The Science & Art of Creative
Teaching
Towards a Research-based Pedagogy
Teaching Quality – the big factor in Student
Learning
“…nothing is as important to learning as the quality of a
student’s teacher. The difference between a good teacher
and a bad teacher is so great that fifth-grade students who
have poor teachers in grades three to five score roughly 50
percentile points below similar groups of students who are
fortunate enough to have effective teachers”
(Izumi, T. L. & Evers, W. M., 2002. Teacher Quality, ix)
“The effect of the teacher far overshadows classroom variables, such as
previous achievement level of students, class size…heterogeneity of
students, and the ethnic and socio-economic makeup of the classroom.”
(Rivers, C. J. & Sanders, W. L., 2002. Teacher Quality and Equity
in Educational Opportunity, p.17)
Metaphor
Creative
Teaching
Framework
Everything is Experience
As human beings, we are stuck in a process of
continuous Experience – even when sleeping
Given a choice, people seek experiences that are perceived as
pleasurable, novel, and pain reducing – because they satisfy
needs (Survive, Belong, Power, Freedom, Fun – from the work of William Glasser)
Teachers are the major players in Experience
Shaping
They can make the learning experience useful, effective, interesting even fun (to varying degrees)
...Or make it boring, tedious and difficult – even painful
Outcomes of a dull learning experience Descent into the World of Bla
100
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N
T
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N
(%age)
80
60
Bla
40
Bla
Bla
20
0
15
30
SESSION TIME (minutes)
45
60
Just what you fancy after lunch at 2pm
Newton's second law of motion can be formally stated as follows:
The acceleration of an object as produced by a net force is directly
proportional to the magnitude of the net force, in the same direction
as the net force, and inversely proportional to the mass of the object
Then follow this with 40 mins of exposition and equations
Is this still the case now?
“Teaching is the only major occupation of man for which
we have not yet developed tools that make an average
person capable of competence and performance.
In teaching we rely on the "naturals," the ones who
somehow know how to teach”
Sadly, Education has been a Creature of Fashion
For those of us who have been around education for a few decades
or so –you may remember Traditional (3 RRR’s) - Progressive
Education - Back to Basics (Traditional) Now Student-centred,
inquiry-based, game-based, etc)
Educational Jurassic Park
The present vogue is Constructivism and the teacher is no more
the Sage on the Stage but the Guide on the Side
(Why many don’t take teacher professionalism seriously)
Creative Teaching – Science or Art?
Moving out of Educational Jurassic Park
“Contrary to common belief, people don’t have different learning styles.
They do, however, have different personalities. The distinction is
important, because we need to be clear that everybody learns
in the same way”
(Schank. R., 1999, p.48)
“Emphasizing learning styles...are noted
for their lack of impact”
(Hattie, J, 2009, A synthesis of over 800 Meta-Analyses
Relating to Achievement,p.199)
“While our lives and our problems are very
different, our brains work in similar ways”
(Goulston, 2009, p.3)
The Serial Position Curve
80
Primacy Effect
70
60
Recency Effect
50
von Restorff Effect
40
30
20
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Position on List
12
13
14
15 16
Psychological Effects
• Primacy Effect (the tendency for the first items
presented in a series to be remembered better or
more easily)
• Recency Effect (the tendency for the most recently
presented items or experiences to be remembered
best)
• Von Restorff Effect (the tendency to remember
distinct or novel items and experiences)
Model of Human Memory
E
N
V
I
R
O
N
M
E
N
T
Sight
Hearing
Touch
Smell
Taste
Working
Memory
5-9 bits of
information
Forgetting
Long –
Term
Memory
Infinite Capacity
Long Term Memory
...long-term memory is now viewed as the central dominant structure
of human cognition. Everything we see, hear and think about is critically
dependent on and influenced by our long-term memory
We are skillful in an area because our long-term memory contains huge
amounts of Information concerning that area. That information permits us to
quickly recognize the characteristics of a situation and indicates to us, often
unconsciously, what to do and how to do it
(Kircher et al, 2006, pp3-4)
Activity: Implications of the way our brain
processes information
• What are the implications of the Serial Position Curve
for the design of learning experiences?
• Are there ways to exploit the psychological effects
(PE, VRE, RE) for enhancing learning effectiveness?
• How can we reduce the rate of forgetting (e.g.,
failure to transfer information from WM to LTM)?
• Are there ways to consolidate learning in LTM and
help build understanding?
Minimize Forgetting through Review
Probability of recall
100%
Recall without reviews
Recall with reviews at intervals
10
minutes
next
day
next
day
next
week
with continuous periodic reviews
Towards a Science of Learning
…over the past 3 decades, we have amassed enough research and
theory about learning to derive a truly research based-model of
instruction.
(Marzano, 1992, p.2)
There are systematic and principled aspects of effective teaching,
and there is a base of verifiable evidence of knowledge that supports
that work in the sense that it is like engineering or medicine.
(Darling-Hammond & Bransford, 2006, p.12)
Moving Teaching from Mystery to Heuristics
(Core Principles of Learning)
“Heuristics represent an incomplete yet distinctly advanced understanding
of what was previously a mystery. But that understanding is unequally
distributed. Some people remain stuck in the world of mystery, while others
master its heuristics.
(Martin, R, 2009, The Design of Business, p.12: Harvard Business Press: Mass)
The core principles are a set of heuristics for the design of learning experiences.
They are ‘empirically based’ frames from which teaching professionals can effective
and creatively plan student learning experiences.
Core Principles of Learning
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Learning goals, objectives and expectations are clearly
communicated
Learners’ prior knowledge is activated and connected to
new learning
Motivational and Attentional strategies are incorporated
into learning designs
Content is organized around key concepts and principles
that are fundamental to understanding the key structure of
a subject
Self-directed learning is encouraged through facilitating the
development of good thinking
Core Principles of Learning [cont’d]
6.
Instructional methods and presentation mediums engage
the range of human of senses (e.g. visual, auditory,
kinaesthetic)
7. Learning design takes into account the working of memory
systems
8. Learner competence is promoted through active and
experiential learning
9. A psychological climate is created which is positive, success
orientated and promotes self-esteem
10. Assessment practices are integrated into the learning design
to promote desired learning outcomes and provide quality
feedback
Core Principles – How they work
While each principle focuses attention on a key area relating to
effective pedagogy, they are mutually supporting, interdependent and
potentially highly synergetic.
As Stigler & Hiebert (1999) highlight:
Teaching is a system. It is not a loose mixture of individual
features thrown together by the teacher. It works more like a
machine, with the parts operating together and reinforcing
one another, driving the vehicle forward. (p.75)
Using Core Principles Thoughtfully
- The Fly Fishing Analogy
Key situated factors involve:
The specific learning outcomes (e.g., recall of facts, conceptual
understanding, competence)
 Learner characteristics (e.g., motivational level, prior
competence, learner preferences)
 Learning context and resource availability (e.g., learning
environment, facilities, resources)

A Frame for Good Pedagogic Design
(‘Nice Weaving’)
Learning
Experience
Instructional Strategies
(methods, activities, resources)
Core Principles
of Learning
Creativity: Not Thinking out of the Box
It all happens inside the head, it’s just a questions of what’s in there and
what you do with it and how
Little in there, little desire and effort to keep making new connections
especially across knowledge area – No Useful New Perceptions
As with all learning – to be really competent/excellent – it takes hard work -
What is Creativity?
A product or response will be judged creative to the extent that it is novel, useful or a
valuable response to the task at hand.
(summarized from Amabile, 1996, p.35)
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One dark foggy night in Halifax, as Percy Shaw was driving home, he saw two
small green lights, very close together near the edge of the road. He was curious
so he stopped and saw the ‘lights’ were a pair of cats eyes reflecting the light from
his head lights.
This triggered off his thinking, making some new connections in his brain – subsequently he
invented a small device involving two marbles placed close together in a rubber casing; this
would then be set in the road at intervals between the lanes of traffic.
After a year of experiments, Percy patented the invention and then, in 1935,
formed his company, Reflecting Roadstuds Ltd. (That’s Innovation & Enterprise)
Creative Teaching
Creative teaching occurs when a teacher combines existing knowledge in
some novel form to get useful results in terms of facilitating student learning.
This may be either planned before the act of teaching, or invented as a
response to the demands of the learning situation
How technical am I?
Do you know
Java script
well?
Yes, I do, I once
had a girlfriend
from Jakarta
Creative Planning
Newton's second law of motion can be formally stated as follows:
The acceleration of an object as produced by a net force is directly
proportional to the magnitude of the net force, in the same direction
as the net force, and inversely proportional to the mass of the object.
What would happen to the ball if these
conditions were changed:
1. The opposition played a trick on David
and put down a much heavier ball
2. David plays a trick on the opposition by
doing extra power training and can now
hit the ball some 10% harder
A Creative Solution – Situated Invention?
Kolkata Story
What is SHAPE?
Presentation
Style
A Metaphor for the underlying syntax ‘the art’ - of Creative Teaching
The Power of SHAPE
“We understand everything in human life through stories”
(Jean-Paul Sartre)
“Humour is by far the most significant behaviour of the brain”
(Edward De Bono)
“Learning activities are the best and most productive way
to learn”
(Lambert and Coombs)
“The meaning of your communication is the response
that you get”
(Bandler & Grinder)
“A fine example nurtures learners, enhancing their
concentration and effort”
(Wlodkowski)
The Benefits of Humour for Learning
• Refreshes the brain
• Creates mental images that retain
learning
• Reinforces desired behaviour and
makes classroom management
easier
• Develops positive attitudes
• Promotes creativity
• Contributes to the enjoyment of
teaching
Questions: A Powerful Short Activity
“Questions are the primary way we learn virtually everything”
“Thinking itself is nothing but the process of asking and
answering questions”
“Questions immediately change what we focus on and,
therefore, how we feel”
(Anthony Robbins, 2001, pp.179-8)
Presentation Style: Much more than talking
We experience other people through our senses – do they look nice, sound nice,
feel nice, smell nice....
Presentation Style refers to all the behaviours we exhibit in the communication process:




What we say and how we say it
Body language and how well it calibrates to voice (words and tone)
How we respond to others – listening, answering questions
Sensory Acuity – awareness of what’s going on – observation, listening,
meaning making
“Its not the matter you cover so much as it is the manner in which
you cover it”
James Rohn
Using SHAPE to Shape the learning experience
• Stories told to provide context, understanding and emotional
anchors
• Humour used to achieve rapport and provide novelty
• Activities provided to integrate, apply and consolidate
learning
• Presentation style employed (e.g., words, tone, body language
– as well as observation and listening) to provide clarity,
meaning and influence student attention, beliefs and
psychological states
• Examples used to illustrate facts, concepts, principles,
procedures
…and
use these Resources Creatively
SHAPE as a Metaphor for Expert Teaching
“...expert teachers use a repertoire of strategies, selecting the most
appropriate for use in a particular context and adapting it if
necessary for a group of learners
A pedagogic repertoire consists of two aspects: approaches,
activities, examples, analogies and illustrations for representing facts,
skills, concepts, beliefs and attitudes to others; and the skills and
strategies used as an integral part of these approaches “
(Turner-Bisset, 2001, p.69)
Online Learning in the Creative Teaching
Framework
The core principles that underpin good learning design in the face-toface learning context are equally applicable to designing and managing
learning in the online environment. Learning online does not change
the way the human brain functions or the basic processes of learning.
Colvin Clarke (2005) illustrates this fundamental point when he argued
that:
The most robust instructional principles are those based on a model of
human psychological learning processes….Any given instructional method
will be effective or ineffective depending on the extent to which it
supports or disrupts basic-learning psychological processes regardless of
the delivery media. (p.594)
A Metaphor for Highly Effective & Creative
Teaching (simple version)
SHAPE
CORE PRINCIPLES
‘Great Weaving’ - Yummy
Developing your Creative Teaching Competence:
• Desire to teach creatively
• Understand the science and art of creative teaching
• Develop a wide range of Resources, be able to Reframe and
create interesting Strategies (get into great SHAPE)
• Willingness to take some risks
• Do it – Be the Best You Can (Total Pedagogy)
A bit like a creative life
“Dying is tragic, but dying without having actually ever
lived is the ultimate tragedy”
Eric Fromm