greetings from dpi


Developing Students’ Creative Thinking Skills


Mel Pontious, State Fine Arts Consultant, Department of Public Instruction


Creativity is in- creasingly receiving national and inter- national attention. As this is written (November), an in- ternational confer- ence on creativity is scheduled in Okla- homa City, to which


several people from Wisconsin are invited. China, Korea and India are making major moves to enhance creativity in education and the business environment. And in Wisconsin the action plan of the Task Force on Arts and Creativity in Education (TFACE) is being piloted in six communi- ties around the state.


The action plan (www.creative.wisconsin. gov) outlines suggestions that four areas of a community can take to build a creative culture – government, the community itself, business and education. Among other action steps, educators are asked to use instructional/assessment strategies that “engage and develop all students’ natural affinity for creativity.” This gives rise to the question, what are those “instructional/ assessment strategies” that will help stu- dents realize their creative potential?


Student Centered Learning in the Arts An action research group of music and art teachers (Student Centered Learning


the competition HeRe is brutal.


every day, you have to be betteR than yourself.


Music Entrance Audition at Alverno College Friday, April 8, 2011


music Degrees offered:


Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy Bachelor of Arts in Music (Music-Related Businesses)


For more information on music degree programs, call 414-382-6130 or log on to alverno.edu.


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in the Arts – SCLA) decided to address this question. Three research questions frame their work.


• How can teachers lead students to develop creative thinking skills?


• How can teachers lead students to use creative skills metacognitively (i.e., develop conscious control of these skills for transfer to other subjects and life situations beyond school)?


• How can these findings be documented (so that their findings can be communicated to a wider audience)?


The group had previously developed an instructional/assessment model that actively involved students in problem- solving and formative self-assessment. They were aware of the influence on optimal learning of classroom climate, motivation, dispositions, habits of mind, higher order thinking and problem attack strategies. These optimal learning factors also promote creativity (see my article in the April 2010 issue). The group’s inves- tigation is still in process, but they have made some initial findings.


While the teacher-researchers had their own ways of addressing the questions, they generally followed a simple process of 1) providing a safe and supportive en- vironment; 2) helping students, through probing questions and introducing creative skills, rediscover the joys of imagining; and 3) modeling the dispositions, habits of mind and thinking skills involved in cre- ativity. An important note: Their research occurred in the context of the normal work of the classroom.


January 2011


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