Acknowledging materials used from this course
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Support for these resources has been provided by the Australian Government Office for Learning
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If you do adapt and embed these resources, the project team would appreciate it if
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These resources have been adapted from the OLT funded project “An Australian Creativity MOOC
for Australian coursework Master’s students” which was led by Adjunct Associate Professor Kym
Fraser (Victoria University) in collaboration with Adjunct Professor Yoni Ryan (Queensland
University of Technology), Professors Denise Wood and Donna Lee Brien (CQUniversity) and Mr
Brett McClennan (Open Universities Australia).
We are keen to keep track of use of the resources and to have your feedback.
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resources.
Module 4 Integrating theory and strategies for creative
problem solving
Table of Contents
Introduction
Practice
Collaboration
Reflective Practice
Self-and- Peer Review and Assessment
Video Example (Optional)
Readings and Resources
1
2
2
4
5
7
7
Introduction
Begin by viewing the video that introduces this module:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0Q6fKF7VbY
As you work through this module, you will be working collaboratively as you
develop your skill in reflective and reflexive practice.
Practice
Donald Schön is one of the best-known authors to write about the importance of
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section ‘Acknowledging materials used from this course’.
1
reflection in professional practice. In his much cited book, The Reflective
Practitioner (1983), Schön introduces the concepts of "reflection-in-action", and
"reflection-on-action" which involves "thinking on one's feet" to reflect on our
experiences, connect with our feelings, and focus on the theories we employ.
Reflexive practice, on the other hand, is a process by which we question our
assumptions and the assumptions of existing theories and practices to "expose
contradictions, doubts, dilemmas, and possibilities" (Cunliffe, 2004, p. 414). As
Cunliffe (2004) explains "Whereas reflective analysis is concerned with a
systematic searching for patterns, logic, and order, critically reflexive questioning
opens up our own practices and assumptions as a basis for working toward more
critical, responsive, and ethical action" (p. 415).
Creative practitioners therefore need to be both reflective and reflexive.
Indeed, as the previous modules have highlighted, the very process of creative
problem solving requires the ability to be reflective and reflexive, to be able to
reverse assumptions, identify alternative perspectives and arrive at novel solutions
that extend on existing alternatives. The ability to critique your own work and the
work of others is one way in which practitioners engage in reflective and reflexive
practice. Thus, in this course, you are required to engage in both self- and peerassessment to help you to develop skill in both reflective and reflexive practice.
Collaboration
The editors of the collection of articles generated by the Second International
Conference on Teamworking assert that "so many" organisations have embraced
the concept of teamwork because it is accepted as an "improved utilisation of
human resources … which some claim as the most important resource
organisations have, and ultimately the only competitive advantage" (Park, Harris &
Collins, 2000, p. 5).
Since then, management literature as well as much work on creativity insists that a
team working together, whatever its size or connectivity to other teams, is the
paramount structure to problem solve, and more than that – ensure the satisfaction
of customers, employees and other shareholders in the venture. Creative
corporations such as Apple or Dreamworks are now famous for the way they build
and use teams to problem solve, promote innovation and create exciting and
valued new products.
We seem to be hard-wired to work together.
Despite the common understanding of Darwinian natural selection in which
aggressive competition ensures survival – as the most successful fighters survive
to breed and pass on their individual genes while more passive, weaker strains do
not – biologists from Darwin onwards have also noted that members of some
species work together for outcomes that benefit the group as a whole rather than
individuals. Game theorists are working with biologists (Hauert & Doebeli, 2004, p.
643) and finding that cooperative behaviour is not merely an anomaly in the
evolutionary struggle, but is so central and crucial as to perhaps hold the key to the
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“emergence … of life itself” (Klarreich, 2004, p. 90).
Although such discussions of evolution and game theory seem remote from the
creative or corporate worlds, or this course, it does highlight the fundamental
centrality of cooperative behavior.
In The Fifth Discipline (1990), the groundbreaking work conceptualising workplaces
as complex living systems made up of collaborative teams rather than Metropolisstyle machines, Peter Senge argues that teamwork is a key reason why some
organisations are able to learn, evolve and change (and thus survive and thrive),
while others never progress beyond a certain stage of performance and
achievement. This text was, and remains, important in business and industry
contexts as Senge’s ideas are future-focused, seeking to shift corporate
concentration away from profit driven, but often short-term, planning.
Building on this idea, management consultants Katzenbach and Smith’s bestselling The Wisdom of Teams (1992) has become so entrenched in business and
management theory that even their subtitle, Creating the High Performance
Organization, has become an aim in many circles. Katzenbach and Smith’s teams,
moreover, are not just any group of people who work together on a specific task or
project but, rather, “a small number of people with complementary skills who are
committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they
hold themselves mutually accountable” (1994, p. 45).
Four essential elements are stressed in this and other work on collaborative
practice:
1.complementary skills;
2.mutual accountability;
3.a common approach; and,
4.shared (and concrete) goals.
Katzenback and Smiths’ major refinement of Senge’s theory is to suggest that there
are levels of teams, with the members of the to-be-aspired-to peak “high
performance” team not only dedicated to a common task or purpose, but also
“deeply committed to one another’s personal growth and success” (1994, p. 92).
Such teams, while obviously completing the task at hand, simultaneously become
“vehicles for personal learning and development” (1994, p. 48). This is an attractive
idea for many of us who, in the task-rich, time-poor environment of the 21st century,
feel personal development and satisfaction often fall to the end of our constantly
growing to-do lists.
For many of us, such an ideal team is unattainable. What steps could you
take as a leader to develop these four elements for collaborative creativity? Discuss
in a posting to the Module Four Discussion Forum.
Later work takes the next logical step in this progression, looking beyond the
building of effective, but separate, workplace teams to viable ways of networking
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these into a “collaborative organization” as in Beyerlein et. al.’s Beyond Teams:
Building the Collaborative Organization (2002). Such an organisation, Beyerlein et
al. assert, will have teamwork, communication and personal growth at its core,
rather than operational goals in only some of its parts.
You can find a discussion about a range of types of collaboration in this module’s
reading, which is available online: Donna Lee Brien and Tess Brady, Collaborative
Practice: Categorising forms of collaboration for practitioners’, TEXT, 7.2, October
2003, http://www.textjournal.com.au/oct03/brienbrady.htm
Reflective Practice
A core component of putting creativity into practice is being conscious and aware of
your practice and processes. Reflective thinking is a component of this. Your selfand peer- assessments require you to reflect on, and assess, both your own work
and contributions to this course, and those of your peers.
As noted in the introduction, Schön (1983) employed the terms "reflection-inaction", and "reflection-on-action" and argued for the development of "an
epistemology of practice, which places technical problem-solving within a broader
context of reflective inquiry" (1983, p. 69) in response to the complexity, uncertainty
and instability of professional knowledge.
Reflective practice is also an important aspect of practice-led research in the
creative arts (Piccini, 2002; Haseman, 2006) and design-based research, which
aims to addresses complex problems in 'real' educational contexts (Reeves, 2006).
Practice-led research begins with an "enthusiasm of practice" (Haseman, 2006, p.
100) and involves formative reflection on practice through the research and design
process, as well as at the conclusion of the process. Similarly, design-based
research involves continuous iterative cycles of design, enactment, analysis, and
redesign; and documents the successes, failures and interactions in the local
context to better understand the implications for applying in other contexts (The
Design-Based Research Collective, 2003).
Here are some links to useful material about reflective thinking and writing:
 QUT's 4Rs model of reflective thinking:
http://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/write/reflectivewriting.jsp
 Donald Schön: learning, reflection and change:
http://infed.org/mobi/donald-schon-learning-reflection-change/
 Reflective writing – a very brief guide:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1xkFgHAWD0
Share any links you have on reflective practice via the shared Wiki.
If you are interested in Donald Schön’s ideas, you might like to look at his book for
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section ‘Acknowledging materials used from this course’.
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a more extended version of the above. D. A. Schon (1983). The reflective
practitioner: How professionals think in action. Cambridge: Ashgate.
Self-and Peer Review and Assessment
A further extension to self-reflection and reflective writing (the process you have
been engaging in via your progressive postings to the forum), is the process of selfreview and self-assessment.
The benefits of self-review and peer-review and self-assessment and peerassessment are well documented in the literature (see Wood, 2009; Wood and
Kurzel, 2008). The increasing interest in such methods has been driven by
increasing recognition of the need to equip graduates with the skills required to be
effective life-long learners. These skills include the ability to analyse information,
problem-solve, work in teams, communicate effectively and reflect critically on their
professional practice (Dochy & McDowell, 1998; Sluijsmans, Dochy, & Moerkerke,
1998; Humphreys, Greenan, & McIlveen, 1997).
The benefits of these alternative forms of review and assessment as noted by
several authors (Davies, 2003; Falchikov, 2003, 2004; Langan & Wheater, 2003;
Sluijsmans, Dochy, & Moerkerke, 1998) include:
1. development of students’ evaluative and critical abilities (McDowell cited in
Sluijsmans, Dochy, & Moerkerke, 1998);
2. increased opportunities to learn from the mistakes of peers as well as from
exemplary work of others (Langan & Wheater, 2003; Race, 1998 cited in
Ballantyne, Hughes, & Mylonas, 2002);
3. more integrated knowledge and a better understanding of standards required
(Hanrahan & Isaacs, 2001);
4. increased confidence (Langan and Wheater, 2003; Topping et al, 2000); and
5. greater awareness of the dilemmas facing tutors in assessing student work
(Hanrahan & Isaacs, 2001); development of the learner’s ability to selfevaluate and reflect on their performance and the feedback received
(Falchikov, 1996; Langan & Wheater, 2003).
If you are interested in reading more about this, you can find more information in
the works cited above.
To assist you in developing the skills listed above, your ability to reflect-in-action
and reflect-on-action (Schön, 1983), as well as your ability to think critically and
reflexively by questioning your assumptions (Cunliffe, 2004), we developed
assessment tasks which include self and peer assessment.
In completing your self assessments, think critically about what you have learned
through the process and how your experience might change the way in which you
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engage in problem solving in more creative ways in the future and add these
reflections to the comments section of the self-assessment rubrics. In completing
the peer-assessments, think about what advice you might provide your peer to
enable them to be effective creative thinkers in the future. Share your advice in the
comments section of the peer-assessment rubrics.
Transparency and accountability
Boyer (1990) argued that scholarship is a public, rather than private, activity and
that it should be open to critique and evaluation by others. In this way,
understanding is progressed through the scholarly activity of building new ideas,
which are then open to the same processes of public scrutiny (Wood and George,
2003). Peer review and assessment is a key aspect of this approach to
scholarship, and as Schulman (2002) argues, this process provides a means for
assuring quality, transparency and accountability.
For this reason, your self-assessments as well as your peer-assessments should
be posted online in the assessment submission section. As you complete Module 4,
you will need to submit assessments 2 and 3.
Now view the video clip that wraps up this module:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1tNVZ3HRF0
Video Example (optional)
In our final in the series of optional videos, Nick and Sue discuss the merits of selfand peer-review and assessment, and how such approaches reflect the practice of
critique in professional practice. (You will need to register for the Creativity
Unlimited OOC in order to access this video):
http://opencourses.cqu.edu.au/mod/page/view.php?id=1079
Readings and Resources
Required reading:
Brien, Donna Lee and Tess Brady. (2003). Collaborative Practice: Categorising
Forms of Collaboration for Practitioners. TEXT: The Journal of the Australian
Association of Writing Programs, 7.2, October
2003, http://www.textjournal.com.au/oct03/brienbrady.htm
Suggested additional readings and resources:
Ballantyne, R., Hughes, K., & Mylonas, A. (2002). Developing procedures for
implementing peer assessment in large classes using an action research
process. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 27(5), 427-441.
Boud, D., & Falchikov, N. (2005). Redesigning assessment for learning beyond
higher education.Proceedings of the HERDSA Conference, 34-41.
Boud, D., & Falchikov, N. (2006). Learning-oriented assessment: principles and
If you use materials from this resource, please acknowledge the support as indicated in the
section ‘Acknowledging materials used from this course’.
6
practice. Aligning assessment with long-term learning. Assessment & Evaluation in
Higher Education, 3(4), 399-413.
Bennis, Warren and Patricia Ward Biederman. (1997). Organising Genius: The
Secrets of Creative Collaboration. Cambridge, Mass.: Perseus Books.
Boyer, E. (1990). Scholarship reconsidered: priorities of the professoriate. The
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. San Francisco: JosseyBass.
Brophy, Kevin. (1998). Creativity : Psychoanalysis, Surrealism and Creative
Writing. Carlton, Vic. : Melbourne University Press.
Caves, Richard E. (2000). Creative Industries : Contracts Between Art and
Commerce, Cambridge, Mass.; London: Harvard University Press.
Cunliffe, A. L. (2004). On Becoming a Critically Reflexive Practitioer. Journal of
Management Education, 28(4), 407-426.
Davies, P. (2003). Peer-Assessment: No marks required just feedback?–Evaluating
the Quality of Computerized Peer-Feedback compared with Computerized PeerMarking. Communities of Practice. Research Proceedings of the 10th Association
for Learning Technology Conference (ALTC 2003), 8-10.
Dochy, F., & McDowell, L. (1998). Assessment as a tool for learning. Studies in
Educational Evaluation, 23(4), 279-298.
Falchikov, N. (1996). Improving learning through critical peer feedback and
reflection. Paper presented at the Different Approaches: Theory and Practice in
Higher Education. Proceedings of HERDSA Conference 1996, Perth WA.
Falchikov, N. (2003). Involving students in assessment. Psychology Learning and
Teaching, 3(2), 102-108.
Falchikov, N. (2004). Improving assessment through student involvement: practical
solutions for learning in higher and further education. New York: Routledge Falmer.
Goleman, Daniel. (1995). Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam Books.
Hanrahan, S. J., & Isaacs, G. (2001). Assessing Self- and Peer-assessment: the
students' views. Higher Education Research and Development, 20(1), 53-70.
Haseman, Brad. A Manifesto for Performative Research Media International
Australia, Incorporating Culture & Policy, No. 118, Feb 2006: 98-106.
Hauert, C. and Doebeli, M. (2004) Spatial structure often inhibits the evolution of
cooperation in the snowdrift game. Nature. 428, 643-646.
Humphreys, P., Greenan, K., & McIlveen, H. (1997). Developing work-based
transferable skills in a university environment. Journal of European Industrial
Training, 21(2), 63-69.
Katzenbach, Jon R. and Douglas K. Smith. (1993). The Wisdom of Teams:
Creating the High Performance Organization. Boston: Harvard Business School
Press.
Kelley, Tom, with Jonathan Littman. (2000). The Art of Innovation : Lessons in
If you use materials from this resource, please acknowledge the support as indicated in the
section ‘Acknowledging materials used from this course’.
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Creativity, New York: Currency/Doubleday.
Klarreich, E. (2004) Generous players: Game theory explores the golden rule’s
place in biology. Science News, 166 (4), 58-90.
Langan, M., & Wheater, P. (2003). Can students assess students effectively? Some
insights into peer-assessment. Learning and Teaching in Action, 2(1).
Micklus, C. Samuel. (1997). Creativity + teamwork = solutions! Glassboro, NJ :
Creative Competitions.
Miller, P. J. (2003). The Effect of Scoring Criteria Specificity on Peer and Selfassessment. Assessment and; Evaluation in Higher Education, 28, 383-394.
Park, Robert, Roger Harris and Emily Collins (eds.). (2000). Teamworking: Some
International Perspectives. Flaxton, Qld.: Post Pressed.
Piccini A. (2002). An historiographic perspective on practice as research, PARIP.
Retrieved December 28, 2009 from http://www.bristol.ac.uk/parip/artexts.htm
Pope, Rob. (2000). Creativity. London: Routledge.
Reeves, T. C. (2006). How do you know they are learning? The importance of
alignment in higher education. International Journal of Learning Technology, 2(4),
294-309.
Schön, D. (1983). The reflective practitioner. How professionals think in action. New
York: Basic Books.
Schön, D. (1995). Knowing-in-action: The new scholarship requires a new
epistemology. Change, 27(6), 26-34.
Sluijsmans, D., Dochy, F., & Moerkerke, G. (1998). Creating a Learning
Environment by Using Self-, Peer- and Co-Assessment. Learning Environments
Research, 1(3), 293-319.
Schulman, L. (2002). Inventing the future. In P. Hutchings (Ed.). Opening lines.
Approaches to the scholarship of teaching and learning. Menlo Park: The Carnegie
Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Senge, Peter M. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning
organization. New York: Doubleday/Currency.
Sternberg, Robert J., James C. Kaufman, and Jean E. Pretz. (2001). The Creativity
Conundrum. London: Routledge.
Straus, David. (2002). How to Make Collaboration Work: Powerful Ways to Build
Consensus, Solve Problems, and Make Decisions. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler
Publishers.
The Design Based Research Collective. (2003) 'Design-based research: An
emerging paradigm for educational inquiry', Educational Researcher, vol. 32, no. 1,
pp. 5-8.
Topping, K. J., Smith, E. F., Swanson, I., & Elliot, A. (2000). Formative
peer assessment of academic writing between postgraduate
students. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 25(2), 149-169.
If you use materials from this resource, please acknowledge the support as indicated in the
section ‘Acknowledging materials used from this course’.
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Torrance, E. Paul, Mary Murdock, and David Fletcher. (c1996). Creative problem
solving through role playing, Pretoria: Benedic Books.
Weiner, Robert Paul. (2000). Creativity & Beyond : Cultures, Values, and
Change. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Winer, Michael and Karen Ray. (1994). Collaboration Handbook: Creating,
Sustaining, and Enjoying the Journey. Saint Paul, MN: Amherst H Wilder
Foundation.
Wood, D. (2009). A scaffolded approach to developing students’ skills and
confidence to participate in self and peer assessment. Proceedings of the
ATN Assessment Conference, Melbourne
Wood, D. and Friedel, M. (2009). Peer review of learning and teaching: Harnessing
collective intelligence to address emerging challenges. Australian Journal of
Educational Technology, 25(1). Retrieved 21 February 2009
from http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet25/wood.pdf
Wood, D. and George, R. (2003). Quality standards in online teaching and
learning: A tool for authors and developers. Proceedings of ASCILITE 2003 in
Adelaide, South Australia, December 2003.
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section ‘Acknowledging materials used from this course’.
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