Epistemic insights: Contemplating tensions between policy influences and creativity in school science

Abstract

Creativity and the way it could be supported in schools is understood differently by policy makers, practitioners and scientists. This article reviews, with a chronological lens, the development of policies that include teaching creativity and teaching for creativity. The epistemic tensions between the intentions of government and the nature of creativity as it emerges in learning or scientific work is introduced and reflected upon. There have been more than nine key educational policies that have been introduced over the last 50 years. Each of these are considered in this article and related to the ways that creativity is understood and expected to be taught, supported or enacted in schools by policy makers. In light of the need to support creativity as a key twenty‐first‐century skill, to ultimately enable current students (who will become the next generation of scientists) to develop the capabilities to address global concerns, this article highlights issues related to this issue. Epistemic insights are offered that relate to the development of aspects of creativity, including questioning, developing alternate ideas, ‘seeing’ things differently, innovation, curiosity, problem solving and evaluating. The ways that policy related to creativity in science appears not to recognise how creativity can be reified in these ways in schools suggests the need for rapid review, especially in light of the upcoming international creativity tests in 2021.

Scientific Intelligence: Recognising It to Nurture It

“…They were all, at some point, working agentively in a way that was problem-oriented, focused, selective, constructional and directed to ends (Bruner 1996). These kinds of cognitive and practical enactments were evident from the recollections of scientists' experiences, but are not necessarily recognised or supported in school science (McGregor and Frodsham 2019). Whether the goal of science education is to develop capabilities to become a scientist or to be an informed citizen, aspects of science education could be better developed to offer more appropriate opportunities for students to practice or rehearse the kinds of intellectual abilities required to work as a scientist.…”

“…Indeed, collaboration was central in the race to contain and beat the COVID-19 virus, with the focus being on fostering the expedient development of a safe and effective vaccine(s) (Druedahl et al 2021). Professional scientists, that is, those who are working at the cutting edge of innovative research akin to vaccine development, are well known for not only being agentive (McGregor and Frodsham 2019) but also working as a global and even local community for the greater scientific good (Sonnenwald 2007). For example, the successful sequencing of the human genome from 1990-2003 was the result of collaboration among numerous scientists from 20 institutions in six different countries (France, Germany, Japan, China, the United Kingdom and America).…”

“…At one end, Kaufman and Beghetto (2009) suggest, is mini-c creativity (i.e., when a child initially notices and considers something that has hitherto not been pointed out to them, such as the bubbles on the surface of water before it reaches 100 • C or the extent of water vapour condensed once it has been deemed to have boiled), and at the other end of the big-C creativity spectrum, where an original idea has world-wide significance. These seemingly polar creative positions may seem problematic in the classroom, but unique perspectives emerging between a small group of students or a much larger scientific community sharing their thoughts and interpretations amongst their respective peers can result in personalised expressions of classroom science (McGregor and Frodsham 2019). This can also be extended to worldwide issues through professional scientific forums.…”

The nature of epistemological opportunities for doing, thinking and talking about science: Reflections on an effective intervention that promotes creativity

“…The thinking promoted by the pedagogic strategies listed in Table 1 are designed to provide learning encounters that engage pupils in considering why something is, how it has come to be, how things are different and similar and what can be done to solve practical problems. How pupils engage and think about scientific ideas can also echo aspects of that demonstrated by scientists (McGregor and Frodsham, 2019). Plausible and reasoned thinking that draws on evidence is actively encouraged in TDTS lessons (as indicated in Figure 2).…”

Three Modes of Creativity

“…The complexity of creativity allows for many situated and discipline‐specific variations of models, discourses, and approaches. In education, this has sometimes led to confusion, uncertainty, misconceptions, or simply ignoring creativity at the level of practice and policy (Hennessey, 2015; McGregor & Frodsham, 2019).…”