Ane You Creative and

Imaginative?

By: Bernardits C, Ayunon, ph,D

At the end of this Modure, the rearner shoutld be abre to:

o define in his/trer own words creativity and imagination;
r discuss the varues of a creative and irnaginative thinking;
learn?

o
r
o
o
.
r

characterize

ffi6s1

know?

learner;

describe a oreative-centerod teachdr;

test hiVher imagination;
draw a picture that shows his/her creativity;
participa(e actively in the discussion; and

show respect to the unique work

differences.

ffi What

a creative

of

othe.s

by

accepting individual

The 2lst century needs essemtial skills of teaching and learning

for future success.
" However, to
students to spcceed
aod
U*rria
tJ
.lasooo*s,
they should be
-prepare
T
equipped with
the techniques and skills that
foster creative innovations. s*a"*J'i"i"tr,
creative minds have better chance to cope with and
succeed in an ever changing
world.
what is creativity? People define creativity in many ways
which is a reflection of
their experiences and expertise. Bernadette nurry (2004)
ceRnes .r"r-ti.r*ry, * ,

r
r
c
.

ability to see things in frcsh ways:

learniqg frorn past experiences and relating this learning
to new situations;

thinking along unorthodox lines and breaking barriers:

using non-traditional approaches to solving problerns;
going iirther than information given; and,
creating something unique.

According to the National Advisorv committee bn creative

and

cultural
Education, (NACCCE, 1999) creativity is an imaginative
activity fashioned so as to
produce outcomes rhat are both origin,al and
of ;;;-Th"* ;; fi"; kqy i#"prr,
. using ryq}ratign - To imagine is to crede a mentar i*rge pictgrq sound or
even a feeling in the mind. It is a thought
that establishes new idea
or image that was not there before. tt-ir ;;;;
tlra power that enables creative
people to offer novel perspectives to ordinary
situation.
o A fashioning process ' Sometimes problerns, solutions or novel ideas
may
oome unexpectedly or casually, but work must
be made of them to mrn
thoughts or ideas into creative aotion.
r Pursuing purposes - Creative
aims to produce tangiblq outcomes in
"$urry ;rs#;;
relarion to the purpose. Free thinking"*d
deverop chiidren's mentar
"
dexterity, bur the pursuit or purposes changei iar*
ioio-rJ*r,rr.
Being orisingl - Many people do not see themselves
as creativg because ttrey
compare their performance to those of the few
creative geniuses U"oogh*,

-"'"

history.

Pr
de

NACCCE distinguishes categories of originality

I
.
o

Historic - The Beetlrovens and Einsteins were urriqLrely creative in relation to

tlre other people in tlreir field. Einstein developed his relativity tlreory and
Beethoven introduced a choir into a symphonic work. Their ideas are
cornpletely new and original to rnankind.
Relative - Relative originality is displayed when one's work is original in
relation to ,that of a particrta, group or peer. Example: a student,s essay in
comparison to his classmates or age group because he took a different
approach and came up with sornething novel.
Judging value - It is important to evaluate creative ideas or outcomes against
the intended purposes si'nce some outcomes rnay be highly original but
inappropriate for the situation at hand. Judging the value oflreative oirt"o*.,
needs critical thinking.

Creativity and imagination may be lrard to define, bLrt tlrey are part of what
make teachers and students uniqLrely human beings. If teachers encourage creativity
and imagination, they support tlre advancement of tlreir learrrers to explore and
comprehend their world and tlrey see tlre corrnections and relationships. They can
create and recreate their view of the world which is uniqLrely their own. By
examining the learners' creative expressions, teachers can understand them better

because what they create

representation

s.

of

is wliat they consider vital

sometimes even

thernselves.

re

Duffy (2006\ said that creativity is about connecting the previously

unconnected

in ways that are new and meaningful to the individual: and imagination is

about

internalizing perceptions and ascribing objects and events with new meanings.

,f

Through creative and imaginative endeavors, the learners can:

communicate their feelings in non-verbal and pre-verbal ways. For example,
using gestures, movement, dance, song
express their thoughts - for example, by painting, drawing and writing
comprehend, respond and represent their perceptions and understanding of
the world - For example, by the roles they adopt in their imaginative play
experience beauty and lasting value - For example, painting, composed
songs and written literary pieces, photographs
express their cultural heritage and increase their understanding of other
cultures

solve problems and give mastery

gain self-esteem - For instance celebrating their identity.

)r
ra

Below is tlre foundation stage and the creative process by Cecil et.al

Personal, social and emotional

development

Children:
o Show curiosity and inter,est
o Have an exploratory impulse
o Have a positive approach
o Display involvement

r
o
o

Persist for extended periods

Take risks and explore
Are interested, excited and
motivated

Comntunication, Ianguage and

literacy
Children:
o Question why things happen,
and give explanations

o
o
o

Experiment and explore

Stick to, reflect and rnodifo

Give new meanings to ob.iects
and actions, treating them as
symbols
Rehdarse, reorder and reflect

(1.985)

Mathematical development

Children:
Show sustained interest
Show curiosity and

o
o
o
o
o

observation

Offer comments or

ask

questions

Spot errors and compare

Show awareness of

Personal, sacial and emotional

Contmunication, language and

development

literacy

o
o
o

Link significant events and

sequence how events lead into
one another
Make patterns in experience
through linking cause and effect
Organize and clariS, thinking
and ideas

M a t hemati

cal

dev elop m ent

similarities

o
o
o
o
o
o

Recognize orientation
Recognize patterns
Talk about same and diflerent
Initiate, choose and adapt
Offer solutions to problems .
Use own methods to solve a

Use developing ideas and

rnethods to solve practical

problem,

problems

Knowledge and understanding of

Physical development

Creative development

Children:

Childrenr
o Show an interest

the vtorld
Children:
Show curiosity and observe

o
o
o
r
o
o
o
o
o
c

Are interested
Examine objects to find out more
lnvestigate objects and materials

by using all of the senses

Find out about and try out

Observe features of objects/events

Look closely at sirnilarities,
differences, patterns and change
Ask questions about why things
happen and how things work

Adapt work
Begin to differentiate

o
o
o
o
o

Experiment with different ways

of moving

Initiate new combinations

Move with imagination
Observe

Explore materials

Effect changes to the materials

r
o

Explore and experirnent

Differentiate and make com-

o
o
o
o
o
.

Describe

-Represent and construct

Combine different media
Choose for a purpose

o
r

Use imagination
Explore and experience using

Respond

par i son

Work creatively and create

Pretend that one object
represents another

SCNSCS

to comments

and

questions. discuss creations

Teachers can not develop the creative abilities of tlreir students if they themselves
are not creative. Teaching for creativity can not be achieved withourt creative teaching.
Teaching creativity is inevitable in th.e 2lst century

How are creative teaching and learning related? Teaching creatively is defined as
'teacher imaginative approaches to make learrring more interesting and effective'while
teaching for creativity are 'forms of teaching'that are intended to develop young
people's own creative thinking or behavior. OACCCE, 1999).
The diagram below shows the componential model of creativity (Urban, 2000)

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teachers showed flexibility, accepted alternative suggestions, encouraged expressions of ideas and tolerated humor.
He described creativity - fostering teachers as those who:

In his research, Clark (1996) found out that creative

.
o
.
.
o
o
e
.

encourage students to learn independently

have a co-operative socially integrative style of teaching
do not neglect the mastery of factual krrowledge

promote self-evaluation
takes questions seriously
offer opporturrities to work with varied materials under different conditions
help students to cope with ffustrations and failures
reward courage as much as being riglit

Creativity is an indispensable. tool of the teacher to create an enjoyable,

produetive and fun-learning environment. It is an instrument for the learners to digest
and go beyond to what has been taught. Albert Einstein stated that imagination is more
important than knowledge. For knowledge is lirnited while irnagination embraces tlre
whole world.

Based on tlre matrix of tlre foundation stage and the creative process, formulate
an open-ended qLlestion to elicit possible answers. Give at least two answers.

What do
I need
remember?

Personal, social arrd

emotional development

Communication, Ianguage
and literacy

Mathematical development

Knowledge and
understanding of
tlre world

ysical development

ive development