Can Creativity be Taught? "Yes"

Australia, as with other countries that scored highly on the last PISA test, has teachers who highly value creativity and put their values into practice, regularly, intentionally, and skilfully.

That success underlines the fact that creativity is not a fixed trait, and such a view constricts potential.

Prof Daniel X. Harris (RMIT, AARE) says, “The debate over whether creativity is teachable is often rife with misinformation and distraction from the real issues.

"It is not a coincidence that the high-performing countries in this test, including Australia, have education systems that implement fundamental approaches to developing creative thinking.

"It is not a coincidence that participation in the creative arts at school is associated with higher performance in creative thinking assessments, nor is it a coincidence that high performance in these areas is associated with better performance in maths, science and reading.”

Australia has long produced robust, empirical data that shows the value of creativity, but this has not been taken up by policy makers.

"Regardless of opinions, we are already committed to teaching creative thinking in Australian education. This commitment is underpinned by participation in the PISA test, as well as the inclusion of creative thinking in the national curriculum and the general capabilities.

"When we see a concerted effort to pursue that commitment, it will be no coincidence when we see measurable benefits."

Studies show certain teaching programs improve creativity.

"The assertion that creative thinking cannot be taught is questionable. You don’t need to look hard to find studies that show certain teaching programs improve creativity,” says Dr Kylie Murphy (La Trobe University, AARE).

“The question of whether creative thinking can be taught depends on how you define both creative thinking and teaching. The argument that creative thinking is unteachable is untenable unless you assume unreasonably narrow definitions of these terms.

“Seeking clarity about how terms are defined is an important critical thinking skill. This is a teachable skill but clearly not everyone learns it,” she says.

If we define learning as the process of acquiring knowledge or skills through experience, then creative thinking is learnable.

"If a learner frequently sees teachers engaging in imaginative ways of thinking and they experience reinforcing consequences each time they engage in those ways of thinking, they will almost certainly learn to think in those ways. It’s basic psychology.

“The only reasonable explanation for the observed national differences in the PISA creative thinking results is that students in some nations have had better opportunities to learn creative thinking. It’s a bit offensive to suggest that some countries are somehow innately more creative, and that teachers in high-performing nations like Australia played no part in achieving a high ranking.”