are rarely the result of eureka moments. Rather, the creative process is often one marked by trial and error. We argue that the nature of art and science are more similar than one might suspect.
7. Tenacity: Creating something new means upsetting the prevailing order of things. The role of a revolutionary is rarely easy. We look realistically at the consequences and rewards of struggling to promote new ideas within a system that resists creativity and experimentation, and is intolerant of error. We also examine how the grit and perseverance that are an essential prelude to creativity benefit students.
You can find successful artists and innovators who directly violate each of our virtues at some point. There are famous artists who scorn collaboration and great innovators who seem to have stumbled into instant rewards. For example, Ludwig van Beethoven refused entreaties from well-meaning critics to “improve” the dissonant chords in his symphonies (Greenberg, 1996), and Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin was a fluke based not on collaboration, but on idiosyncratic and unplanned observation (Brown, 2004). These are exceptional cases, however, and do not undermine our essential principles. We must ensure these principles are encouraged in classrooms through individual lessons and the school culture. To do so, we provide some practical advice for educators and policymakers at every level.
About This Book
This is not a recipe book for the next great thing, nor do we claim to divulge secrets that the great geniuses of the world have been keeping from mere mortals. Our intent is to start a conversation about what creativity is, the forms it can take, and our understanding of its function. We believe that understanding and learning the utility of our seven virtues is important to anyone who cares about fostering creativity within themselves or throughout their organization. As such, we envision this text being used as a book study title for collaborative teams, whole schools, or entire districts that individual educators, administrators, and other stakeholders read and then discuss during in-service, collaborative team meetings, professional development time, or any other collaborative setting a school or district uses for stakeholders to communicate about and work toward common goals. Leaders may choose to ask participants to read the book in its entirety before discussion or discuss predetermined chapters over the course of multiple meetings, as is practical with regard to their group’s meeting time and schedule. We have provided reflection questions at the end of each chapter to facilitate those discussions. Additionally, we have included a number of specific examples in mathematics, art, music, theater, social studies, language arts, and other disciplines. However, in doing so, we risk two errors. First, if we make the examples too simplistic, we will alienate our readers who are subject-matter experts. Second, if we make the examples too complex, we will alienate our readers who are unfamiliar with that particular discipline. So, we have deliberately chosen to make the second error, hoping that readers who don’t find a particular example to their liking will quickly skim ahead and find an example that engages both their intellect and their academic preferences.
While this book is conducive to group study and discussion, individual readers will also benefit greatly from engaging with the content and reflection questions on their own. Readers who are interested in creativity may not be those most likely to take a linear approach to this or any book. Some readers will start with the “References and Resources” section to identify the intellectual underpinnings of the authors’ arguments; others will skim the chapter titles for those that most resonate; others just want to get to the point. To help you navigate, we provide a brief summary of the book’s structure.
Chapter 1 explores the common misconceptions about creativity and the illusions our culture seems to embrace regarding creativity. We argue the ways in which many of these concepts are, in fact, more myth than reality. Chapters 2 through 8 each focus on one of the seven virtues of creativity. We illustrate how each is important to creativity and provide insights for inspiring and cultivating creative habits. Once you and your team have reflected on each of the facets that contribute to creativity and considered the suggested classroom applications, you’ll no doubt be wondering how such practices can be assessed. We recognize the term creativity assessment may seem like an oxymoron. How can such a subjective concept be objectively evaluated? In appendix A, we provide evidence from our own research as well as a metarubric practitioners can use to support creativity assessment, evaluate their existing assessments, and identify areas in which those assessments can be adjusted to better support creativity in classrooms. Appendix B offers a few helpful tips for leaders as they guide teams in their work toward creative virtues.
Preconceptions of Creativity
Please take a few moments to consider your own preconceptions about creativity by identifying whether you agree or disagree with the statements in figure I.1 (page 8). Whether you already consider yourself a creative type or the last time you flexed those muscles was in creating an art project out of macaroni at summer camp, we know this is true: every reader approaches the subject of creativity with certain assumptions. We hope that your candid responses to these statements will help you identify and confront many of those assumptions.
However certain you may be of your agreement or disagreement with these statements, we believe you’ll be surprised by how the growing body of evidence about creativity will challenge your preconceptions.
Figure I.1: Creativity assumptions.
Visit go.SolutionTree.com/21stcenturyskills for a free reproducible version of this figure.
CREATIVITY REFLECTIONS
1. With a partner or in a small group, discuss your responses to the statements in figure I.1. Note the statements for which there is no consensus, and discuss your reasoning behind your responses.
2. Start a personal creativity journal. Take notes in whatever format is useful for you—handwritten journal or typed notes—but keep in mind evidence suggests that the most effective notes are the ones taken by hand (McGloin, 2015). You might also consider using a mind map (Buzan & Buzan, 2002) in which you begin with a central idea and then use images, arrows, and words to express how each branch (or associated topic) of the mind map relates to the central idea and to other branches.
3. What parts of your personal and professional life would benefit from a higher level of creative thought and expression?
4. What important challenge that you face right now in your classroom or school have you been unable to address? Please don’t stop and search for a solution right now, but write the challenge in your creativity journal and let it percolate as you continue to read this book. It is important that you approach the chapters in this book with a specific challenge in mind that is in serious need of a creative solution.
CHAPTER 1
CREATIVITY MYTHS
We begin with our own working definition of creativity: the process of experimentation, evaluation, and follow-through that leads to a significant discovery, insight, or contribution. This definition is in stark contrast to many prevailing definitions of creativity that focus only on the final product of creative work and the original genius of the creator. Many of these
