WHAT THE ARTS OFFER
TRANSDISCIPLINARY TRAINING
IN CREATIVITY
Michele Root-Bernstein, Ph.D.
Michigan State University
SNAAP Conference, March 2013
Plenary Session 2: “Skills, Skills, Skills”
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
A New Age: Creative Society
“Success is based not only on
what you know or how much
you know, but on your ability to
think and act creatively.”
~Mitchel Resnick, director,
Lifelong Kindergarten research
group at MIT Media Lab
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
universal
intuitive
sensual
& teachable skills
The 13 “thinking tools” represent
what creators across the arts
and sciences have to say about
how they think, imagine and create.
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
The 13 Thinking Tools
BODY THINKING……………………
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
…means
honing ALL
the senses to
perceive
acutely &
accurately…
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
…. involves mental
sensation
of things observed
or imagined,
using any or all
of the senses, in
the absence of
direct
perception…
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
…involves the
representation of a
complex thing or
process in simplified
or analog form;
used to test, modify,
or play with its
properties...
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
…goal-less
activity
performed for
fun or
enjoyment
that incidentally
develops skill,
intuition, and
knowledge…
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
O
R
I
G
A
M
I
T
O
O
L
B
O
X
A
mnemonic
aid
that
defines
&
exercises
each tool.
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
Bloom’s Taxonomy &
Imaginative Thinking Tools
modeling,
patterning,
synthesizing
patterning,
analogizing, modeling
patterning, playing
empathizing, transforming
abstracting, patterning
imaging, body thinking
Experiencing
all tools, all senses
http://www.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
Hawaii Arts Alliance
http://arts.k12.hi.us
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
100
MENTAL TOOLS USED BY CAREER SCIENTISTS
AND ENGINEERS (n = 103)
90
80
% REPORTING
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
Science Textbooks vs. Science Practice
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
High School Explicit
Scientists (103)
Explicit
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
Addressing the
disconnect between
creative practice
and pedagogy at
Georgia State U:
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
Exercising Thinking Tools in Worldplay:
a complex form of pretend play
that involves the invention of an imaginary world
Imagination
Imaginary Worlds
Daydreams & Invented Stories
Playacting
Simple Pretense & Animism
Age
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
Worldplay is
persistent (lasting months or years),
elaborative (accumulating detailed histories
of persons and place)
& creative (often involving the making of
artifacts).
A young C.S. Lewis made maps, drew
pictures, and wrote stories of Animal Land,
thereby exercising imaginative skills such as
observing, imaging, modeling and playing.
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
Worldplay in childhood & adulthood:
In adulthood,
Desmond Morris,
zoologist, writer &
visual artist, has
created an
imaginary world of
biomorphs, surreal
creatures modeling
zoological
behaviors and
evolutionary
forces…
Claes Oldenburg,
invented the
imaginary country
of Neubern as a
child and
parlayed the
processes of
worldplay into his
adult artwork…,
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
© Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
Artifact of an Imaginary World
(Worldplay Workshop: University of Georgia, March 2010)
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
Bookmaking Project & Worldplay
Ren Hullender, Central Michigan University:
Art
Education Class
© Ren Hullender 2013
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
Maps
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History
Climate
© Ren Hullender 2013
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
Languages
Puns
Poetry
Lyrics
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
© Ren Hullender 2013
Inventions
Measurements
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
© Ren Hullender 2013
Hullender found dramatic initial results:
• Change in student affect, effort, and engagement
• Evidence of deep learning
• Change in the culture of the classroom
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
© Ren Hullender 2013
© Clar Baldus, U. of Iowa:
class on Creativity, Imagination and
Play in Human Development in Art
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
8 Strategies
for a Creative Education
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Teach tools for thinking
Teach the creative process
Place arts on a par with sciences
Use common, cross-disciplinary language
Emphasize trans-disciplinary content
Model exemplary individuals & polymaths
Utilize many forms of expression
Specialize in imaginative breadth
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013
In sum:
The more we can be explicit about what
we mean by imagination and creativity, in
terms of imaginative thinking tools and
other relevant skills and behaviors, the
more we can be precise about the
cognitive value of the active engagement
people experience in art training, and the
more we can purposefully transfer that
value to the pursuit of knowledge in other
fields.
(c) MicheleRoot-Bernstein
Root-Bernstein 2013
© Michele
2013
THANK YOU !
Michele Root-Bernstein
rootber3@msu.edu
(c) Michele Root-Bernstein 2013