CREATIVITY : SCIENCE TEACHING AND
 THE TEACHER
 

Traditionally science was concerned with compilation of facts and phenomena related with living and the non-living things. Today, science is considered to include not only knowledge but also manipulative skills, intellectual skills as also investigative and objective attitudes. New Education Policy (1986) has given special stress on science education keeping in view its inherent nature. It has emphasised inculcation of such traits as spirit of inquiry, creativity, objectivity, the courage to question and asthetic sensibility along with scientific temperament.

Looking at our present era, one feels the need of an entire now approach to the process of science teaching and learning. Our world has now become an information rich and technology based society. It is becoming essential to give emphasis more on 'how to learn' than on 'what to learn'. The traits that characterise scientists - creativeness, task commitment and curiosity should be developed as well through science - teaching. But the question is 'how as a teacher one can develop those traits among the students? The following are the aspects which revolve round this particular question and its possible solution :

i) Science class room - as things are going on there

ii) Ideal science class - How and Why

iii) A creative science class room

a) Involvement and level

b) Projects-individually or in groups

c) Process underlying creative projects

iv) How to help your students -

a) Brainstorming and

b) Psychological safety

v) Those who can and those who do

vi) Do and don'ts for the teachers for maintaining tempo

While discussing these one by one, let us first imagine the following two pictures :

(1) A teacher is dictating some definition of scientific terms with a dictorial attitude and all the students are busy taking down the notes like most obedient disciples with perfect discipline in a pin-drop silence class.

(ii) Apparently quite a chaos in the science class full of activity. Students are busy arranging beakers and physical balance, with weights, adjusting screws, scale pan, suspending bob in water and so on. Asking and discussing things and the teachers taking a round and interacting with the students.

If it is asked, which situation is preferred and why - any enterprising science teacher will vote for the second one. It is because of the fact that each of the students is involved in doing something or other related to the task, facing problems and searching for a solution just like a real scientist.

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So from this description, one is able to comprehand the concept of an ideal science class room. Science teaching, when going on in a class, in its ideal form, should be full of activity and be with maximum involvement of the students. By maximum involvement, we mean that students are using all of their senses in finding solution of a problem. Possibly no hint or suggestion has been given by the teacher to find this solution. Maximum involvement occurs when one is cognitively and effectively absorbed totally in solving a problem. The best way to help a child in doing that is to allow him to work as an independent investigator.

A creative classroom, from this point of view is one in which thinking is valued far more than memory, in which a child is expected to make some contribution that is valued and respected. The teacher acts only as a facilitator and not as the ultimate authority with one right answer. Here the teacher is the guide, the prompter, the change-agent.

An irony about the actual class-room situation of science teaching is that the students hardly get any opportunity to explore and discover on their own. In most of our class rooms, the teachers play the role of an authority. In that sense, a non-creative class room is one where the teacher is rigid, controlled by time factor, insensitive to pupils' emotional needs, unwilling to give them freedom and preoccupied more with descriptive lecture and busy in dumping informations in the class.

As a good science teacher, one can inculcate in the students 'creativeness' by helping them in doing activities such as :

- conducting experiments

- collecting materials, classifying those and appropriate displaying of the collection.

- designing / preparing some model

- reviewing a science fiction

- keeping a file of news paper clippings and magazine articles on the scientific topics and studying those

- reviewing biographics of famous scientists

- reviewing science journals/text books and those for school library

- giving comments for guiding the students to carry on some scientific projects, individually or in group.

- helping the students to organise/to participate in the science fair. Students may do the above stated activities either individually or in groups. One can suggest a list of such activities for projects.

Gallagher advises teachers to consider all the demands on them and on pupils involved in the solution, execution and completion of projects. He particularly points to the following four processes that are always present in the critical thinking in a creative project on problem solving :

1. Preparation -investigation of sources, understanding of background, indentifying a plan for completion.

2. Incubation - Reorganisation of one's previous ideas to adjust to the new information acquired by preparation.

3. Illumination - The 'Aha' experience arises from the formulation and reformation of relationship leading to solution.

4. Verification - The validation or confirmation in a real life trial of the results of illumination.

The task will be incomplete, if the above stated steps are only mentioned without discussing the way to achieve the target. Creative thinking and problem solving are developmental. When pupils spend years nurtured in an atmosphere of mainly convergent education, they may feel confused when given freedom

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for exploration. They may need experiences, step by step, designed to encourage self confidence about their own potentialities for using divergent thinking styles. Brainstorming can help fill that need for increased self assurance while stimulating the incubation phases of productive thought. Brainstorming means un- restrained and spontaneous participation in discussion under a 'No criticism' ensuring 'Psychological Safety'. Emphasis is always given on the process rather than on right answer.

The four associated tactics of Brainstorming are :-

1. Sensitivity : Prediction of social and psychological consequences of events eg. what will happen if all the rivers, lakes and oceans dry up.

2. Identification : Divergent type of thinking eg. how many ways the Delhi traffic can be improved.

3. Originality : More content oriented as security with the process has been established eg. in what way a bicycle can be improved.

4. Redefinition : Finding new uses of a familiar thing. The intention is to help pupil move towards generation of their own ability to cope with.

As regards Psychological Safety, it concerns with reinforcement and support for unusual ideas. The other aspects are :

- Viewing failure as a learning experience to progress

- Listening to students

- Allowing sufficient time for development of ideas

- Supporting the involvement of students and showing respect to them

- Maintaining a sense of humour instead of ridiculing them.

- Awareness of the fact that problem solving goes beyond information

- Recognising that the use of information is significant.

It is quite possible to find some of the students who are already ahead of the class. They need special help from the teacher. Question strikes - who are they ? They are the students-

- Who are less teacher motivated and more self motivated

- Who resist more

- Who choose some sound over complete quiet while concentrating or studying

- Who prefer to study alone rather than with others

- Who opt for visual and kinaesthetic means over auditory ones when engaged in learning

- Who are more self-sufficient and more independent in judgement

- Who are more self-assertive, resourceful, adventurous and radical

- Who are more self-controlled, possibly more emotionally sensitive and more introverted but bold.

Lastly to know about what a teacher should do to overcome his/her inhibition about the student's capability his own method of teaching problems, one may first state that the teacher must not quit with a first attempt, with practice success comes. A teacher has to use variety of methodology. As already sated, "I donot know" as asertive answer to any question should be avoided. Answer may be given after knowing it. Locating resource may be difficult but one may take it as a challenge. A student should never be judged by some preconcieved idea. Rather talent may be located amongst the students. Though, it is difficult to put aside

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traditional pattern of teaching, the teacher should try to avoid correcting any aspects including the validity of ideas during Brainstorming. The teacher should try to avoid sex stereotyping. Project teaching is demanding, it is not a 'bag of tricks'.

The students may not be ready for independent study or for individual investigation because they are not used to. A teacher has to devote time and must have the patience to help the students to become active learners.

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