Creatiity In Teaching And Learning Education Essay Example

program, as they are so frequently watched and monitored that to make something different, and be seen to make so, is to take a great hazard should something travel incorrect. Yet in fact, in response to this, Robert Fisher suggests that what we really need is learning that is 'not trapped in defensive or everyday thought, but learning that is advanced (Fisher, 2004, p.

12). The question is whether advanced instruction is still possible in an educational climate that appears to favor an extremely prescriptive course of study focused on tests. Above all, scholars need to feel that what they do is worthwhile and personal motivation is crucial to success in our lives (ibid, p.14). The Teaching4Learning website acknowledges that in post-secondary education, teachers are often too focused on imparting facts, which leads to surface learning without understanding (Charles Darwin University, 2011). What is truly needed is more learner-centered, flexible, and creative instruction (ibid). This essay will discuss how this can be achieved. A critical discussion and evaluation of some key concepts/theories and initiatives regarding creativity in education and learning within SEN - Learning Difficulties and Disabilities in Further Education.

In their book on instruction in the Post-Compulsory sector, Reece and Walker (2000, p.16) emphasize the qualities of a good instructor: knowing students personally, being flexible, and adapting teaching methods to meet individual needs. The 'Come Read With Me Conference' notes align with this idea by stressing the importance of believing in all students' learning potential, especially adults with developmental difficulties. The conference also highlights the value of incorporating multiple modes or learning styles simultaneously to ensure effective learning. Downey (2007) further argues that rigid instruction can

exclude certain students from the learning process.

While not every lesson needs to cater to all learning styles, it is important to acknowledge different methods of learning over time. Furthermore, teachers aged 40 and over come from a generation that grew up with the radio, LP vinyl records, and a childhood without mobile phones or internet. On the other hand, the younger generation belongs to a visual and computerized era that is accustomed to different ways of obtaining information. For the classroom to appear connected to their digital world, teaching must adapt and be innovative in educating this digital generation of students. This idea of different stages in the learning process is reflected in Lev Vygotsky's theories (1896-1934). According to Vygotsky, education is an active process where students require support in order to reach the next level (Scales, 2008, p.66 citing Vygotsky).

Staging can be compared to a child learning to ride a bike with stabilizers, gradually removing them as they gain confidence. Some adult learners with learning disabilities may have had staging for a long time and cannot fully remove it. For instance, adults with Down's syndrome heavily rely on support in their everyday lives, as shown by the chart adapted from Buckley et al (2002). This dependence is also addressed in the government's 2011 Green Paper on special educational needs and disabilities, which emphasizes the need for continued support after students leave school. Unfortunately, opportunities and support available to disabled young people often do not meet their requirements for a successful transition into adulthood (Department for Education, 2011, p. 80).

The green paper proposes an individual assessment process that supports individuals with special educational needs (SEN)

from birth until the age of 25. This approach includes targeted support to help them participate in education and training. This access to further education and training is crucial for some of my SEN learners to lead fulfilling adult lives. Teachers should explore creative methods to allow students to evaluate and monitor their own progress. Metacognition can enhance young people's control over their creative activities. According to Bruner, learning is a social process for both adults and children.

64 ) ; and for students with learning difficulties/disabilities, it may be particularly important that they can understand the world through communication. According to Bruner, there are four elements in the theory of direction: preparedness, construction (for understanding), sequence, and motive. This can be compared to Kolb's learning cycle, which was influenced by Piaget and Dewey and views learning as a structuring of experience. This allows for greater creativity in teaching, as the teacher can guide the student from their current level of understanding to where the teacher wants them to be (Hillier, 2012, p.111 citing Lovell 1979). The learning cycle is heavily connected to concrete experiences that enable us to learn through firsthand experience rather than just reading or observing. For example, students may visit a palace instead of just reading about it in a book, or watch a live Shakespeare performance instead of only studying it in the classroom.

This approach makes learning memorable by providing a concrete experience that can be reviewed and reflected upon. The student should then analyze and learn from the experience before planning their actions. According to Bruner, this creative approach allows for the acquisition, transformation, and evaluation of knowledge, measuring

the usefulness of new information (Scales, 2008, p.64). There is no consistent agreement among learning theorists regarding the advantages of 'discovery' learning.

According to Scales (2008, p.67 citing Ausubel), David Ausubel favored a teacher-led approach over a discovery-based approach. However, he still believed that students should create their own understanding, with the teacher providing structure and connecting new information to previous learning. On the other hand, Minton (2005, p. 71) argues that individuals often lack awareness of their knowledge and progress in learning. Therefore, maintaining enthusiasm and avoiding student stagnation requires appropriate pacing during lessons. Breaking down tasks can aid in maintaining focus and ensuring that assessment is incorporated into the learning process.

Since the 1998 'Inside the Black Box' study by Black and Wiliam, schools and colleges have focused on improving the implementation of appraisal to ensure that it incorporates quality formative appraisal in all instruction. The goal is for every lesson to make the student aware of the learning objective and for all goals to be shared with the students (Black and Wiliam, 1998).

Especially for adult learners with any type of learning disability, formal tests as summative assessments may have resulted in little success and feelings of inadequacy. The need to obtain qualifications is always present, but developing literacy and numeracy skills to cope with real-life situations is perhaps even more important. According to a book on assessment, formative appraisal should be "an ongoing and informal activity as you absorb and respond to the way the class is responding" (Tanner and Jones, 2003, p.45).

Ultimately, interaction lies at the core of the appraisal process. It allows students to let the teacher know whether they are understanding

the lesson (some classes use a traffic light system to indicate levels of clarity), and the teacher can provide immediate verbal feedback as the lesson progresses, constantly guiding the student to the next level.The use of creative strategies in learning and teaching includes reflection on the use of creativity in Special Educational Needs (SEN) in Further Education. If there is a key to being creative in strategies for learning and acquisition, then reflection and motivation seem to be common connections.

Letting go of the motive in the student and connecting it to past and future success can demonstrate how reflective formative assessment with the instructor can reshape learning. According to Maslow's hierarchy of human needs (1954), creativity and self-realization are at the highest level (Beetlestone, 1998, P. 110). Fisher states that not everyone can use teaching creatively, as an effective teacher requires a creative school leader (Fisher, 2004, p. 12). The support of leadership is essential for teachers to be creative. The key to adult learning is the process of reflecting on previous learning to determine its relevance in current circumstances (Mezirow, 2010).

''This contemplation can be a part of formative appraisal and creative feedback to students is very much a part of this approach; it centrally has to relate to what Maslow would define as the urge we all have to fulfill our curiosity; he sees the cognitive need as intertwined with the basic needs (Kyriacou, 1997, p. 27). Although the basic needs need to be satisfied first, the outlet is there for all students to be motivated and to learn. Socialization, shared experience, and the interaction of the classroom are all extremely important and for

effective teaching and learning the teacher will have to move and adapt learning to fit the learning needs of the adult students. Sometimes this involves leaving a past history of learning failure behind, and the Lamb Report (2009) showed how too often the stress/interaction with parents of SEN students was on provision of support rather than on the teaching/learning to be undertaken (Lamb, 2009). The report looks for a significant shift in the connections between educators, parents, and external services (ibid, 3.7) and a truly creative approach in special needs education within the further education service may well take this advice and try to connect all aspects of the learners' background, creating a clear path forward for the learner with support from their families.

Formative assessment, as advocated by Vygotsky, can lead to motivated learners by providing clear goals and facilitating their learning process. However, it is important for teachers to engage students in the learning process to enable transformative learning, where students can apply their knowledge and improve their daily lives and job prospects in challenging economic times. Teachers should provide a learning structure that caters to the needs of students and creatively adapt lessons for the digital era. As a SEN Lecturer, I have observed concerns that the practical experience of creative processes may become simplified and fail to capture the complexities and challenges of fostering creativity in the curriculum and teaching methods. Prentice (2000) warns against a convoluted belief that may result in confusion and contradictions, preventing educators from focusing on the purpose and potential of creative processes in the curriculum.I think this statement suggests that instructors often face contradictions and confusion. This

stems partly from changing expectations and methods imposed by authorities in promoting creativity in instruction. Additionally, the multitude of demands for outcomes makes it difficult to allocate time for creative practice.

Hartley ( 2003 ) argues that creativity and emotional literacy in education are being addressed by authorities and business, but are being connected to a performance-driven, standardized, and monitored practice. These concepts are being utilized for instrumental purposes in the knowledge and service-based economy ( Loveless et el. 2006 ) . One significant obstacle to creativity is the lack of equipment and variety of technologies, as well as teachers not having a framework to promote understanding and confidence in their own creative teaching practices and professional development. Without this framework, there may be confusion and an inability to promote creativity in both students and teachers.