So after a discussion with Zek, as well as with my girlfriend, I think I'm starting to make some progress in terms of my ideas about creativity in science...
Lizzie works in fashion and told me of a project she once worked on where she was inspired by the natural iridecence found in the insect world, and was looking at how this related to fashion. As part of another project interviewed a scientist at Imperial when looking into using the kinetic energy from movement to power moving patterns on garments and fabric.My problem from the outset (which I've had trouble putting into words) has been that whilst a type of creativity can be exhibited in science in the form of rich tasks such as bridge building or rocket design, what I think of as true creativity in science whereby new scientific theories are postulated and tested is a level that I can't evisage being accessed in a science lesson.
So then we need to go cross curricular!
- Students could write a play where they play the part of scientists thoughout history examining the technical or philisophical problems they faced.
- Students find an area of science (like Electricity, Flight, Oscillating Colour, Light or Patterns in ecosystems for example) which they then investigate both scientifically and as a creative medium/project.
- Experiments by video-link with a partner school
In a related question, is this scientific creativity? What about this? (in fact this whole website?)
Also what about this?
Any ideas?
I have written some plays before which my students have used to show their understanding of the history of medicine, which I can post up here, maybe that will give you some ideas. I love the suggestion of being inspired by nature/science to do something completely out of the box.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is less a case of thinking whether something is "scientifically creative", but understanding creativity as being essentially concerned with making connections and applying knowledge towards a self-determined outcome. Simply put, at which point in an activity, is the imagination of students being demanded? At which point can students change the direction of their investigations? I suppose that the level of imagination is often linked to the level of risk.
ReplyDeleteHowever, this discussion makes me think about the dichotomy between the world of fine art and that of craftworkers and designers (otherwise referred to as the 'applied arts'). Fine artists are more interested with structuring their creativity towards an outcome that is pre-determined by their personal and often idiosyncratic experiences/view of the world. Conversely, a designer will work within the confines of a brief that is determined by a general function and form prescribed by the 'commissioner/client', and can experiment within these parameters.
The visual world of science is often a great source of inspiration for fine/visual artists. However, if you consider it the other way round, and ask whether the work of fine artists be an inspiration for scientists? I think that science fiction is an interesting area to explore because a great deal of technological inventions have been predicted in advance through film, comics, fiction, etc.. and this may well have influenced the direction of scientists.
However, science shares many similarities with the world of the applied arts and, in this way, creativity can be developed through simple briefs that require students to apply their imagination using scientific processes. In this sense, the Rocket project is very appropriate. When you talk about an environment where "new scientific theories are postulated", you are essentially implying that students create new directions for enquiry in order to create new ways of working. This is a higher level of thinking and risk taking and one that you would find hard to build into a curriculum that is essentially about knowledge construction and not 'deconstruction'. I think you are correct that the only way to fully develop this kind of creativity is to go cross-curricular and use science, much like any technology, as a tool for realisation.
Would be great to have an overview of the STEM project and how this cross-curricular project might develop students' creativity in addition to obviously encouraging the number of students to study science, maths and technology?