than done I know!
Where does imagination go after children begin school? Is it the need for conformity, the small group activities led by parents, the race to be the best reader? The never-ending list of outcome boxes to tick?
I agree with all of those points Robyn and also think it is a lack of time in a busy world to allow children to ponder a task before they start.
Liz
3 years ago
Time and the crowded curriculum at school with too much to try to complete. Not enough opportunities for undirected creative activities in class. Students need time play and discover in some unstructured situations. Too many activities for children after school because parents feel they have to offer so much to keep their children busy. Busy-ness does not foster originality or creativity it just fills in time.
Sarah H
3 years ago
It will be interesting to see students returning from covid19 lockdown, whether they will be less or more distracted. Will it have a positive affect, and kids will have a greater attention span? Or will it be negative because they will crave their devices that they got to have at home?
An interesting comment Sarah. I don’t know that kids will have a greater attention span or whether they will just be glad to be back at school with their friends. Maybe they will have realized that face-to-face contact is a whole lot better than using skype, face time or Zoom? Mmm Maybe I am being too optimistic 🙂
My son has recently returned to some face to face at his school – he is overjoyed to interact with students and staff. I was worried about the amount of learning via tech he had done, but it seems to have had a positive effect.
I’ve noticed among my friends who are “homeschooling” their kids at the moment – they’re having difficulty keeping their child busy… I’ve suggested that they let them be bored. Like, keep them safe, but let them be bored. I think it might be that some parents are reluctant because bored kids can be annoying kids!
I have already noticed from comments of others that isolation from Covid19 has allowed imaginations to flourish. Students are being creative with their time at home, as learning is mostly online, an escape from the computer is made and we see a return to old school playing/making, like playing card games, knitting or doing jigsaw puzzles!
Diana
3 years ago
I think the biggest barrier is the lack of basic skills in a larger number of students. They need these skills to enable creativity with expression of their thoughts and actions.
Yep for sure. And I think that the pressure to teach these skills then overtakes the desire to foster their creativity and imagination. Like, we worry so much that the kids won’t be able to read (which is a very fair concern) that we then don’t have time for creativity..?
bianca.marlin
3 years ago
Fear of failure and a lack of peer approval.
The inability to try, make mistakes, mess it up and rethink, because it doesn’t fit the social media way of getting acknowledgement.
i think that part of this is the having to start again from the beginning and rethinking. In games now, they just ‘re-spawn’ from where their last save point is…they don’t have to go back to the start and try again.
Naomi
3 years ago
I have always believed that creativity and imagination are essential for learning and for living an enjoyable life. It is those skills that enable optimism, for without an imagination, how can one possibly perceive your situation improving or how can one solve a problem.
Diana
3 years ago
It depends on what you perceive is ‘creative’. I think your creativity is allowed to blossom once you have the basic thinking and skills to allow you to express yourself creatively.
Agreed Diana , creativity can take many forms. Its important not to ‘pigeon hole’ people and , as with thinking, teach students the skills necessary to find their creative self
Curriculum needs to be changed to foster creativity. Focus is more on obtaining better ATAR
How fabulous would this be Sujeet to see an encouragement of this in the syllabus
Yes a greater understanding of the wider benefits of creativity would be helpful.
I agree totally, the curriculum currently doesn’t seem to encourage creativity
I teach ICT but the new Training Package includes many more “soft skills” as core. Topics such as “Develop critical thinking skills” – I am stumped as to how that will be assessed.
Low regard by society. See recent government decision to raise cost of humanities subjects at universities and lower fees for STEM subjects.
Attention span. Students have trouble focusing which is a barrier to foster creativity.
correct
Absolutely agree. Everything seems to need instant gratification
The curriculum is crowded and it is difficult to spend time on fostering creativity.
I agree. The demands of literacy and numeracy have taken over the importance of creativity and originality.
Time allocated to teaching particular units is so limited and the amount of content so large, it leaves little time to allow students to explore their own creativity.
So true. In many cases it also leaves little time to teach as creatively as you would like to due to the amount of content.
Agree, schools have been forced to take on the role of parents in some areas and creativity takes time……
In order to be creative people need time and this for some is a luxury. The world moves so quickly and the cost of living is so high that people often feel guilty being idle and letting their minds wander.
Agree, nobody has time to sit and ponder. If the chance arises to be creative, it is perceived as being a dreamer
Elizabeth TIME really is the key here isn’t it…and yet we live in a culture that sees having “free time” as being lazy.
When studying In tertiary education, time is taken up with study, work and personal life commitments (eg children) – their is little time for creativity. Perhaps the inclusion of creativity in the study program would assist with this and improve future employment opportunities.
The biggest barrier is the perceived lack of time people have – everyone is conditioned to be ‘busy’ all the time.
Imagination cannot be taught, only prompted. It has been said that we analysed too much, and work too much to achieve perfection ( the unachievable), which destroys the ‘what if’ kind of thinking that is the flint that ignites the imagination.
It is up to educators to foster an environment where ‘what ifs’ are explored – and students are given opportunities to explore both the possible and the impossible – imagination.
Creativity is taking the imagined and making it into something -and through that process, learning and innovating as one makes.
Absolutely Jennifer. The fear of failure often stops people from suggesting things. Over a period of time being creative falls from our habit sequence.
I agree. Imagination can not be taught. Students find it very hard to create if teachers have not fostered and prompted how to use their imagination.
That’s true. Curriculum is so ill designed , focus is always there to finish the topics and complete the assessments which are more knowledge based rather than exploratory and imaginative.
Well said, Jennifer. I also think it’s up to the educators – policymakers, teachers, et al. who need to give students the opportunity to think outside the square, apply knowledge, be innovative in their application and creative in their thought process. That would keep them well-informed and better equipped for the ‘real’ world.
Compliance and ‘ticking the boxes’ need to be done but often at the expense of creativity.
Compliance is the ultimate innovation killer. Although it can be achieved by taking a timely approach, compliance can kills organisational innovation if it is not managed well.
One new huge barrier has just been introduced: a $45,000 Bachelor of Arts degree. More than doubling! If you think history, what remains is literature, sculpture, architecture, artefacts,…culture. What will we leave behind – plastic? We’re creating dull minds with our overemphasis on training for the workforce under the guise of education. We need to give them freedom and time to explore before becoming.
I absolutely agree with you. Although I would add the corollary that today, university humanity courses and applied arts – tend to be very biased in terms of what and how they interpret ‘things’. This in itself is another limiter of creativity simply because creativity and innovation demand freedom from group think.
Yes, I only just paid back my HECS on my B Arts – after completing it over 10 years ago – now I wouldn’t stand a chance.
I agree with a lot of the comments posted. However, I believe that creativity and originality can still be fostered through good creative teaching strategies, flexibility of thinking and encouragement.
I totally agree to your opinion.
Schooling……”Colour the apple red!” Unfortunately this is still a key component of kindergarten classrooms, we need to allow children to explore the colours that apples really are…let’s stop stifling creativity.
Exactly! There are many possibilities in between, just as there are infinite colours in a rainbow, not just six, or is it seven?
I have even heard of teachers making children change their colours because they were not right!
It’s not just schooling though Cassie. The home environment and society are all influencing factors too.
I have a story I read my students about this very topic, when we are teaching our creative units at TAFE. It is really difficult for students who have come though a school system that thinks this way, to rediscover their own creativity in order to support the creativity of children they will be working with.
The current curriculum is the biggest barrier to creativity.
STEM subjects have become over-prioritised; they’ve taken over the creative arts subjects, like weeds take over a fragile flower bed. Stifling eventually leads to extinguishing. Bring back choice and you will get self determination.
That’s a hard one but I might put forward the thought that there often seems like a uniform way to look to be considered beautiful. What about standardised, school testing systems that focus on test results to establish how well the school is doing
I agree Lisa, the testing system is a barrier to creativity
on that particular day, 6 months previously.
With the emphasis on marks, for teachers it often has to be teaching to tests and assessments and for students (and parents), subjects are often chosen based on what will get them the highest marks rather than what they might like to do. We even had a mother explain that the school offered too many “distractions” and that would not help her child get into university.
I agree. How often do we discourage free thinking and following interests because we have to conform to a standardised curriculum?
A structured view of delivery of materials and of assessment of competence – a one size fits all model. I realise this is often compliance driven but would love to see greater flexibility here !
Yes. How can we measure new ideas and solutions?
A right wing conservative government and society that just doesn’t value the arts or creativity because it doesn’t make money. I feel also that art in all its forms represents a level of diversity that society at large doesn’t want to acknowledge.
We can see that currently with the slow response to support the arts in this pandemic
True, creativity in not valued in our education system
I see lack of time as a barrier to fostering originality and creativity in our students. There is so much that we have to ‘get through’ that we just don’t have time to let their imaginations ‘run wild’.
yes.. I agree Sharon… and often the lives of our learners are so crowded they just want the ‘direct’ path with clear answers.
Is it time or is it time management ?
Agreed!
The curriculum drives us with out teaching and we often don’t have time to let our learners explore and be creative with their ideas and thinking – we are in fact are stifling their initiatives and innovativeness.
I agree Lorraine, the curriculum and lack of time are barriers to creativity.
Totally agreed. Our examination oriented curriculum has restricted the creative, the exploring and innovative thinking of students.
Curriculum and marking systems that reward regurgitation or cut & paste in answers rather than new and creative perspectives
Yes that is exactly what is happening – we don’t have the time for them to ‘play’ with their ideas.
Anna and Lorraine – I agree… the ‘crowded curriculum’ with no room to move is an issue– I believe it is further complicated by the students who want direct and clear responses without investment of time in thought or creativity.
Societal expectations/ education system does not support round peg in a square hole, there is a lack of disregard for the importance of creativity – many a time I have students say but… I Am not creative. This is one I refer to Malaguzzi 100 languages as there as the perception that creativity is just about art/craft.
Was blown away that the adult attention span is now only 8 seconds and I can know clearly see where it is all coming from!
Systemic low regard – seen in underfunding of the arts, increasing fees for arts courses from TAFE to now universities, the high profile of STEM courses, and school curriculum and marking systems that reward regurgitation in answers rather than new and creative perspectives. The distractions of technology and social media may be taking up a lot of our precious thinking time, but equally they are a forum for sharing new and creative ideas and encouraging imagination and innovation. Many new business ideas have found their feet in crowd funding and marketing online. Creativity breeds creativity, and the sharing of ideas and information can lead to further creativity.
Absolutely Lisa! Our government values economics and financial rewards. Where is the motivation to be a creative and original thinker if there is no reward in it, and no way of financially supporting yourself.
The biggest barrier for students is the lack to try to be creative, being to distracted with things happening in their life and their devices
Yes, our students are often so focused on their devices that they don’t feel inspired to be creative. They are saturated by other peoples’ ideas and don’t feel that they can make a worthwhile contribution.
Lack of focus/dedication
Yes they only have this for their devices – not for their learning they want to have it easy. Maybe we need to start and teach more through our phones and social media – we need to be creative with our delivery – that’s just a thought.
The social media and the internet have provided solutions to any problem. This really limits their degree of creativity and originality. They always seem to look for easy solutions which they can easily find on the internet. Before the internet we were forced to think and create solutions and we were quite successful.
I agree
This so true Baldev – students just head to Pinterest!
100% agree… lets just Google it!
Not to mention the fact that people rarely open books to search for information these days.
I agree that students are not given the chance to be bored or think without distractions. They are so dependent on their devices and the need to be constantly entertained.
Yes, being bored is something that many of our students have never experienced, as they need only to check their device for entertainment.
I like to think about it as an opportunity to day dream rather than boredom
I agree social media etc can have a detrimental effect but I do think expectations have changed a lot since when I was a student. Back then there a sense that learning arts, for instance, was fine but now students seem to be much more business orientated. The fact they have to cough up more fees than my generation did perhaps means they don’t believe they can afford the “luxury” to be creative. That that is somehow a bit too frivolous.
Hi Glen, I agree with you that social media and the internet have provided solutions to any problem. This really limits their degree of creativity and originality. They always seem to look for easy solutions which they can easily find on the internet. Before the internet we were forced to think and create solutions and we were quite successful.
Totally Agree
I think this is even harder than in previous generations because of the ‘on tap’ nature of social media. Students have a computer in their pockets and instead of allowing their own creativity and originality to develop they log into Pinterest or Instagram or google and find pictures of other peoples creativity.
Yes, there are so many distractions
This generation definitely have so many distraction, this is impacting there ability for decision making
Yes, the accessibility to information ‘on tap’ is limiting creativity & problem solving.
I agree, you only have to look at what is the latest trends and know that this is copied over and over by people accessing social media. There’s no imagination in that.
Quite simply I just don’t think we allow them enough time. And so many haven’t even learnt how to be imaginative. There’s still very much the school of thought that you’re either creative or you’re not. And that creativity and the arts isn’t an overly ‘valid’, well-paying role for the majority.
Yes, I think that gets back to the systemic low regard for creativity and originality.
Yes, true. They have been bought up with so much busyness that maybe they don’t know how to do nothing which is important to be creative.
Yes Carinya, the opportunity to just be in the moment, here and now
The prescriptive nature of so much of our syllabuses certainly stifles original thinking and creativity. Lack of financial reward for creative work certainly doesn’t help either.
I agree with this, I teach Floristry and the first question prospective students ask is “How much do Florists get paid?”
The ability to copy and paste so easily and crammed syllabus, systems with ticks and balances, pressure to push required information through to get to the next. Even when students have sometimes gone creatively off the prescribed content there is pressure to keep them to where you can assess because that is the indicators that need to be meet.
Exactly!
Hey Matthew, this is exactly how I feel. However, I encourage students through incentives to complete tasks and then work on their own projects that can be related directly to other units.
Evidence to support what we just listened to…Our government proposes that the cost of humanities/arts degrees are going to double while the cost of STEM degrees will halve. Our graduating students are being discouraged from engaging in creative courses.
Further evidence – today’s announcement that the NSW curriculum will be overhauled over the next four years with special emphasis placed on literacy and numeracy. No mention of creativity.
The well being of our students is nourished by creativity.
The current government wants to block critical thinking and questioning, which is seen as a threat from the “radical left”. I’m a literacy teacher, and defender of its importance for individuals and society, but I’m in awe of the many innovative, creative and talented people, including successful entrepreneurs, who dropped out of school early or experience dyslexia.
In teaching some Barriers to Creativity:Uniformity of knowledge, Repetitive teaching,Traditional process of teaching and learning,Lack of creativity and innovation during classes.
Our education system and broader society aren’t really set up to support creativity. Even the term ‘creative genius’ tends to imply that it is either gift – something you either have or don’t – rather than something that can be developed and worked at. Eg. artists, inventors, musicians, innovators. Usually, I think this is taken to mean that it is something that other people have (and is to be admired) – but ‘not me’. I was not surprised by the concept that 3 years olds score far higher on measures of creativity than adults. We as a society essential socialise it out of people. Conformity is still valued and rewarded more than difference.
But not in the Creative Arts courses Andrew. We value and reward originality and creativity. Our NSW curriculum must incorporate and value creativity in the syllabi of all KLA’s not just Creative Arts and other practical courses. This will turn the tide.
Very valid points raised. I agree, it’s implied that you are either creative or you’re not.
I think that we try to foster originality and creativity in students where we can- creativity manifests itself in different ways across the various subject areas. I agree with the view that there is a lot of content to ‘get through’ in most courses and a limited time frame to do so.
Agree Mat. Such a divide between wanting to encourage creativity and the limits of a syllabus and time.
Agreed.
The system we are in
It’s broader than the education system I think. I liked the quote that “schools are a reflection of what society has valued”. This is even true in professional sports. Creative players are highly valued and sought after – yet the system of overcoaching and result driven measures of success basically “trains it out of people” in a systematic way. eg. be creative – but don’t make a mistake that might cost us…
At time that is correct.
When the system doesn’t promote creativity as a highly valued attribute teachers and students find it difficult as well. Ingrained practices across the ‘rigorous’ areas rarely promote it and many do not see the value in stepping outside their comfort zones.
might not be stpping outside the comfort zone but more to do with the realities of the system we are in…?
I think the system actually does a pretty good job of acknowledging excellence in creativity but probably not so much the attempts. Without financial reward I don’t think creativity has much chance of grabbing a generation who are driven by extrinsic reward.
The constraints of content and what we need to teach stifles our ability to encourage creativity. something to think about as we look at changing what we are doing in schools.
I find it such a contradiction to battle with that we (our system) says we want to develop creative and critical thinkers and life long learners, however, we still teach ‘to a test’. eg. the HSC. It is definitely one of my moral dilemmas as a teacher.
We are fortunate in the Creative Arts courses to have very broad syllabus content. I really feel for teachers who must cover huge amounts of mandatory content within the hectic school schedule.
I think the syllabus id too dense and there is too much assessment. More time should be allowed to teach in a context, i.e. select a local real-life situation and apply student learning to an assignment or project with plenty of scope to be creative.
Tony it can depend on your teaching area. I am an arts teacher and even there, where we are quite free to roam, many teachers are still stuck in the assessment merry-go-round.
the end product needs to change
Yes some of our units/courses are bit like that and above all the assessments.
I agree, there’s too much focus on content.
I think we are realizing this now and things will be changing soon to adapt. But, at the moment, it is not catching up.
The biggest barrier is time and the lack there of. Teachers are under pressure to keep up with the areas of learning that are valued and deemed important and often don’t have the time.
Another barrier is the lack of effort- I think sometimes our control and expectations as teachers, over assignments or activities can get in the way of our students imagination and creativity
I agree Alyssa, I think the syllabus is too dense. I also think that syllabus is being brought forward into earlier years. We need to get back to a simpler curriculum where basis skills can be scaffolded over a progression of years.
I agree that teachers are sometimes having to focus so much on ticking all the syllabus boxes that it gets in the way of students imagination and creativity.
Unfortunately Rebecca, our own shortcomings are often the thing that gets in the way.
Totally agree with Rebecca’s opinion.
I feel like one of the reasons we as teachers don’t seem to value imagination so much is the prevalence of standardised testing… It’s very hard to teach children how to be imaginative, especially with so much pressure to reach targets in NAPLAN under the strain of an already crowded curriculum. I know that these skills should go hand in hand… but I wonder if we drop the ball a bit as a result of this pressure… Such a sad outcome!
I often question the over-testing of kids Julia. I see the benefit of a national test for comparing achievement around the country, but perhaps that could be part of the school testing regime.
Conservatism. The belief that what has been done before is what needs to be done again. This should not be mistaken for thinking nothing good comes from the past but more to understand that change is ever present and we best adapt to that change through creativity .
The way some school systems place higher order (left) thinking subject above or regarded as being more important than creative subjects.
Exactly!
I remember being in high school and funding was cut and the first things to go were the creative subjects!
The biggest barriers to fostering originality and creativity in students is a lack of time in a busy world with ever increasing pressures. We have so much content to cover that it is difficulty to provide students with the time to ponder a task, be bored or be creative.
I agree!
Maybe we need to think about it more creatively- We need to look at how we can make time and space for creativity across all learning areas and look at how to incorporate it more- easier said than done I know!
You need time to foster and use your imagination, problem solve, apply learning to the real world and encourage critical thinking.
The biggest barrier is willingness to try and wanting to be spoon fed.
I agree and also the aversion to boredom.
Where does imagination go after children begin school? Is it the need for conformity, the small group activities led by parents, the race to be the best reader? The never-ending list of outcome boxes to tick?
I agree with all of those points Robyn and also think it is a lack of time in a busy world to allow children to ponder a task before they start.
Time and the crowded curriculum at school with too much to try to complete. Not enough opportunities for undirected creative activities in class. Students need time play and discover in some unstructured situations. Too many activities for children after school because parents feel they have to offer so much to keep their children busy. Busy-ness does not foster originality or creativity it just fills in time.
It will be interesting to see students returning from covid19 lockdown, whether they will be less or more distracted. Will it have a positive affect, and kids will have a greater attention span? Or will it be negative because they will crave their devices that they got to have at home?
An interesting comment Sarah. I don’t know that kids will have a greater attention span or whether they will just be glad to be back at school with their friends. Maybe they will have realized that face-to-face contact is a whole lot better than using skype, face time or Zoom? Mmm Maybe I am being too optimistic 🙂
My son has recently returned to some face to face at his school – he is overjoyed to interact with students and staff. I was worried about the amount of learning via tech he had done, but it seems to have had a positive effect.
I’ve noticed among my friends who are “homeschooling” their kids at the moment – they’re having difficulty keeping their child busy… I’ve suggested that they let them be bored. Like, keep them safe, but let them be bored. I think it might be that some parents are reluctant because bored kids can be annoying kids!
I have already noticed from comments of others that isolation from Covid19 has allowed imaginations to flourish. Students are being creative with their time at home, as learning is mostly online, an escape from the computer is made and we see a return to old school playing/making, like playing card games, knitting or doing jigsaw puzzles!
I think the biggest barrier is the lack of basic skills in a larger number of students. They need these skills to enable creativity with expression of their thoughts and actions.
Yep for sure. And I think that the pressure to teach these skills then overtakes the desire to foster their creativity and imagination. Like, we worry so much that the kids won’t be able to read (which is a very fair concern) that we then don’t have time for creativity..?
Fear of failure and a lack of peer approval.
The inability to try, make mistakes, mess it up and rethink, because it doesn’t fit the social media way of getting acknowledgement.
i think that part of this is the having to start again from the beginning and rethinking. In games now, they just ‘re-spawn’ from where their last save point is…they don’t have to go back to the start and try again.
I have always believed that creativity and imagination are essential for learning and for living an enjoyable life. It is those skills that enable optimism, for without an imagination, how can one possibly perceive your situation improving or how can one solve a problem.
It depends on what you perceive is ‘creative’. I think your creativity is allowed to blossom once you have the basic thinking and skills to allow you to express yourself creatively.
Agreed Diana , creativity can take many forms. Its important not to ‘pigeon hole’ people and , as with thinking, teach students the skills necessary to find their creative self