I have a big Psychology project to do and part of it involves thinking critically about certain questions and answering them effectively. One particular question caught my attention today. It asked:

Can creativity be taught effectively? Are people who are trained to be creative just as creative as those who do it “naturally”? If so, why isn’t creative thinking taught in schools? What is it about the present education system that discourages creative thinking? Might too much creativity be detrimental?

I answered as follows:

First of all, the concept of creativity is difficult to define. For the purpose of answering the questions posed, let us define creativity as the ability to solve problems or express ideas in new or original ways that advance a branch of human endeavor.

Studies have demonstrated that the correlation between identical twins raised apart in creativity scores is lower than that between their I.Q. scores. This suggests that perhaps environmental influences play a role in the development of creativity. Hence, I believe that to some degree, creativity can be effectively taught.

I believe that creativity for the most part, is learned. For example, in order for an artist to paint a portrait, that artist needs to learn different techniques and know how to apply different kinds of colors and hues to create a portrait. Although some people appear to be more gifted in the area of creativity, the gift has to be nurtured in order for it to bloom. Thus, to some extent, I believe that people who are trained to be creative can be just as creative as those who do it “naturally”.

Contrary to the question posed, I believe that the very foundation of a liberal arts education in America is the learning or acquisition of creativity. Although the word “creativity” is rarely mention as an educational goal, universities and even corporations thrive on the use of creativity in the classroom and workplace respectively. Ranging from the disciplines of theater to psychology, creativity is used to expand the ideas and theories previously held. Isn’t that the whole point of critical thinking?

As for the Malaysian education system, I believe that creativity is not fostered because the word “creativity” connotes a negative message. That is, the capacity to question facts is tantamount to being disobedient and hence, unacceptable to Asian culture.

I am also of the opinion that too much creativity is not detrimental. For example, it took creativity to get a man on the moon. Logic of the past, a century or so ago, would have deemed it impossible. Hence, creativity not only expands logic but has the ability to advance technology, science, mathematics, theater and many other areas of a liberal arts education.

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Is it any wonder why Malaysia is not seen as an innovative country? I think it is largely due to the fact that we are sorely lacking in the teaching of creativity. And yes! It can be taught to those who are “creatively-absent” and it can be nurtured for those who are “creatively-gifted”.

For example, a pychology lecturer shares her experience in teaching creativity to American students:

“I think it’s a mistake to think that you can give students fact, fact, fact and have them learn what others have said and then, only later, ask them to be creative and critical. By the time they’re supposedly ready to be creative, they’re not. They need to see how these strands are connected in other people’s work, and they need to engage in those aspects of the work themselves right from the beginning. When I assign essays, I’m not interested in whether students can repeat facts from a book; I know they can. In my Pscyhology of Education course, I have them read theories of child development early in the course and then do observations of a real child. For their mid-term, they have to look at that child through the eyes of two of the theorists, a task that encourages them to think both critically and creatively; they may have to account for some behavior they didn’t read about in the theory. The culminating assignment in the class is to design a school. It’s very creative, but they must support it with evidence from all the research they’ve read.” – Susan Engel, Psychology at Williams University.

For more on whether creativity can be taught, visit William’s University Website

Albert Einstein seems to agree that creativity leaves an indelible mark upon our education, what do you think?

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” — Albert Einstein