“ Teaching creativity at ELT class ”

1. “Teaching creativity at ELT class” Presentation done by Olena Galas the English teacher school №1 of Talne

2. Objectives: to give pupils and teachers the concept of creativity, to explain the importance of it in teaching English, to make acquaintance with main strategies and tips for developing creativity in the frames of the study process; to stimulate learner’s interest in the subject; to motivate students to study English..

3. “One sure-fire to stay creative: force yourself to learn something new” Harvey Mackay

4. What is creativity? Creativity is often cited as one of the 21st century skills we need to be teaching students. Historically, creativity has been seen as a tortured and mystical process, the province of geniuses, artists and eccentrics. Now, creativity is recognised as a practical skill, one which can be taught and which everyone can achieve. It is a way of thinking in which we use our imagination to explore new possibilities.

5. The importance of creativity Pupilswhoareencouragedtothinkcreatively: • become more interested in discovering things for themselves • are more open to new ideas and challenges • are more able to solve problems • canworkwellwithothers • becomemoreeffectivelearners • have greater ownership over • their learning.

6. Three concepts required  for creative work Synthetic concept  is the ability to generate novel and interesting ideas. Analytic concept is typically considered to be critical thinking ability. A person with this skill analyzes and evaluates ideas. Practical concept  is the ability to translate theory into practice and abstract ideas into practical accomplishments.

7. Teaching strategies to support creative thinking • useimagination • generatequestions, ideasandoutcomes • experimentwithalternatives • beoriginal • expandon what • students know or say • exercise students • judgement

8. Tips for developing creativity 1. Model creativity 2. Build self-efficacy 3. Question assumptions 4. Define and redefine problems 5. Encourage idea generation 6. Cross-fertilize. 7. Allow time for creative thinking 8. Instruct and assess creatively 9. Reward creative ideas and products 10. Encourage sensible risks

9. Tips for developing creativity 11. Allow mistakes 12. Teach self-responsibility 13. Encourage creative collaboration 14. Find excitement 15. Seek stimulating environments 16. Play to strengths

10. Classroom activities encouraging creativity The ‘Connect’ game Creativity begins with generating ideas, speculating and creating new associations. As a warm-up or focusing activity play ‘Connect’. Ask a student to suggest a word. You say a word that is related to that word eg if the word is ‘football’ you might say ‘goal’. The next child then says a word connected with the previous word eg ‘goal’, ‘net’ and so on. Players take turns. They are allowed thinking time, but can be challenged by any other player to explain the connection between their word and the previous word.

11. Mystery objects This activity encourages children to develop ideas that are original and have a purpose, which is to improve or add value to something. It encourages children to ask themselves the creative question: ‘How can this be improved?’ Show a box that contains an unfamiliar or interesting ‘mystery object’ (or a picture of an object). Without showing or saying what it is, describe the object’s appearance (or ask a child to). Ask children to try to visualize what is described, to hypothesis what it might be and then ask questions to try to identify the object. The child who identifies the object must also describe it. Show the object and ask children to reflect on the description given and their ability to visualize it. Discuss what it was made for, and its possible uses. Ask for suggestions of how it might be improved. Encourage creative suggestions.

12. Questions for stimulating creative ideas about any topic, grouped under the mnemonic CREATE: • Children could select or be given one object to study with a partner • Combine : Can you add something else to it? Can you combine purposes, ideas? • Rearrange: Can parts of it be moved or changed? • Eliminate : What could you remove or replace – in part or whole? Can it be simplified? • Adapt: Can it be adapted? What else is this like? What ideas does it suggest? • Try another use: Can it be put to other uses – or given a new use if you changed one part? • Extend: What could be added - words, pictures, symbols, functions, decoration, logos?

13. Drawing games • Squiggles Play a drawing game such as ‘Squiggles’. Make a squiggle shape on the board (a squiggle is a small mark such as a curve or wavy line). Show how this can be added to make a complete drawing of something. Draw identical squiggles on two halves of the board and invite two children to make them starting points for their own quick drawings. Discuss the creative aspects of each drawing. Children work in pairs at the activity, then display pairs of drawings. Otherchildrenmustguesswhat eachcompleteddrawingshows.

14. What might the shape be? Draw a simple shape on the board and ask the children what it might possibly be. Collect their ideas and add some of your own. Ask what might be added to the shape to make it something else – what could we do to change or add to it? Invite children to sketch their own picture of something new by adding to the given shape. Discusstheirrangeofideas.

15. Circlestories 1. Give children a worksheet of circle shapes. Ask them to draw as many different things as they can by adding details to each circle eg face, sun, watch, cobweb etc. Give a strict time limit. 2. In pairs ask children to compare their collection of circle drawings. 3. Children choose and cut out six of their circle drawings. They think of as many connections as they can between each drawing eg ‘The face is smiling because the watch says it is lunchtime and at this time the spider is weaving a web …’ 4. The children individually, in pairs or small groups create a story incorporating in it as many of the subjects of their circle drawings as possible. 5. They draft these stories, adding details to make them as interesting as possible, using the circle drawings as illustrations. 6. The stories are presented and discussed.

16. CONCLUSION Adding the concept of creative teaching has benefits for teachers, for learners, as well as for schools. For learners, creative teaching helps learners develop their capacities for original ideas and for creative thinking. It also improves the quality of the experiences learners receive and can help learners develop increased levels of motivation and even self-esteem. For the teacher it provides a source of ongoing professional renewal and satisfaction .

17. References • Amabile, T. M. (1983). The social psychology of creativity. New York: Springer-Verlag. • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1988). Society, culture, and person: A systems view of creativity. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.),The Nature of Creativity. New York: Cambridge University Press. • Dewey, J. (1933). How we think: A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process.Boston: Heath. • Fisher R. (2005) (2nd ed.) Teaching Children to Learn, Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes. • Frensch, P.A., & Sternberg, R. J. (1989). Expertise and intelligent thinking: When is it worse to know better? In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Advances in the psychology of human intelligence. Vol. 5. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. • Gardner, H. (1993). Creating minds. New York: Basic Books. • Gruber, H. E. (1986). The self-construction of the extraordinary. In R. J. Sternberg & J. E. Davidson (Eds.),Conceptions of giftedness. New York: Cambridge University Press. • Schank, R. C. (1988). The Creative Attitude: Learning to Ask and Answer the Right Questions. New York: Macmillan. • Sternberg, R. J. (1997). Successful intelligence. New York: Plume. • Sternberg, R. J. (in press). A propulsion model of types of creative contributions. Review of General Psychology. • Sternberg, R. J., & Lubart, T. I. (1995). Defying the crowd: Cultivating creativity in a culture of conformity. New York: Free Press.

18. Thank you for your attention