This document summarizes a conference on creativity and teaching creativity. It discusses several key points: that creativity is a skill that can be taught, not an innate quality; creativity involves taking risks and producing novel, high-quality work; and that the current education system does not adequately support creativity due to its focus on standardized testing and separation of cognition and emotion. Speakers advocated making time for play, imagination, and disembodied, collaborative learning to foster students' creativity.

1. Creativity:
Teaching
the
Teachers
Sydney
Ideas,
Seymour
Centre
and
Vivid
ideas
3rd
of
June
2014

2. * Stereotypes
about
creativity
are
false:
some
are
NOT
“born
with
it”,
there
is
no
“creative
genius”.
We
all
have
the
capacity
for
creativity
Robin
Ewing

3. Creativity
is
a
decision
Miranda
Jefferson

4. * Creativity
produces
a
“flow”
* Novel,
high
ability,
high
challenge
tasks
=
novel,
high
quality
product
-­‐
discover
and
connect
to
something
new
-­‐
defy
the
status
quo
* Being
a
scientist,
discoverer,
communicator,
builder
Miranda
Jefferson

5. * Creativity
Pedagogy
* The
4Cs
Foresee
the
Future
Miranda
Jefferson
Collaboration
Communication
Creativity
Critical
Thinking

6. Julie
Dunn
* Making
children
feel
=
forces
teacher
to
feel
* Imagination
&
emotion
work
in
unison
* Feeling
+
thought
=
imagination
à
creativity

7. Julie
Dunn
Imagination
Paralysis
Why?
The
school
system
Separation
of
cognition
&
emotion
Rules,
restrictions
&
constraints
How
do
we
fix
it?
Make
time
for
playfulness
Time
without
adult
constraints
Engage
with
literature,
words
Less
screen
time
Imagine
self
as
creative
teacher

8. Julie
Dunn
We
are
passive
consumers
of
imaginative
products,
but
we
don’t
do
anything
with
it
* We
are
this
* We
should
strive
for
more

9. * All
creativity
involves
risk
* If
you
DON’T
risk
are
you…
Boring?
Conservative?
Not
adaptable?
Successful?
Responsible?
* Creativity
is
high
stakes
Kelly
Freebdoy

10. * Creativity
is
deliberate,
a
skill
which
needs
to
be
taught
and
learned
* There
is
a
difference
between
a
new
idea
and
a
GOOD
new
idea
* Skill
is
an
emotional
liberator
=
not
teaching
the
skills
of
creativity
is
shallow
Kelly
Freebody

11. Creativity
IS
discipline
specific.
The
curriculum
needs
to
specifically
&
explicitly
articulate
what
creative
risk
looks
like
in
each
disciplinary
area
Kelly
Freebody

12. Disembodied
learning
“get
rid
of
every
desk
and
burn
every
photocopier”

13. “
I
never
knew
a
child
who
grew
taller
by
measuring
them
more
often”

14. When
a
single
crab
is
put
into
a
lidless
bucket,
they
surely
can
and
will
escape.
However,
when
more
than
one
share
a
bucket,
none
can
get
out.
If
one
crab
elevates
themself
above
all,
the
others
will
grab
this
crab
and
drag
them
back
down
to
share
the
mutual
fate
of
the
rest
of
the
group.
Crab
Bucket
Theory