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A Call for Creativity in the Classroom
Tammi Simpson
“Budget Cuts Are Giving School Boards an Excuse to Cut Art Programs Across the
Country” (2007 issue of Sports Writer, Inc.). “City Schools Are Seeing Arts Programs Being
Erased Amid Budget Cuts” (2009 issue of NY Daily News). These are just two of the many
headlines that point to creativity being placed on the bottom of the educational list of
priorities. The true effects of these decisions will only be felt over time and the end results are
difficult to prove early on. However, with strong examples of how creative thinking has
stimulated many of the most successful minds of our time, we should take very seriously as
educators the ideas and examples of Robert and Michele Root-Bernstein’s book, Sparks of
Genius. This is critical in all subjects, including Language Arts, which is the focus and reason for
this argument. Stacia Garland, a teacher of 16 years, has regularly tested her students’
creativity with the Torrance Test of Creativity, which was developed by psychologist Ellis Paul
Torrance in 1966. Garland concluded in her 2010 article “How to Test for Creativity in Children”,
that “it seems a child begins to lose ‘childlike creativity’ around the age of five, when they
encounter the structure of school and the rigors of society. Most children are not exposed to
experiences that foster creativity as part of the typical school curriculum, unless they have a
teacher who promotes creative thinking.”
The question becomes “How can teachers promote creative thinking?” According to
Sparks of Genius, several skills must be taught and encouraged if, as educators, we are to begin
to see positive results among our students. First, educators must develop “whole”
understanding by integrating both sciences and arts. “Whole” learning (or understanding)
comes from the idea that students not only comprehend the topic intellectually, but that they
appreciate it emotionally. Liz Lerman, a famous dance choreographer, found a unique and
effective way to combine physics with dance, and with the proper “tools” this can be done in
any Language Arts classroom as well [see Fig. 1-2].
Fig. 1. Liz Lerman’s infusion of physics and dance.
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Figurative Language (begins as) A single word
A beautiful flower (begins as) A single seed
Fig. 2. An analogy is made that connects Language Arts to the sciences.
I was intrigued by Henri Poincare’s quote when he said “There is one thing that strikes
me, and that is, how far young people who have received a secondary education are from
applying the mechanical laws they have been taught to the real world . . . . For them the world
of science and that of reality are shut off in water-tight compartments” (Sparks of Genius, 17).
One of the ideas in Root-Bernstein’s book explores that artists’ creativity should come from
more than just their ability to see things in a way that others may not, but that it should come
from an ability to use all of their senses in conjunction with one another for true originality of
ideas to be displayed. A truly creative artist or writer longs to capture their audience through
more than just visual or auditory stimulation, they desire to create for them a genuine
emotional experience. It is within the Sciences that we start to lose this concept; the focus—at
least in the way many do education—is more in the head than in the heart. We teach students
to “think” like scientists or mathematicians, but we teach them to “feel” when it comes to the
arts. According to Poincare’s quote, we must combine both the real world with the rules and
laws of education in order for students to have a truly meaningful learning experience.
The key is to teach students skills that encourage them to care about the topic. Sparks of
Genius says it this way: “To think creatively is first to feel. The desire to understand must be
whipped together with sensual and emotional feelings and blended with intellect to yield
imaginative insight” (Sparks of Genius, 5-6). It is this ability to feel that leads to understanding.
By not mixing the arts with the sciences, students leave school only knowing how to use part of
their brain. Teaching students facts and figures is only part of our job as teachers; blending facts
and figures with emotion is the critical part where teachers begin to see the progress of the
student’s understanding; it is also the part where students begin to create new ideas of their
own. In the traditional Language Arts classroom, students will learn that irony is the
inconsistency between what was expected to happen based on the norm and what actually
happened. In the creative Language Arts classroom, students will be shown what irony looks
like, sounds like, or feels like [see Fig. 3-4]. Sparks of Genius calls this skill “observing” or
“imaging”; in other words, when students are able to perceive the topic in multiple ways, a
deeper sense of learning takes root and true understanding leads to a more meaningful,
emotional learning experience.
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Fig. 3. This well-known picture depicting the final scene of Romeo and Juliet is a prime example
of what irony looks like in its dramatic form. The outcome the audience hoped for (their
“happy-ever-after” ending) ends up in the unexpected result of both of their deaths. Fig. 4. This
picture of an empty room, void of life with no trace of what used to be, is a prime example of
how irony can make us feel. It can leave us feeling undone from the moment it begins and many
times it takes with it everything that precedes it leaving a feeling of emptiness.
Observing and imaging are only two of the tools discussed in Sparks of Genius that will
help students begin to make emotional connections to topics, and this book teaches from the
beginning that “… tools for thinking are exactly what we have called them: tools. They are just
like whisks, knives, graters, spatulas, mixers and blenders—equipment available to anyone.
With practice and determination anyone can learn to use them with some degree of skill”
(Sparks of Genius, 28). Since it is rare for students to have an innate ability to display these tools
– or thinking skills – they must be communicated regularly by the teacher, experienced
routinely by the students, and reinforced repeatedly in the classroom. Part of teaching and
reinforcing these tools is for teachers to communicate a common language among the different
subjects; this will help students see how different disciplines are woven together to create a
whole learning experience.
As shown throughout the Sparks of Genius book, the tools given for creative thinking
actually build upon and supplement each other showing how they are all interrelated to form a
more complete assessment of any topic or idea. The common language of thinking skills, or
tools, demonstrated in Sparks of Genius is the meat of what students must learn in order for
creative thinking to begin, and the first step in promoting creativity is to encourage students to
observe. Sparks says it this way, “What we can observe, we can imagine; what we can imagine,
we image” (57). If students do not learn to first observe, they will fail to see patterns or make
analogies or effectively engage with any of the other tools introduced in Sparks of Genius.
Furthermore, while imaging helps students re-envision the common into something unique,
another tool, patterning, helps them see how even the unique, complex things are ultimately
formed by starting from that which is simple or common.
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The tool of abstracting follows some of the same guidelines as patterning, in that it
requires our ability to observe (with all our senses) to get to the core of our topic. Thus,
patterning works as an aid to identifying abstractions, for it is when we recognize the patterns
that we can begin to abstract – or single out – features of importance. Abstracting can thus be
defined as the ability to pull out hidden features, but even these hidden features can be new,
unclear or completely foreign to students; this is where analogizing fills in any gaps.
Analogizing is the tool that helps to make the unknown known; this is an important step in
bringing clarity to students.
Nevertheless, even these five tools are not enough to create a “whole” creative
experience for the students. Since, according to Sparks, mental thinking can only take us so far
in the imaginative, creative process, students must learn the skill of body thinking where they
can experience their topic in a fresh, new, creative way. Body thinking can even be taken a step
farther allowing for a richer creative approach when it is combined with empathizing. Where
imaging is our attempt to present others with a clearer picture of our own point of view,
empathizing puts us in the other person’s shoes, so to speak. Likewise, if there is no body
thinking taking place, students will lack the abilities to fully empathize and their perspectives
will remain limited [see Fig. 5].
Fig. 5. Allowing students to act out stories, plays, or poetry will give them a greater understanding of
meaning, and mental and emotional connections will begin to happen.
Up until now, however, the students’ creative thinking has been limited to a linear
plane; this is where dimensional thinking defined as “moving from 2-D to 3-D or vice versa;
mapping or transforming information provided in one set of dimensions to another set; scaling,
or altering the proportions of an object or process within one set of dimensions; and
conceptualizing dimensions beyond space and time as we know them” comes into play (Sparks
of Genius, 204). Linear thinking can many times be insufficient and can cause us to miss other
aspects and perspectives that are vital to our overall understanding. Thus, dimensional thinking
serves as a vehicle to enhance creativity by enabling teachers and students to better master the
whole of a given topic and, therefore, be more effective in another very important tool called
modeling.
Looking back over past skills, I would have to conclude that dimensional thinking is not
the only thinking skill that increases our ability to model effectively; it also requires keen
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observation skills and the ability to make abstractions by simplifying that which is complicated
or by finding within any given subject that which has yet to be discovered. Modeling, however,
presents a new perspective from body thinking and empathizing in that with the latter two
skills we are allowing the subject to actually possess us in such a way that we can get a feel for
how it works from an inner, intimate perspective. Modeling allows teachers and students to
possess the subject in a way that allows them to make changes, manipulate, and/or oversee its
possibilities. Similarly, all three – modeling, body thinking, and empathizing – produce a greater
understanding of the topic, and together, they can stimulate a fuller perspective.
Finally, for complete creativity to be accessed, students must be encouraged to play
with their ideas. This may sound foreign to teachers who feel like this type of activity
relinquishes classroom control; however, according to Sparks of Genius, play may begin without
responsibilities or rules, but it has the potential to end with results that are informative and
valuable. It is by playing with the topic that students actually begin to be creative with the other
thinking skills [see Fig.6]. Playing allows students to reach outside the limits of the norm –
finding abstractions that they may otherwise not have discovered, recognizing patterns and
even developing new ones, practicing body thinking and empathizing. Play also has an effect on
students’ abilities to make transformations from one area or skill to another.
Fig. 6. Here is a unique example of what students can create while playing with the idea of
personification. Notice how playing may have begun the creative process, but perception,
abstracting, and modeling have all played a part as well.
It is within this idea of making transformations that teachers are encouraged to make
connections from one subject area to the next. This is why teachers must work to remove the
boundaries between disciplines creating a trans-disciplinary approach to lessons in order to
promote multisensory thinking among students. Why let the mathematician always know when
the shift into Language Arts hits them, or why let the artist always know when Science is being
discussed? We do not have to tell students up front that they are doing math, or language, or
science. We could just give them interesting pieces and parts of it—enough to capture their
interest without turning a deaf ear. . . especially since we do not really know if the one who
appears to excel in science will go on to be a scientist or a famous artist.
Ultimately, within each classroom, teachers must accentuate the method of creativity
(by using the tools addressed above) rather than the product, and create an environment
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where there are a variety of examples given of individuals who have successfully mastered
creative thinking. Teachers must also provide a variety of ways for students to think about their
ideas without unnecessary restraints. Then, once students have been given the opportunity to
think creatively, teachers must offer them encouragement and opportunities to express their
ideas (even unusual ideas) by allowing them multiple opportunities (without passing judgment)
for creating inventions and developments of their own. Of course, none of the above can be
accomplished without the support of administrators and fellow teachers who understand the
importance of students being given the opportunity to learn “whole” ideas and who understand
how “whole” thinking can provide opportunities for students to become the successful
polymaths that we ultimately want them to be.
Garland, Stacia. How to Test for Creativity in Children: The Importance of Developing Creativity
in Children. 30 June 2010. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5536422/
how_to_test_for_creativity_in_children.html?cat=4.
Root-Bernstein, Robert and Michele. Sparks of Genius: The 13 Thinking Tools of the World’s
Most Creative People. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001.
Fig. 1. http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQTBV2ghF_tq0zR7pCqxw94
WhptTBOa8ZhYzAWSRdrc63caIAtI
Fig. 3. http://karenswhimsy.com/public-domain-images/romeo-and-juliet/images/romeo-andjuliet-7.jpg
Fig. 4. http://www.lostinpixels.hu/photos/0865_empty_but_not_alone.jpg
Fig. 5. http://dumais.us/newtown/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/One-Act-Play-3.jpg
Fig. 6. http://htmlimg2.scribdassets.com/9ds6las4xs1tixc/images/15-6f68256054/000.jpg