Acknowledging Creative Thinking Skills EDUCATING FOR A CREATIVE FUTURE Elaine Holt www.acts.cloud | 2018 1 Acknowledging Creative Thinking Skills EDUCATING FOR A CREATIVE FUTURE Funded by And The Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship 2 Published 2018 All rights reserved © Elaine Holt 2018 Grateful acknowledgement is given for permission to reproduce the following: Front Cover: Pastel Water Drop (2009) © Blomerus Calitz, https://www.flickr.com/photos/blomeruscalitz/ Figures 1 & 7: Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship; Figure 8: Blomerus Calitz; Figures 4 & 14: Getty images; Figure 15: London Transport Museum Figure 26: Science Photo (Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge) Figure 34: The Waldorf School of Baltimore; Figure 41: Graham Holt; Figure 49: The National Gallery; Figure 86: Crossfields Institute; Figures 56, 64, 72, 76, 77, 87 & 88: Gottfried Straube Fjeldså; Figures 32, 36, 37, 38, 44, 50, 52, 54, 57, 60, 61, 62, 65, 67, 70, 74 & 78: Ringwood Waldorf School Appendix 1: Michael Hall School Appendix 2: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 3 For the future 4 Contents Preface ............................................................................................................................................................. 8 Part One ..................................................................................................................................................... 11 Introduction: The Crisis in Education .............................................................................................................. 12 Chapter 1: The Search for Creative Solutions ................................................................................................. 15 Chapter 2: Identifying Creative Thinking Skills ............................................................................................... 19 Chapter 3: Defining Success: The Origins and Purpose of Standardised Testing ............................................ 23 Chapter 4: An Exclusive Meritocracy .............................................................................................................. 29 Chapter 5: True and False Autonomy ............................................................................................................. 32 Part Two ..................................................................................................................................................... 39 Chapter 6: The Creative Thinking Skills Spectrum .......................................................................................... 40 Chapter 7: Written Articulation ...................................................................................................................... 43 7.1: Background and Context ..................................................................................................................... 43 7.2: How is Written Articulation Developed? ............................................................................................ 47 7.2.1 The Early Years Setting ................................................................................................................. 47 7.2.2 The Lower School ......................................................................................................................... 47 7.2.3 The Middle School ........................................................................................................................ 49 7.2.4 The High School ............................................................................................................................ 49 Chapter 8: Verbal Articulation ........................................................................................................................ 51 8.1: Background and Context ..................................................................................................................... 51 8.2: How is Verbal Articulation Developed? .............................................................................................. 55 8.2.1 The Early Years Setting ................................................................................................................. 55 8.2.2 The Lower School ......................................................................................................................... 56 8.2.3 The Middle School ........................................................................................................................ 56 8.2.4 The High School ............................................................................................................................ 57 Chapter 9: Non-linguistic Thought Pictures in Two Dimensions ..................................................................... 59 9.1 Background and Context ...................................................................................................................... 60 9.2 How are Imaginative, Non-Linguistic Thought Pictures in Two-Dimensions Developed? ................... 65 9.2.1 The Early Years Setting ................................................................................................................. 65 9.2.2 The Lower School ......................................................................................................................... 66 9.2.3 The Middle School ........................................................................................................................ 68 9.2.4 The High School ............................................................................................................................ 69 Chapter 10: Imagined Structure or Systems in Three-Dimensions and Over Time ......................................... 71 10.1: Background and Context ................................................................................................................... 71 10.2: How is Imagined Structure or Systems in Three-Dimensions and Over Time Developed? .............. 76 10.2.1 The Early Years Setting ............................................................................................................... 76 10.2.2 The Lower School ....................................................................................................................... 77 10.2.3 The Middle School ...................................................................................................................... 78 10.2.4 The High School .......................................................................................................................... 79 Chapter 11: Resonance and Pattern in Thinking ............................................................................................ 82 11.1: Background and Context ................................................................................................................... 82 11.2: How is Resonance and Pattern Developed? ..................................................................................... 88 11.2.1 The Early Years Setting ............................................................................................................... 88 5 11.2.2 The Lower School ....................................................................................................................... 89 11.2.3 The Middle School ...................................................................................................................... 90 11.2.4 The High School .......................................................................................................................... 91 Chapter 12: Heuristic Thinking ....................................................................................................................... 95 12.1: Background and Context ................................................................................................................... 95 12.2: How is Heuristic Thinking Developed? .............................................................................................. 98 12.2.1: The Early Years .......................................................................................................................... 98 12.2.2: The Lower School ...................................................................................................................... 99 12.2.3: The Middle School ................................................................................................................... 100 12.2.4: The High School ....................................................................................................................... 101 Chapter 13: Observational Thinking ............................................................................................................. 103 13.1: Background and Context ................................................................................................................. 103 13.2: How is Observational Thinking Developed? ................................................................................... 104 13.2.1: The Early Years ........................................................................................................................ 105 13.2.2: The Lower School .................................................................................................................... 105 13.2.3: The Middle School ................................................................................................................... 106 13.2.4: The High School ......................................................................................................................