Creativity in the Classroom: Schools of Curious Delight

369 Pages·2009·7.95 MB·English

by  Alane Jordan Starko

Creativity in the Classroom
Th e fourth edition of this well-known text continues the mission of its predecessors—to help
teachers link creativity research and theory to the everyday activities of classroom teaching. Part I
(chapters 1–5) includes information on models and theories of creativity, characteristics of creative
people, and talent development. Part II (chapters 6–10) includes strategies explicitly designed to
teach creative thinking, to weave creative thinking into content area instruction, and to organ-
ize basic classroom activities (grouping, lesson planning, assessment, motivation, and classroom
organization) in ways that support students’ creativity.
Changes in this Edition
Improved Organization—Th is edition has been reorganized from 8 to 10 chapters allowing the
presentation of theoretical material in clearer, more manageable chunks.
New Material—In addition to general updating, there are more examples involving middle and
secondary school teaching, more examples linking creativity to technology, new information on the
misdiagnosis of creative students as having ADHD, and more material on cross-cultural concepts
of creativity, collaborative creativity, and linking creativity to state standards.
Pedagogy & Design—Chapter-opening vignettes, within-chapter refl ection questions and activities,
sample lesson ideas from real teachers, and end-of-chapter journaling activities help readers adapt
content to their own teaching situations. Also, a larger trim size makes the layout more open and
appealing, and a single end-of-book reference section makes referencing easier.
Targeted specifi cally to educators (but useful to others), this book is suitable for any course that deals
wholly or partly with creat ivity in teaching, teaching the gift ed and talented, or teaching thinking
and problem solving. Such courses are variously found in departments of special education, early
childhood education, curriculum and instruction, or educational psychology.
About the Author
Alane Jordan Starko is currently a Professor in the Department of Teacher Education at Eastern
Michigan University. A former elementary school teacher, teacher of the gift ed, and head of the
Teacher Education Department at Eastern Michigan, she also served on the board of directors of
the National Association for Gift ed Children. She writes in the areas of creativity, education of the
gift ed, and curriculum.

Creativity in the Classroom
Schools of Curious Delight
Fourth Edition
Alane Jordan Starko
First edition published 1995
by Longman Publishers USA
Second edition published 2001
Th ird edition published 2005
by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Th is edition published 2010
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Simultaneously published in the UK
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2009.
To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.
© 1995 Longman Publishers USA
© 2001, 2005 Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
© 2010 Taylor & Francis
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereaft er invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identifi cation and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Starko, Alane J.
Creativity in the classroom : schools of curious delight / Alane Jordan Starko. — 4th ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Creative thinking. I. Title.
LB1062.S77 2009
370.15’7—dc22
2009008818
ISBN 0-203-87149-9 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 10: 0-415-99706-2 (hbk)
ISBN 10: 0-415-99707-0 (pbk)
ISBN 10: 0-203-87149-9 (ebk)
ISBN 13: 978-0-415-99706-5 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978-0-415-99707-2 (pbk)
ISBN 13: 978-0-203-87149-2 (ebk)
To the Hansen children—whose energy and creativity force
my imagination into overdrive
and
As always, to my grandmother Gwen—every good thing
I’ve done can be traced, in the end, back to her

Contents
Preface: Why Creativity in the Classroom? ix
Part I Understanding Creative People and Processes 1
1 What Is Creativity? 3
2 Models of the Creative Process 21
3 Th eories of Creativity: Th e Individual 45
4 Th eories of Creativity: Systems in Context 63
5 Creative People 81
Part II Creativity and Classroom Life 117
6 Teaching Creative Th inking Skills and Habits 119
7 Creativity in the Content Areas: Language Arts, Social Studies, and the Arts 173
8 Creativity in the Content Areas: Science, Math, and General Teaching Strategies 207

9 Motivation, Creativity, and Classroom Organization 243
10 Assessing Creativity 283
Appendix: Problem-Finding Lessons 313
References 329
Author Index 345
Subject Index 351
vii

Preface
Why Creativity in the Classroom?
At many points in the writing process an author asks him- or himself, “Why am I doing this? Why
write this book?” For me, the answer has two components: belief in the importance of creativity in
the constant reshaping of the world in which we live and, more specifi cally, belief in the importance
of creativity in the schools. It is easy to consider the essential role of creativity in bringing joy and
meaning to the human condition—without creativity we have no art, no literature, no science, no
innovation, no problem solving, no progress. It is, perhaps, less obvious that creativity has an equally
essential role in schools. Th e processes of creativity parallel those of learning. Recent calls for au-
thentic activities, teaching for understanding, and real-world problem solving all require engaging
students with content in fl exible and innovative ways. Students who use content in creative ways
learn the content well. Th ey also learn strategies for identifying problems, making decisions, and
fi nding solutions both in and out of school. Classrooms organized to develop creativity become
places of both learning and wonder, the “curious delight” of the book’s title.
Why Th is Book?
Creativity in the Classroom: Schools of Curious Delight is a book about creativity written specifi cally
for teachers. It was designed for a graduate course that helps teachers incorporate important aspects

of creativity in the daily activities of classroom life. Teachers who understand the creative process
can choose content, plan lessons, organize materials, and even grade assignments in ways that help
students develop essential skills and attitudes for creativity. To do this well, teachers need both a
fi rm grounding in research and theory regarding creativity and a variety of strategies for teaching
and management that tie research to practice. Th is book is designed to do both.
Th is is not another book on research regarding creativity, although research and theory are
important components of the book. It is not a book of creative activities or “What do I do on Mon-
day?” lessons, although it contains numerous examples and strategies for teaching and classroom
organization. It does build bridges between research and practice, providing the refl ective teacher
with appropriate strategies for today and enough background to develop eff ective strategies for
tomorrow.
ix