Creativity in Maths
The purpose and value of creativity in primary mathematics education
Within this essay I am going to discuss the complex notion of creativity, in specific relation to creative teaching within the subject of mathematics. I will define the issues of interpreting creativity and the debates surrounding these issues. Secondly I am going to look at theories of creativity and the different views which have been argued. In relation to pedagogy, I will examine if the amount of assessment that teachers are now required to do restricts how creative they can be within their delivery of the curriculum. Furthermore, I will analyse the difficulties of creative pedagogy and the implementation of creative learning across the curriculum, focusing on mathematics. Creative learning can be highly beneficial for children 's learning and development, I will highlight the reasons for this and look at key theories relating to the debate. Lastly, I will look at policies and reviews which suggest that creative teaching approaches should be used across the curriculum.
Within education there are complex issues relating to creativity. Creativity is defined by different people in many different ways. Duffy (1998 cited in Brock, Dodds, Jarvis and Olusoga, 2009) defines creativity as a means of forming new connections in a way that is meaningful to the individual. In this way creativity can be very useful for learning, due to the fact that it can help individuals create new distinctions within their learning and gain a firmer understanding of what they are being taught. Similarly Kohl (2008) suggested that creative activities are about exploring exciting and advanced ideas in the hope of discovering something new. Through experimentation learners may stumble across knowledge that was previously unknown to them, which gives them the opportunity to expand on their understanding. By providing children with creative opportunities practitioners are giving them a chance to expand their
Within this essay I am going to discuss the complex notion of creativity, in specific relation to creative teaching within the subject of mathematics. I will define the issues of interpreting creativity and the debates surrounding these issues. Secondly I am going to look at theories of creativity and the different views which have been argued. In relation to pedagogy, I will examine if the amount of assessment that teachers are now required to do restricts how creative they can be within their delivery of the curriculum. Furthermore, I will analyse the difficulties of creative pedagogy and the implementation of creative learning across the curriculum, focusing on mathematics. Creative learning can be highly beneficial for children 's learning and development, I will highlight the reasons for this and look at key theories relating to the debate. Lastly, I will look at policies and reviews which suggest that creative teaching approaches should be used across the curriculum.
Within education there are complex issues relating to creativity. Creativity is defined by different people in many different ways. Duffy (1998 cited in Brock, Dodds, Jarvis and Olusoga, 2009) defines creativity as a means of forming new connections in a way that is meaningful to the individual. In this way creativity can be very useful for learning, due to the fact that it can help individuals create new distinctions within their learning and gain a firmer understanding of what they are being taught. Similarly Kohl (2008) suggested that creative activities are about exploring exciting and advanced ideas in the hope of discovering something new. Through experimentation learners may stumble across knowledge that was previously unknown to them, which gives them the opportunity to expand on their understanding. By providing children with creative opportunities practitioners are giving them a chance to expand their
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