 CREATIVITY AND SCIENCE EDUCATION

- S.P. SAXENA The greatest gift, the human race has ever received, is to think in a novel way which culminates in innovations and achievements in all sphere of life. The unique quality of human beings to design or to give a concrete shape of his imagination, helped him to come out from his primitive stage to a position where he dominates over his surroundings. The unique quality of human being, we are referring, is known as creativity.

Creativity has probably been as important as any human quality in changing history and reshaping the world. Unesco (1974) is positive in its stand that both knowledge and creativity are useful in itself but they are also indirect contributors to international understanding and peace. Rapid advancement in science and technology has increased the need for further innovation, challenge to inventions, psychological discoveries of nature of individual differences and emphasis on actualisation. This has resulted in an increase in interest for the creativity aspect in the past decades.

In this rapidly changing world, the cultivation of a creative personality, with sensitivity and awareness for environmental problems, is not only important but is also of immense urgency. Rogers (1961) said -"In a time, when knowledge, constructive and destructive, is advancing by the most incredible leaps and bounds into fantastic atomic age, genuinely creative adaptation seems to represent the only possibility that man can keep abreast of the kaleidoscopic change in his world .............. unless individuals, groups, nations can imagine, construct and creatively revise new ways of relating to these complete changes, the lights will go out; unless man can make new and original adaptations to his environment, as rapidly as science can change the environment, our culture will perish".

If a nation is to survive in international competition, the most promising solution is for the nation to encourage and support the identification and development of highly creative persons. Nations which learn best how to identify, develop and encourage creativity in their people, especially amongst children, may find themselves in a very advantageous position. There are well known cases where the creative people have not been identified and encouraged in a country, and they migrated to other countries where they contributed a lot creative work to that nation and to the mankind.

Torrance supports the view that the process of creativity is similar to the steps in scientific method. According to Jung, scientists and mathematicians are very creative people and can be classified as judges. Science education which really means to make a person to identify the problems around, to observe, to analyse, to make hypothesis, to experiment, to infer and to generalise and to apply the acquired knowledge and skills where required. Thus, science is a process as well as product, involving all the components of creativity, influencing every sphere of life. It is envisaged in the National Policy on Education of India (1986), and also in the Kothari Commission report (1966), that science education should be for all upto secondary level in order to develop scientific temper amongst the masses. Science education provides field to a person to create something new, for the society and for the nation. Although creativity is not related to any particular subject area, but science education has much wider scope of fostering and encouraging creativity.

The following content has been reproduced from the Report of a Study Group on Science Curriculum and Instructional Material Development, Unesco, Bangkok, November, 1981 :

"The intellectual growth of the students is facilitated when his competencies and creativity are enhanced through a systematic process of education. Here again, a well planned and all round curriculum in science may lead the students to uncover, understand and practice the process and method of science and to think independently which happen to be the ultimate goals of education'.

"In order to adapt to the rapidly changing and progressing age and to contribute to the socioeconomic progress, it is important for all the students to acquire certain competencies and attitudes to solve problems, processing appropriately fast expanding information and to think creatively."

As mentioned in the report of the above stated Unesco study group, following is an illustrative list of open competencies which science teaching-learning can help develop :

i) Process Skills : Scientific method.

ii) Understanding and using : Concepts, laws, principles, formulas, symbols and signs.

iii) Way of thinking : Deductive, Inductive, Convergent, Divergent, Intuitive, Imaginative and Creative, Analytical and Synthetical.

vi) Attitudes : Such as patience or tolerance for differences and disagreements from others, self-reliance etc.

v) Values : Such as understanding science as the creation of cooperative work, seeing science as an approach to solve human and social problems.

It is relevant here to discuss the meaning and nature of creativity before going for measurement of creativity and the ways by which creativity can be nurtured through science education in the school and out of the school. According to Chambers 20th Century Dictionary, the word 'Creativity' refers to state or quality of being creative, ability to create Here creative means having power to creative, showing or pertaining to imagination, originality, and create means to bring into being or form out of nothing, to bring into being by force of imagination, to make produce or form, to design, to be the first to act. However, creativity could not fetch a single definition because different thinkers consider it from different perspectives. Morgan (1953) published a list of 25 definitions of creativity. All these definitions indicate that creativity involves development of something unique by the individual. Rhodes (1961) thoroghly Analysed 25 definitions compiled by Morgan and suggested 4 strands of creativity as person, process, press and produce. Lawrence Kubie (1958) stated that creativity is invention, the uncovering of new facts or new relationships among new and old data. Thus, the word 'creative' concerns the invention of something new which is observable or symbolised in words or translated into a work of art and has not been produced, formed, designed or made earlier, rather than the accumulation of knowledge or skills. Creativity is not restricted to some particular content. An individuals may be creative in painting a novel picture, composing a new symphony or inventing a scientific theory.

Research on creativity in recent years has been enormous. But a clear and concise definition of creativity still remains a felt need. Nevertheless, the search for its definition and criterion has resulted in identification of its construction in operational terms. Creativity has been construed as a product, a process, mental abilities and a personality dimension.

Creativity as a Process :

Creativity is considered to be a process. According to Torrance, two stages are involved in creativity process - (i) The first stage is to shake and throw things together and to choose and discriminate from a variety of different possibilities and (ii) The second stage is to synthesize and bring together elements in new and original ways.

Wallas (1926) and Patrick (1955) also consider creativity as a process. They have identified four steps involved in the creative process - (i) preparation (ii) incubation (iii) illumination and (iv) verification

i) Preparation consists of investigation of sources, understanding of background, purposeful

study and questioning, experience and absorption of information that fill the gaps that the creative individual perceives. It also includes identifications of a plan for completion. It should be very clear that creativity is "ninety nine percent perspiration and one percent inspiration".

ii) Incubation process includes time for (a) relaxation (b) assimilation of ideas into the thought process (c) rearrangement of information and (d) various ideas to rise to a central place. This process leads to reorganisation of one's previous ideas to adjust to the new information acquired by preparation.

iii) Illumination is the stage when the time devoted to preparation and incubation is rewarded by a clear conception of the answer to the-problem. It is the 'Aha' experience that arises from the formulation and reformulation of relationship leading to solution. It may be a sudden flash of an idea or solution in dream which arises due to correlation of distant relationships that ultimately indicates answer to the problem.

iv) Verification is the validation or confirmation of the solution obtained as a result of illumination in real life situation. After confirmation, the result may be generalised and extended to other situations.

For better understanding of the four steps of creativity process, as suggested by Wallas and Patrick, let us discuss the way Kekule, the scientist who first suggested the structural formula,of benzene.

Kekule, as a matter of fact, actually dreamt of this structure. Here is what he says about the dream- so .................. again the atoms gamboled before my eyes. My mind's eye, sharpened by many previous experience, distinguished larger structures of diverse form, long series, closely joined together; all in motion, turning and twisting like serpents. But see what was that? One serpent had seized its own tail and this image whirled defiantly before my eyes. As by a lighting flash, I woke; and again spent the rest of the night working out the consequences of this idea ........................... Let us learn to dream, gentlemen, and then we may find the truth but let us beware of making our dreams public before they have been approved by the waking mind."

The history of discovery of structural formula of benzene clearly indicates th9t Kekule had spent enough time in preparation - (i.e. gathering information and experimentation) and in incubation - (i.e. rearranging information, assimilation and finding distant relationship). It was the illumination stage when he dreamt the possible structural formula of benzene which he verified after waking.

Creativity as Product :

creativity is thought to be embedded in the product rather than in the process. Stein states- "a process is creativity when it results in a novel work (the product) that is acceptable as tenable, useful or satisfying by a group at point of time". In other words, creativity is the quality which leads to the production of something new desirable.

Creativity as Mental Abilities:

Creativity is also defined in terms of certain mental abilities. Gatzels and Jackson found that creative ability and intelligence are not synonymous. They separated two groups of gifted children on the basis of tests conducted on intelligence and creativity. They found that one group scoring highly on test of intelligence but lower on creativity test, and the second group scoring highly on test of creativity but lower on test of intelligence. The experiment conducted by Torrance also indicates the same results. Wallack and Korang also conducted experiment to discriminate amongst intelligent and creative children and found that creativity is a concept which is different from the concept of intelligence.

Thus, it is very clear that intelligence is not related with creativity.

Guilford and his associates of university of Southern California, have discovered the following five classes of intellectual abilities :-

i) Cognition - discovery or recognition of information.

ii) Memory - retention of information.

iii) Convergent thinking - finding a correct solution to a stated problem, such as solving some mathematics questions or learning definitions of a technical terms.

iv) Divergent thinking-going off in new direction rather than thinking only one solution or deriving variety of ideas from a given information.

v) Evaluation - ability to make decision about a problem or to assess the quality of the decision.

Guilford and other recognised authorities believe that divergent thinking is the most important mental process which reflects the creativity ability in a person. This process is 'more accurately called divergent production, since it is a matter of generating alternative items of information to meet a given requirement, where the needed item is not obvious or where a number of different ideas would be more or less acceptable. They have identified the following factors that are involved in divergent thinking:-

i) Flexibility - ability to suggest ideas of different categories, provide diversified solution to a problem - think different possibilities. The individual is free from inertia or any preservation.

ii) Fluency - fertility of ideas : the individual is quick in thinking new ideas.

iii) Sensitivity to problems - finding defects, deficiencies, needs, the odds, the unusual and seeing what must be done. The individual is sensitive for the existence of the problem and tries to find out possible solutions.

vi) Originality-suggestions different from others, new ideas, finding remote relationship in ideas, things or time.

v) Elaboration - ability to work out the details of an idea, plan or outline.

vi) Redefinition - finding new uses of familiar things; ability to establish, define or perceive in a way different from the usual.

Personality Dimension :

Personality characteristics are widely considered as determinants of creative ability. Some of the hypothesized traits related to creativity are :-

(i) Introversion, (6) Flexibility of opinions, (iii) Intellectual self-confidence (iv) self-Willed independence, and (v) Energy for intellectual task.

According to Jung, creative people are either 'Perceiver' or 'Judges'. Scientists and Mathematicians are judges, and writers are perceivers. Perception may be either sense perception or intuitive perception.

Torrance found the following three characteristics of highly creative children :-

i) They have reputation among peers for having 'wild or silly ideas'.

ii) Their productions are original.

iii) Their works are characterized by humour, playfulness, lack of rigidity and relaxation.

What Hallman (1961) thinks about creativity may be stated as :-

i) Creativity is a whole act, a unitary instance of behaviour.

ii) Creativity terminates in the production of objects or forms which are distinctive.

iii) Creativity evolves out certain mental processes.

iv) Creativity co-varies with specitic personality transformations and

v) Creativity occurs within a particular kind of environment.

One can deduce from the above discussion that creativity is a unique mental process which results in an original, novel and useful product and is accompanied by number of mental abilities and personality dimensions. The concept of creativity lies in making associations that are remote or unusual or original in the sense of being statistically impredictable, novel and unique. Such associations are not casually derivable. The process of creativity is non-relational. Here non-rational thinking implies that certain unconscious or pre-conscious mental operations are at play in creative imagination which neither belong to the rational mind nor can be consciously controlled.

Determiners of Creativity :

Determiners of creative performance that lie within the individual include traits or personality, what have already discussed. Little attention has been given to heredity as a possible source in connection with creativity. Creative performance is also much influenced by cultural background.

Mari (1973) investigated cultural and sex-wise differences in creative performance between modern American and traditional Israel-Arab eighth grade children. The results yielded that, overall American pupil performed significantly better than their Israel-Arab counterparts. Israel-Arab males performed significantly better than females whereas in the American group there were no significance difference in the performances between the boys and the girls. These differences are explained by the different socio-cultural backgrounds of the two groups, particularly in view of the factors of cultural : values and tradition.

Aviram (1975) studied the influence of different processes of socialization on creative thinking and on personality traits. It was hypothesized that children reared in western culture would be higher in creativity and lower in dogmatism and more internal in locus of control than those reared in USSR. However, results of this sample study need further verification as the study was made on the small sample (137 subjects).

Stephanie Dudek (1974) using 1,450 children drawn from high, medium and, low socioeconomic strata of Canada found that divergent thinking ability was markedly lower in lower socioeconomic groups. Using divergent thinking as a measure of creative potential in young children Dudek estimated that essential characteristics of transformation and transcendence are absent from a young child's artistic expression; these cannot, infact, appear before accession to the stage of formal operations (Piaget). Thus, true creativity is not likely to occur prior to age 11 or 12. So, age is also one of the determiners of creative performance.

Kennett (1974), who was interested in the biological basis of difference in creativity, found that high uric acid level and creativity are negatively correlated. Further, he concluded that larger family in the upper socio- economic status group provides a social and cultural family environment favourable to both convergent and divergent thinking.

It will be really interesting and helpful for us, if such studies are done for our own children in India. However, it is clear that the immediate psychological climate surrounding any individual plays a significant role in creative thinking. The thinking process is much influenced by the company he keeps, the institution in which he studies or the organisation to which he belongs and the kind of guidance or supervision he gets.

Measurement of Creativity :

Various devices for measuring creative thinking are available. As for example, Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory by Torrance, Make up Problems by Getzel and Jackson, Verbal and Figural creativity tests by Wallach and Kogan, Test for divergent production by Guilford etc. are mentionable.

Elsewhere in this `Report' (Chapter 9.1) some of the tests are mentioned as Individual/Group Activity. For details one may refer to different tests on - Fluency, Flexibility, Sensitivity, Originality, Redefinition, Elaboration, Word association, Hidden shapes, Alternate uses of things, Completion of fables, Picture construction and so on.

Identification of creative children :-

Though every child is creative to some degree yet some children are more creative than the others. The following are some of the characteristics by virtue to which children with better aptitude for creativity can be identified.

1 They are more self-sufficient and more independent in judgment.

2. They are less teacher motivated and more self-motivated.

3. They are more self-assertive, more resourceful and adventurous and more radical.

4. They are more self-controlled and possibly more emotionally sensitive and more introvert but bold.

5. They opt for usual and kinesthetic means over auditory ones while engaged in learning.

6. They choose some sound over complete quite while concentrating or studying.

7. They like to study alone rather than with classmates and grown ups.

Fostering Creativity at School Through Science Education

Wilson has rightly said that every body possesses creative ability to some degree; these abilities can be increased quickly and easily for most individuals using the various strategies of 'Creativity. Studies of Torrance (1965), Davis (1960), Bhaskara (1982) and Singh (1987) have highlighted that use of certain strategies show a positive effect on enhancing creative thinking,

Creativity cannot be taught but can be developed in children by using planned strategies and techniques. Divergent thinking aspects can be stimulated amongst the students who do not apparently show it. The role of the teachers or instructors is very important for foastering creativity among pupils. Torrance suggests the following five steps for nurturing creativity amongst one's students :-

1. Be respectful to unusual questions.

2. Be respectful to imaginative unusual ideas.

3. Show your pupils that their ideas have value.

4. Occasionally provide opportunity to pupils to do somethings for practice without the fear of evaluation.

5. Let pupil evaluate the good or bad. Do not point out consequences, for example, telling results of an experiment before hand. In evaluation, try to tie causes with consequences

Demos and Gowan are of the view that the teacher's role in furthering the student's creativity is a protective and nurturing one. This role of his appears to consists of the following phases or steps :-

1. Inspiration : He should inspire the students to learn to disagree or to emulate.

2. Stimulation : He should provide for exciting and new experiences in the curriculum.

3. Psychological safety and freedom : He should provide a warm and permissive environment in which the creative students feel accepted.

4. Guided discovery: The teacher should provide direction to a level and area where it is most effective for learning by independent discovery on the part of the students.

5. Encouragement : The teacher should try to develop children's ideas through constructive criticism and referring them to competent authorities, to books and to other sources.

Dr. R.J. Singh in his article "Encouraging creativity among the Gifted and the Talented" has mentioned that a great advantage of experiments is that they enable the students to have first hand experience of the gradual development of events and the working of the inherent principles there in. A well directed experiment in science can generate in the students, plenty of new ideas and thus pave the way for further

experiments and creative act. These experiments may be termed as 'idea-generating' or 'idea spurring' experiments.

In the report of the study group on Science Curriculum and Instruction Material Development, Unesco, Bangkok, Nov. 1981, it is mentioned that in order to foster the elements of open competence, the skills and modes listed below need to be taken into account :-

1. Science equipment - designing and utilization.

2. Utilization of out-of-school facilities - using home, farms, natural resources such as forests, science museums, factories etc.

- Field trips

- Out door surveys

- Raising plants and animals.

3. Use of audio-visual material,

To sum up, the following strategies and techniques can be used to foster creativity, for science education at school level in particular

1. Providing favourable environment. In the present contest means adequate library and laboratory facilities, freedom of thought and action, openness to new ideas, feeling of tolerance, and above all, creative attitude on the part of teachers, parents and school authorities. According to Rogers (1961) two factors are necessary for the promotion of creativity :-

(i) Psychological safety, to experiment, to make errors, to bring forth unfinished thought products, without being afraid of harsh external evaluation;

(ii) Psychological freedom, which implies giving the individual complete freedom of symbolic expression, thereby encouraging the spontaneous suggestion of ideas, concepts and meanings.

2. Open ended subject content. The content in the field of his/her choice may be provided, as far as possible. Students should be exposed to a variety of a literature through libraries and should be referred to competent authorities in the subject areas.

3. Removal of cultural, sexual and educational barriers. An example of cultural barrier is that some parents impose their own choice of subjects on their children rather than encouraging the latter to pursue courses according to their own creative impulses. Similarly, sexual barrier is also seen, at least in Indian society, which kills creativity at the very age when it should grow and develop. For example, most of the parents do not permit their daughters to take up technical professions or to compete for IPS.

Over emphasis on examination, teaching through a foreign language, the uniform pattern of state produced text books etc. are some of the educational barriers.

To remove these barriers, teachers should educate parents regarding cultural and sexual barriers and also should take precautions for not providing evidences to generate such barriers by their on acts. As regards educational barrier, the curriculum and instructional material are imposed from the authorities on the teachers and the students. So, the teacher can find out the relevant reference books, useful materials, competent personalities and his students to gain experiences from such sources.

4. Teaching Method. The teachers should adopt such methodologies that the students become the star- learners and thinkers. A teacher should use incorporate questioning technique in his teaching. He can use his questions to arouse in "he students feeling of curiosity, inquiry and experimentation for different phenomena. 11

Instead of lecture orientated method, the teachers can use problem solving method or project method wherever possible. The students may be provided freedom to develop, design and express their ideas through creative investigatory projects and models.

The technique of 'Brainstorming' can be used to stimulate the students. The students at upper primary level may be asked to grow plants under different conditions of light, measure soils depth of seed sowing etc. Thus, providing them an open-ended experiments to work upon a problem of his own choice in his own way.

5. Improvement in examination system. Our whole teaching learning process should not be examination orientated. Stress on getting higher marks in examinations leads to convergent type of thinking. Evaluation may be done on the basis of class performance, interest, orientation etc.

6. Upto date knowledge of discoveries and inventions. It helps on developing divergent thinking amongst students and also helps them in learning scientific method and scientific temper. Some anecdotes in the life of great scientists can also be very useful.

7. Co-curricular activities. Co-curricular activities such as science exhibitions and science clubs develop certain competencies which are compulsory elements of creativity, for example, planning team work, open mindedness, clear understanding of concepts, principles and theories. Improvisations and innovations and use of low cost material or use of methods which can make difficult concepts easily understandable nurture creativity.

8. Home assignments. Appropriate home-assignments play vital role in developing scientific temper and creativity. Assignments such as observations and recording the location of various constellations in the night sky, writing uncommon uses of common articles, construction of working models like solar cooker etc. can help one foster creativity.

So far we have discussed conditions and strategies which may help in promoting creativity. However, one must take care of the obstacles which hamper creativity namely pressure to conform, authoritarian attitude and environments, ridicule and similar attitudes, traits making for rigidity of personality, over-emphasis on rewards such as grades and success, hostility towards the divergent personality and intolerance of the 'play' attitude.

We should realise the importance of divergent thinking and change our old, authoritarian attitude and develop scientific temper among ourself to have open mindedness and tolerance to listen and seek answers to, so called, silly questions raised by children. We should create a proper environment, both physical and psychological, in our schools, homes and society at large to enforce development of creativity in children. The combined effort of parents, teacher trainers, educational planners, teachers and politicians can help to a large extent in identification, development and encouragement to creativity and consequently in the progress of the nation.

References

1. Identification and Development of Talent, edited by M.K. Raina and Shushma Gulati, published by NCERT, Oct. 1988.

2. Creative Research, International Perspective, Edited by M.K. Raina, NIE, published by NCERT, Nov. 1980.

3. Social Change and Changes in Creative Functioning by M.K. Raina, published by NCERT, April, 1989.

4. Psychology of Learning and Teaching, Harold W. Bernard.

5. Guiding Creative Talent, E. Paul Torrance.

6. Creativity and the Individual, J.W. Gatzels and P.W. Jackson.