Creativity is defined as the creation of new things that cannot be produced by algorithmic tools. These new things should be useful but original, valuable, appropriate, meaningful, pleasing, etc., and should be based on heuristic tasks. (Sternberg, 1988)
In the past, creative people such as Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and others, have argued that creativity could only be achieved when they worked alone (Amabile, et al., 1990). This raised the question about whether creativity could be generated in the classroom, where students work with others.
Regarding the “drive theory of social facilitation”, general arousal is often created when there is a presence of others. This arousal, thereafter, increases the likelihood of dominant responses and reduces that of the subordinate responses. If the dominant responses suit the tasks, then the performance of those exposed to it will be improved. Alternatively , it could be reduced (Zajonc, 1965). In other words, the performance of participants is not fixed in all cases when others may be present as unexpected judges. Instead, it depends on how people respond to the presence of these evaluators. Therefore, in the class, in order to improve the performance of those present towards generating creativity, teachers should develop a learning environment wherein students can respond appropriately in the presence of others.
In order to do so, the teachers should take the following suggestions into account.
Firstly, because creativity can be negatively influenced by social factors as mentioned by Amabile, et al. (1990), creative tasks should be performed by small groups of students. Within a small group, students are not likely to face any significant pressure of being judged by others. Consequently, they can concentrate better on tasks.
Secondly, where possible, divided groups should be assigned working areas which are separate from each other. In this scenario, the performance of group members will not be affected by noise from the other groups.
Thirdly, teachers could state that one of the rules is that no one is allowed to judge anyone else during their tasks. Individuals and groups should respect others’ working area and performance. This rule will help students to feel that no evaluation is taking place and they can respond correctly to their tasks (Amabile, et al., 1990).
Fourthly, teachers should teach their students how to use creative thinking tools that can assist them to think creatively and to perform creative tasks effectively. For example, brainstorming, mind-mapping, six thinking hats, etc. When students have creative thinking tools, they may find it easier to collaborate with others and are able to brainstorm together to generate creative ideas (Kruse, 2011).
Fifthly, creativity generation in classrooms plays a critical role for both teachers and students. Since teachers are facilitators and trainers of the training process, they need to create an environment where students value creativity and attempt to create creative ideas as much as possible. When this culture is established, negative social effects on creativity will be eliminated as students are familiar with working together to perform heuristic tasks (Warner & Myers, 2009).
Sixthly, according to Amabile (1983), creativity is a function of three factors – domain-relevant skills, creative-relevant skills, and the intrinsic motivation of tasks. Therefore, to ensure a high level of creativity in classrooms, all of the three mentioned components should be ensured. For example, through lessons, teachers can help students to develop domain-relevant and creativity-relevant skills. The intrinsic motivation of tasks can be developed for students through the creation of a classroom culture, where students value creativity, desire achieving high outcomes and exceed their current capabilities and abilities.
Seventhly, besides organizing working groups, individual assignments should be provided to enable individuals to perform their own creative tasks at home. These types of tasks will allow students to be able to concentrate entirely on their tasks without any disturbances from others, or evaluators (Amabile, et al., 1990).
It is not difficult to promote creativity in classrooms. When teachers love their job, understand the enablers and challenges of generating of creativity, and have a strong desire to help students to deliver creative performances, they will find the right combination of contributing factors that encourage and stimulate their students to be as creative as possible.
References
Amabile, T., Goldfarb, P., & Brackfleld, S. (1990). Social influences on creativity: Evaluation, coaction, and surveillance. Creativity research journal, 3(1), pp. 6-21.
Kruse, D. (2011). Thinking Tools for the Inquiry Classroom (ebook). s.l.:Curriculum Press.
Sternberg, R., ed. (1988). The nature of creativity: Contemporary psychological perspectives. CUP Archive.
Warner, S., & Myers, K. (2009). The creative classroom: The role of space and place toward facilitating creativity. Technology and Engineering Teacher, 69(4), p. 28.
Zajonc, R. (1965). Social facilitation. Science, 149(3681), pp. 269-274.