The unquestionable need to foster creativity in the school environment can (if unchecked by reflective practice) be hindered by the somewhat ‘outcome driven’ curriculum which dominates the current UK educational scene. Effective teachers undoubtedly mediate the potential danger of ‘shelving’ a broad-based curriculum in the drive to achieve even higher end of key stage levels in literacy and numeracy. Despite this, it is not difficult to see why it is possible to be drawn into a ‘coverage model’ of the curriculum which militates against effective learning.
Developing creativity does not, however, mean that educational anarchy need prevail. Creativity and the acquisition of knowledge are not mutually exclusive and, as the Robinson Report (2000) quite rightly indicates, it is not only advisable, but also eminently possible, to teach pupils techniques which enhance their own creativity. It is also possible to become more creative practitioners, thereby engendering a climate of creativity in our classrooms. The researcher, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996), referred to this as a ‘congenial environment’: one in which creativity is more than accepted – it is actively promoted!
If teachers are to ‘tap’ pupils’ creativity as fully as they might, then they need a toolkit of techniques. Although this kit needs to be sited within a broad understanding of the pedagogical need for the fostering of creativity, it would be unwise to ignore useful techniques. To draw a medical analogy: if a doctor knew that surgery was an essential and useful facet of medical practice but had no idea how to use a scalpel, we certainly would not be queueing up to go ‘under the knife’!
One aspect of everyday classroom practice, which benefits from consideration, is the art of questioning. At its worst (think ‘closed’ and ‘procedural’) it inhibits creativity, yet at its best it can foster creativity on a daily basis.
The following range of question types and strategies for questioning has been developed specifically as an aid for teachers wishing to enhance their questioning approach so that it becomes more ‘creativity-friendly’ (Cropley 2001).