Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T21:15:29.511Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

19 - Teaching for Creativity

from PART II - VOICES FROM THE RESEARCH

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2016

By
Robert J. Sternberg
Edited by
Ronald A. Beghetto  and
James C. Kaufman
Robert J. Sternberg
Affiliation:
Cornell University
Ronald A. Beghetto
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut
James C. Kaufman
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut
Get access

Summary

What Is Creativity?

Creativity is a habit (Sternberg, 2006; Tharp, 2005). Habits can be good or bad. My four-year-old daughter Brittany sucks her thumb: That's a bad habit. Creativity, however, is a good habit. The problem is that schools sometimes treat it as a bad habit (Craft, 2005), of the order of sucking one's thumb. And the world of conventional standardized tests we have invented does just that (Sternberg, 1997b; 2010a; Sternberg, Jarvin, & Grigorenko, 2011). If students try being creative on standardized tests, they will get slapped down just as soon as they get their score. That will teach them not to do it again.

Oddly enough, a distinguished psychometric tester, J. P. Guilford, was one of the first to try to incorporate creativity into the school curriculum (Guilford, 1950), but his efforts show little fruit today, although more and more educators recognize the importance of teaching for creativity (Plucker & Beghetto, 2015; Reis & Renzulli, 2014). Disciples of Guilford such as MacKinnon (1962) and Torrance (1962) had little more success, although again, there are signs that their efforts may yet bear fruit.

It may sound paradoxical that creativity – a novel response – is a habit – a routine response. But creative people are creative largely not as a result of any particular inborn trait, but rather through an attitude toward life (Maslow, 1967; Schank, 1988): They habitually respond to problems in fresh and novel ways, rather than allowing themselves to respond mindlessly and automatically (Sternberg, 2010c; 2013b; Sternberg & Lubart, 1992, 1995a, 1995b, 1995c).

Like any habit, creativity can either be encouraged or discouraged. The main things that promote the habit are (1) opportunities to engage in it, (2) encouragement when people avail themselves of these opportunities, and (3) rewards when people respond to such encouragement and think and behave creatively. You need all three. Take away the opportunities, encouragement, or rewards, and you will take away the creativity. In this respect, creativity is no different from any other habit, good or bad.

Type
Chapter
Information
Nurturing Creativity in the Classroom , pp. 355 - 380
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2016

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adelson, B. (1984). When novices surpass experts: The difficulty of a task may increase with expertise. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 10(3), 483–495.Google Scholar
Albert, R. S., & Runco, M. A. (1999). A history of research on creativity. In Sternberg, R. J. (Ed.), Handbook of creativity (pp. 16–31). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Amabile, T. M. (1996). Creativity in context. Boulder, CO: Westview.
Amabile, T. M. (1999). How to kill creativity. In Harvard business review on breakthrough thinking (pp. 1–28). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Ambrose, D., Sternberg, R. J., & Sriraman, B. (Eds.). (2012a). Confronting dogmatism in gifted education. New York: Taylor & Francis.
Ambrose, D., Sternberg, R. J., & Sriraman, B. (2012b). Considering the effects of dogmatism on giftedness and talent development. In Ambrose, D., Sternberg, R. J., & Sriraman, B. (Eds.), Confronting dogmatism in gifted education (pp. 1–11). New York: Taylor & Francis.
Baer, J., & Kaufman, J. C. (2006). Creativity research in English-speaking countries. In Kaufman, J. C. & Sternberg, R. J. (Eds.), The international handbook of creativity (pp. 10–38). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Barron, F. (1969). Creative person and creative process. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Barron, F. (1988). Putting creativity to work. In Sternberg, R. J. (Ed.), The nature of creativity (pp. 76–98). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Cosner, L. (2015). How does the Bible teach 6000 years? http://creation.com/6000-years.
Craft, A. (2005). Creativity in schools: Tensions and dilemmas. London: Routledge.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1988). Society, culture, and person: A systems view of creativity. In Sternberg, R. J. (Ed.), The nature of creativity (pp. 325–339). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). The domain of creativity. In Runco, M. A. & Albert, R. S. (Eds.), Theories of creativity (pp. 190–212). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1999). Implications of a systems perspective for the study of creativity. In Sternberg, R. J. (Ed.), Handbook of creativity (pp. 313–335). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2013). Creativity: The psychology of discovery and invention. New York: HarperCollins.
Frensch, P. A., & Sternberg, R. J. (1989). Expertise and intelligent thinking: When is it worse to know better? In Sternberg, R. J. (Ed.), Advances in the psychology of human intelligence (Vol. 5, pp. 157–188). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Garcia, J. (1981). Tilting at the paper mills of academe. American Psychologist, 36(2), 149–158.Google Scholar
Garcia, J., & Koelling, R. A. (1966). The relation of cue to consequence in avoidance learning. Psychonomic Science, 4, 123–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic.
Gardner, H. (1991). The unschooled mind. New York: Basic Books.
Gardner, H. (2006). Multiple intelligences: New horizons. New York: Perseus.
Gardner, H. (2011a). Creating minds. New York: Basic Books.
Gardner, H. (2011b). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic.
Guilford, J. P. (1950). Creativity. American Psychologist, 5, 444–454.Google Scholar
Hennessey, B. A. (2015). If I were Secretary of Education: A focus on intrinsic motivation and creativity in the classroom. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 9(2), 187–192.Google Scholar
Johnson-Laird, P. N. (1988). Freedom and constraint in creativity. In Sternberg, R. J. (Ed.), The nature of creativity (pp. 202–219). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Kaufman, J. C. (2001a). Genius, lunatics, and poets: Mental illness in prize-winning authors. Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, 20(4), 305–314.Google Scholar
Kaufman, J. C. (2001b). The Sylvia Plath effect: Mental illness in eminent creative writers. Journal of Creative Behavior, 35(1), 37–50.Google Scholar
Kaufman, J. C. (2009). Creativity 101. New York: Springer.
Kaufman, J. C., & Beghetto, R. A. (2009). Beyond big and little: The Four C model of creativity. Review of General Psychology, 13, 1–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kogan, N. (1973). Creativity and cognitive style: A life-span perspective. In Baltes, P. B. & Schaie, K. W. (Eds.), Life-span developmental psychology: Personality and socialization (pp. 145–178). New York: Academic Press.
Lubart, T. I., & Sternberg, R. J. (1995). An investment approach to creativity: Theory and data. In Smith, S. M., Ward, T. B., & Finke, R. A. (Eds.), The creative cognition approach (pp. 269–302). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Maslow, A. (1967). The creative attitude. In Mooney, R. L. & Rasik, T. A. (Eds.), Explorations in creativity (pp. 43–57). New York: Harper & Row.
MacKinnon, D. W. (1962). The nature and nurture of creative talent. American Psychologist, 17, 484–495.Google Scholar
Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., & Rodriguez, M. L. (1989). Delay of gratification in children. Science, 244, 933–938.Google Scholar
Pang, W. (2015). Promoting creativity in the classroom: A generative view. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 9(2), 122–127.Google Scholar
Plucker, J. A., & Beghetto, R. A. (2015). Editorial: Introduction to the special issue. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 9(2), 113–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plucker, J. A., Kaufman, J. C., & Beghetto, R. A. (2015). What we know about creativity. Washington, DC: Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
Reis, S., & Renzulli, J. S. (2014). The schoolwide enrichment model (3rd ed.). Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.
Renzulli, J. S. (1986). The three-ring conception of giftedness: A developmental model for creative productivity. In Sternberg, R. J. & Davidson, J. E. (Eds.), Conceptions of giftedness (pp. 53–92). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Schank, R. C. (1988). The creative attitude. New York: Macmillan.
Simonton, D. K. (1976). Biographical determinants of achieved eminence: A multivariate approach to the Cox data. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 33, 218–226.Google Scholar
Simonton, D. K. (1984). Genius, creativity, and leadership. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Simonton, D. K. (1988a). Age and outstanding achievement: What do we know after a century of research? Psychological Bulletin, 104, 251–267.Google Scholar
Simonton, D. K. (1988b). Scientific genius. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Simonton, D. K. (1994). Greatness: Who makes history and why? New York: Guilford.
Sternberg, R. J. (1994). Allowing for thinking styles. Educational Leadership, 52(3), 36–40.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (1997a). The concept of intelligence and its role in lifelong learning and success. American Psychologist, 52, 1030–1037.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (1997b). Successful intelligence. New York: Plume.
Sternberg, R. J. (1997c). Thinking styles. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sternberg, R. J. (Ed.). (1999) Handbook of creativity. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sternberg, R. J. (2000). Creativity is a decision. In Costa, A. L. (Ed.), Teaching for intelligence II (pp. 85–106). Arlington Heights, IL: Skylight Training and Publishing Inc.
Sternberg, R. J. (2003a). Creative thinking in the classroom. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 47(3), 326–338.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (2003b). Teaching for successful intelligence: Principles, practices, and outcomes. Educational and Child Psychology, 20(2), 6–18.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (2004). Good intentions, bad results: A dozen reasons why the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act is failing our nation's schools. Education Week, 24(9), 42, 56.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (2006). Creativity is a habit. Education Week, 25(24), 47–64.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (2010a). College admissions for the 21st century. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Sternberg, R. J. (2010b). The dark side of creativity and how to combat it. In Cropley, D. H., Cropley, A. J., Kaufman, J. C., & Runco, M. A. (Eds.), The dark side of creativity (pp. 316–328). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sternberg, R. J. (2010c). Teach creativity, not memorization. Chronicle of Higher Education, 57(8), A29.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (2012). The assessment of creativity: An investment-based approach. Creativity Research Journal, 24(1), 3–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (2013a). Creativity, ethics, and society. International Journal on Creativity and Talent Development, 1(1), 15–24.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (2013b). Viewing creativity as a decision: A vehicle for success in life. Inspire: The Gifted Magazine for Educators, 9, 4–9.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (2015). Teaching for creativity: The sounds of silence. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 9(2), 115–117.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J., & Grigorenko, E. L. (2004). Successful intelligence in the classroom. Theory into Practice, 43(4), 274–280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sternberg, R. J., & Grigorenko, E. L. (2007). Teaching for successful intelligence (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Sternberg, R. J., Jarvin, L., & Grigorenko, E. L. (2011). Explorations of the nature of giftedness. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sternberg, R. J., & Lubart, T. I. (1991). An investment theory of creativity and its development. Human Development, 34(1), 1–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sternberg, R. J., & Lubart, T. I. (1992). Buy low and sell high: An investment approach to creativity. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 1(1), 1–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sternberg, R. J., & Lubart, T. I. (1995a). Defying the crowd: Cultivating creativity in a culture of conformity. New York: Free Press.
Sternberg, R. J., & Lubart, T. I. (1995b). Ten keys to creative innovation. R & D Innovator, 4(3), 8–11.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J., & Lubart, T. I. (1995c). Ten tips toward creativity in the workplace. In Ford, C. M. & Gioia, D. A. (Eds.), Creative action in organizations: Ivory tower visions and real world voices (pp. 173–180). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Sternberg, R. J., & The Rainbow Project Collaborators. (2005). Augmenting the SAT through assessments of analytical, practical, and creative skills. In Camara, W. & Kimmel, E. (Eds.), Choosing students: Higher education admission tools for the 21st century (pp. 159–176). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Sternberg, R. J., & The Rainbow Project Collaborators. (2006). The Rainbow Project: Enhancing the SAT through assessments of analytical, practical and creative skills. Intelligence, 34(4), 321–350.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J., & Williams, W. M. (1996). How to develop student creativity. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Sternberg, R. J., & Smith, E. E. (Eds.). (1988). The psychology of human thought. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Tharp, T. (2005). The creative habit: Learn it and use it for life. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Torrance, E. P. (1962). Guiding creative talent. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.CrossRef
Zhang, L.-F., & Sternberg, R. J. (2009). Intellectual styles and creativity. In Rickards, T., Runco, M. A., & Moger, S. (Eds.), The Routledge companion to creativity (pp. 256–266). New York: Routledge.
Zhang, L.-F., Sternberg, R. J., & Rayner, S. (Eds.). (2012). Handbook of intellectual styles. New York: Springer.

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×