Inquiry Project
Final Inquiry Paper
Education is an amazing asset to have when trying to become successful in life. However for some students it is very hard to gain knowledge without the help of creativity or it’s hard to gain the creativity without the help of knowledge. In what direction must classrooms lean towards to produce both knowledge and creativity among students? If students gain knowledge but not creativity or vice versa then overall it leaves the student lacking a crucial component in their education. The one way to really gain knowledge is by really learning from your teacher, and applying it to real life. However, gaining creativity is a different story. For some creativity is just a natural thing but for other it has to be influenced. Over the years many academic scholars have discussed this for years now and they just seem to never come to a conclusion on a way to fix it. The best way to analyze the scholars is to compare not only with themselves but the ideas of teachers and students.
Some scholars believe that creativity is what drives us to gain knowledge; others however not so much. Small states, “If creativity is not stimulated then knowledge is not gained (Small 2)”. Small is the primal example of a scholar who sees creativity as the most significant in gaining a great education. However, Svincki sees knowledge as the basis of education; well primarily prior knowledge. Svincki makes the statement, “If the student has any false prior knowledge it can hold back the student from learning or gaining any new knowledge (1)”. Most would take sides but in fact, neither one is wrong it solely depends on the student and how they learn. Interviews were conducted among high school and college students along with teachers of the same. In comparison to Svinicki and Small, Kevin a college student stated, “I think there are only certain courses that stimulate a student’s creativity but gaining knowledge doesn’t come without help; and gaining knowledge is not just sitting in a classroom (Rowley)”. Svincki believes that if we learn any false information then it restricts you from gaining any new knowledge. When we sit in a classroom and the teacher or professor is lecturing and just reading off of a Power point we, as students, all individually interpret her spoken words into something different. So, if there is no explanation or creative way of making sure the students receive the correct information then later on it can hold them back from what they may learn in the future. When you look at Svincki, Small, and the college students perspectives as a whole you notice one major thing. Creativity and knowledge go hand in hand.
Lagemaat however finds that knowledge is the basis of everything education but he clearly states that, “…we are confronted by a bewildering array of contradictory beliefs (4)”. Even though he believes knowledge is the basis he knows that everything we learn from teachers, family or anyone it all contradicts one another. So how do we know that creativity would even work in helping students gain knowledge if the knowledge learned is going to constantly contradict itself? In some cases knowledge doesn’t always contradict itself but according to Lagemaat many individuals have different stories and ideas on how a math problem should be solved or how an event in history played out, and this is what causes the contradiction among knowledge. Creativity is very useful in helping students gain knowledge but when students are given different points of view that all contradict each other it can limit knowledge they gain. Having different points of view is not a bad thing but what is bad is when you have a number of contradicting opinions that you are unable to make a solid conclusion of your own. Huai-en believes the opposite of Lagemaat, and believes that creativity is the center of all knowledge gained but he, in turn, believes that it is the duty of the teacher or professor to stimulate the creativity through his/her teachings. Unlike many other authors, Huai-en, explores all sides of creativity and one of the down sides to creativity he finds is, “…creative education is a challenge for teachers (2)”. If all the teacher can offer to a student is knowledge and nothing else how effective are they as a teacher?
It’s been very clear to see that many teachers or professors don’t possess the creativity that is needed to get an idea across to a student. It became especially clear when I became a college student. Since most of the professors in college are research based professors they aren’t quite sure on how to clearly and creatively display knowledge in a way for students to understand. I feel this is the main point Huai-en is trying to put emphasis on whether it be in middle school, high school or college. So, Huai-en offers a solution! Huai-en states that in order for a creative classroom, “…the teachers must be creative (1)”. If a teacher can become creative it can in turn rub off onto the student which is always great because then a student can take that creativity and use it to their advantage in the classroom.
Lagemaat and Huai-en both see a flaw in knowledge and creativity but when a teacher was interviewed, he made the statement, “It’s not just about creativity or knowledge. If all you do is read off a power point or assign them chapters from a book it is severely going to limit them. There must be a happy medium among the two (Noblitt)”. Over my high school years I really understand where Noblitt is coming from. Having had him in the past as a teacher, the one thing that I really noticed about his class that stood out from the rest is the projects he gave us that really had our brains pounding and striving for answers. Unlike other teachers or professors I have had Noblitt easily connected to the students he taught which made them strive to learn more. So, that raises the question of how heavily a classroom relies on a teacher or professor to help students gain knowledge and actually learn.
So how do we combine the two? David Noblitt, a high school teacher states, “The best way to stimulate both creativity and knowledge depends on the environment the teacher creates within the classroom. If it’s an open and freer environment then the more creativity is fostered and knowledge is learned (Noblitt).” Author James Kaufman believes the same but in opposite form. Kaufman believes that along with knowledge comes creative thinking and if that knowledge can be stimulated than creativity will not be hard to find. Over my school profession I have noticed that when given an equal amount of knowledge and creativity within the classroom I seem to learn and gain more from the class period.
When I was a student in Noblitt’s class I was really taken back by how relaxing of an environment he created within his classroom. As a student I wasn’t used to the relaxed go with the flow environment that he created. The environment he created in comparison to other classrooms was a freer environment where your opinion and your opinion alone mattered. In his classroom you felt a willingness to express your ideas among your fellow classmates. The one thing that I have found within college classrooms is that in some cases the classes are overwhelmingly large and so it limits the openness of student opinions in that class. This in turn hurts the student significantly but if the teacher or professor could come into that classroom and set a tone and feeling that gets students to really connect to each other and get their creative juices flowing then knowledge shouldn’t be far behind.
Education is the sole part of having a successful future. Now, don’t get me wrong it’s not the only thing that leads to success. Some individuals work for years in one position and work themselves up to a place of stature within a company but, in most cases, without an education it is very hard to gain that stature faster. If the education lacks providing students with knowledge or creativity then it can turn that successful looking future upside down. People wonder but how can it do that? Well this is because there is not an equal amount of creativity and knowledge within a classroom. In any classroom or any subject creativity and knowledge can be beneficial. The only difference is that within certain classes there is more use of creativity than knowledge and vice versa. In an English class your creativity is going to be more beneficial than a math class where your knowledge on how to solve a problem is going to help you more. To others it may be the other way around.
Authors can argue back and forth about which one is the sole contributor to how successful a student is in a class but when it comes down to looking at everything as a whole and really analyzing it, we see that’s not the case. With a combination of both creativity and knowledge any student can be successful. Teachers and students are the best source for trying to solve the reoccurring problems within a classroom. If a teacher can create an environment that stimulates creativity within students than it will give students more of a push to actually gain knowledge. However, it does not solely depend on the teacher; and if the teacher can create this environment than it should be the students duty to take this creativity and knowledge and make something productive out of it. Education is a very important asset to have in life and in this world but the only way that we can really ever put that education to use is if we really take the time to gain the knowledge and creativity to make the most out of our education.
Bibliography
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Small, Ruth V., Marilyn P. Arnone , Barbara K. Stripling , Renee F. Hill, and Blythe Bennett.
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