Creative Teaching in Primary Science

Roger Cutting, Orla Kelly

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781473909441
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Elementary Education

Creative teaching has the potential to inspire deep learning, using inventive activities and stimulating contexts that can capture the imagination of children. This book enables you to adopt a creative approach to themethods and content ofyour primary science teaching practice and confidently develop as a science educator.

Key aspects of science teaching are discussed, including:

• planning for teaching and learning
• assessing primary science
• cross-curricular approaches
• the intelligent application of technology
• sustainability education
• outdoor learning

Coverage is supported by illustrative examples, encouraging you to look at your own teaching practice, your local community and environment, your own interests and those of your children to deepen your understanding of what constitutes good science teaching in primary schools.

This is essential reading for students on primary initial teacher education courses, on both university-based (BEd, BA with QTS, PGCE) and schools-based (School Direct, SCITT) routes into teaching. Dr Roger Cutting is an Associate Professor in Education at the Institute of Education at Plymouth University.
Orla Kelly is a Lecturer in Social, Environmental and Scientific Education in the Church of Ireland College of Education.

Part 1

Chapter 1 Introducing Creative Science

Chapter aims

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

• Define some aspects of creativity and what they might look like in the primary classroom
• Recognize a number of ways to promote creativity in the primary classroom

Opportunity In A Time Of Change

2013 saw the publication of the new National Curriculum for England including the individual programmes of study for science in Key Stages 1 to 3. The main characteristic of the new National Curriculum is its return to the original intention of it providing an outline framework:

The new national curriculum will set out only the essential knowledge that all children should acquire, and give schools and teachers more freedom to decide how to teach this most effectively and to design a wider school curriculum that best meets the needs of their pupils.(Department for Education (2013a))

Schools will now be expected to design their own additional curriculum and are allowed more flexibility in approaches to its delivery. Science remains a core subject at the primary levels of Key Stage 1 and 2 (although the Key Stages are now divided into years) and the content of the science programme of study has not been ‘slimmed down’ as have the non-core subjects.

The time line for the introduction is very short and the curriculum itself has had its share of criticism, however, its introduction does undoubtedly present schools and teachers with something of an opportunity. Indeed, that is in part its intention. We should not miss this chance. Innovative approaches and creative ideas will be key to developing a challenging, engaging and enjoyable learning experience for children and hopefully this book will provide some ideas and suggest some possibilities to you.

In 2014 an article appeared in the highly prestigious, peer-reviewed international science journal Natureon science education that called for social awareness to be recognized as a core scientific skill, for without this, science disengages itself from the world (Cech, 2014). If we are to genuinely engage children in science perhaps we too need to look beyond the traditional approaches to science teaching. To promote the idea that science does not stand alone, nor is it separate from people, but rather that it compliments and therefore enhances our understanding of all sorts of subjects and contemporary issues would be a good starting point.

Why We Wrote This Book

When we first sat down and discussed writing this book we had to think very carefully about who we were writing for. As you are reading this there’s a very good chance that you are either training to be a teacher (if so, good luck with it!) or, you may already be a qualified teacher with an interest in teaching science. If so, you’ve potentially picked up the right book. We say potentially for if you are either a trainee or an experienced teacher and you are looking for a book to provide you with well-designed, practical ideas, with A4 monochrome worksheets to photocopy which specifically address precise aspects of the National Curriculum, well, thanks for your interest, but we’d suggest you put this one back on the shelf and look for something else.

However, if you are interested in taking a journey that will go deeper into not only methods and creative ideas for teaching, but also into the nature of science and what it may, surprisingly perhaps, offer to teaching in primary settings, well then, this might be the book for you. Again, we say might, as we want this book to help you to think about science in creative and innovative ways. In some chapters we will explore different sorts of pedagogical approaches that perhaps are not readily associated with science teaching. We like to think of these as ‘creative approaches’ as they rely on aspects of the creative arts. We also want to look at some of the contributions that teaching science topics can make not only to the broader curriculum, but also perhaps, to the wider school community, particularly in relation to its potential for promoting social education. We feel that science topics can have much to offer here to the personal and social development of children and can provide an effective way of reinforcing and enhancing these aspects of the curriculum. We like to call this ‘science in creative contexts’.

Defining And Enabling Creativity

Before embarking on this journey into creative science, it is necessary to explore what creativity is and what conditions allow it to flourish in the primary classroom. There are three main conceptions of creativity:

1. Sectoral – classifies creativity as belonging to a particular sector, for example, the Arts (and not science).
2. Elite – identifies creativity as only evident in very rare people such as the great inventors, painters, architects, etc.
3. Democratic – recognizes the ability for creativity in all sectors and in all people.

In this book we propose a democratic conception of creativity. Democratic creativity was coined in the NACCCE Report (1999) to mean the creativity of the ordinary person, recognizing that all pupils can be creative. In this, creativity is defined by four main factors; using imagination, pursuing with purpose, being original and judging value. To be creative there needs to be a focus on both outcomes and process. Outcomes need to be original and appropriate. The latter is where judging value is important as are pursuing activities or tasks with a purpose. Originality interpreted as development of globally transformative products, processes, understanding or knowledge is not likely in the primary classroom. However, originality recognized as a child establishing new connections to old ideas or finding novel solutions to problems that are new to them is much more likely in primary classrooms. This fits with the model of ‘little c’ creativity reported by Schmidt (2010), which is concerned with construction of novel solutions to problems of limited relevance. ‘Big C’ creativity on the other hand is about the development of transformative performances or products and sits more in the ‘elite’ conception of creativity.

Creative Scotland (2013) defines creativity as the capacity to generate ideas that have value to the individual, to look at familiar things with a fresh eye, to examine problems with an open mind, make connections, learn from mistakes and use the imagination to explore new possibilities. Ultimately creativity is the ability to make the world anew, to shape the future and enrich the here and now. Education Scotland (2013) recognize that definitions of creativity have similar characteristics, these include; analysis and identification of problems and issues, the exploration of ideas and the processes by which these ideas are realized, implemented, evaluated and refined.

Creative processes and products therefore need both generative and analytical (or evaluative) thinking. Creative thinking is seen as the ability to move between the two. To be fixed in either generative thinking or evaluative thinking only will stifle creativity. Generative thinking, the process of generating and exploring new ideas, is certainly a key element of the creative process but without a reflective lens, the new ideas may not be appropriate or of value. Conversely, analytical thinking, the process of examining an idea and identifying strengths and weaknesses, will suppress any imaginative thought as each will be met with a critical judgment before they have a chance to develop. Therefore to harness and promote creativity, an environment that promotes generative and analytical thinking is essential and children should be encouraged to move between the two as they progress with their ideas.

The process of creativity requires particular learning conditions. Davies et al. (2013) carried out a systematic review of literature on creative environments for learning in schools. Their review identified several key characteristics of the environments and conditions that are most effective in promoting creative skills in children and young people. These included the physical environment, availability of resources/materials, use of the outdoor environment, pedagogical environment, use of environments beyond the school, play-based learning, effective and flexible use of time and relationships between teachers and learners including allowing children to work at their own pace without pressure (pp. 84–8). Howard-Jones (2008) stresses the importance of a relaxed and uncritical environment and working within an area of personal interest as crucial for generative thinking. Generative thinking is influenced also by intrinsic motivation. Fascination and curiosity are intrinsic motivators, therefore an environment that promotes questioning and interest will also support generative thinking. Curiosity is a key scientific attitude as is a willingness to change ideas in light of evidence. Therefore, science is, by its very nature, twinned with creative thinking. Furthermore, Murphy (2005) suggests that learning science enhances the development of creative thinking skills, such as fluency, flexibility, originality of ideas and imagination.

It is interesting that Torrance (1965), an eminent creativity researcher, put forward nearly 50 years ago the following definition of creativity,

As the process of becoming sensitive to problems, deficiencies, gaps in knowledge, missing elements, disharmonies, and so on; identifying the difficulty; searching for solutions, making guesses, or formulating hypotheses about the deficiencies; testing and retesting these hypotheses and possibly modifying and retesting them; and finally communicating the results. (pp. 663–4)

This definition, a scientific definition of creativity, met resistance, with objections that he had no right to use the term ‘creative’ outside such fields as art, music, and writing. He argued that his definition seemed to fit the creativity of both artists and writers as well as it did that of the creative scientist (Torrance, 1965, p. 665). Fortunately, things have moved on from then and the notion that science and creativity may not be mutually exclusive is certainly plausible but this shall be discussed in more detail Chapter 2.

In his highly regarded Technology, Education and Design (TED) talk (Robinson, 2006), Sir Ken Robinson made a robust case for creativity in formal education stating that it should have equal status with literacy. He argued that all children have tremendous talent and have an extraordinary capacity for innovation. However, he declared unequivocally that children are ‘being educated out of creativity’. To be creative, he asserted, you have to be prepared to be wrong, and that the current model of formal education leaves children frightened of being wrong. Unfortunately, this is particularly pertinent in science where there is often a perceived ‘right’ answer and this notion drives down creativity and divergent thinking. Scotland have rooted creativity firmly in their Curriculum for ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Publisher Note
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Illustration List
• Table List
• About The Authors
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Part 1
• Chapter 1 Introducing Creative Science
• Chapter 2 Misconceptions and Enabling Conceptual Change in Sciece
• Chapter 3 Pedagogical Approaches and The Teaching of Science
• Chapter 4 The Importance of Teacher Knowledge in Science
• Chapter 5 Planning and Assessing Creative Approaches in Science
• Chapter 6 Working Scientifically
• Chapter 7 Getting Creative with Technology in Science
• Part 2
• Chapter 8 Art and Design and Creative Science
• Chapter 9 Creative Science Through Drama and Storytelling
• Chapter 10 Sustainability and Primary Science
• Chapter 11 Teaching Science Outside The Classroom
• Chapter 12 The Science of Health and Wellbeing
• Chapter 13 Teaching Controversial Issues in Science
• Chapter 14 A Science of Equality
• Index