The Relationship Between Standards-‐Based, In-‐School

Instruction in Visual Art and Creative Thinking in

Elementary School Students

Report on the pilot study conducted January-June 2010

The Purpose of this Study

Logic Model

Implied Outcomes:

Enhanced creative

thinking skills

Stated Curriculum Outcomes:

-Increased Arts

Vocabulary -Increased General

English Vocabulary

-Increased Skills in Creating and

Responding to the Arts

Inputs:

Arts Advantage Curriculum

Methodology

A pilot study Sample: Two 4th grade classrooms from SVUSD. One participating in the AA curriculum, the other not participating

Data Collection and Analysis: Pre- and Post test using the Torrance Test

of Creative Thinking (TTCT) From each classroom, a random

for scoring Scoring provided by STS Subsequent analysis looked for significant

changes in student performance

The Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT)

definition of Creativity:

Creativity is a process of becoming sensitive to problems, deficiencies, gaps in knowledge,

missing elements, disharmonies, and so on;; identifying the difficulty;;

searching for solutions, making guesses, or formulating hypotheses about the deficiencies;; testing and

retesting these hypotheses and possibly modifying and retesting them;; and finally communicating the results. (Torrance, 1974, p. 8)

The Torrance Test of Creative Thinking( TTCT)

Picture-based exercises appropriate at all levels, K through adult particularly useful in multicultural settings Provides standardized scores for five mental characteristics:

1. Fluency 2. Elaboration 3. Originality 4. Resistance to premature closure 5. Abstractness of titles

Fluency: a count of the number of relevant ideas

Flower

Hat

The stimulus must be used Exact repetitions are not counted Scribbles, abstract designs,

incomplete, or completely unrecognizable responses are not counted

Originality: a count of the number of statistically infrequent ideas Based upon what the stimulus was used as. Bonus points are given for combinations

Bicycle

Not original response Originality bonus for combination

Abstractness of Titles: 0 = simple class title 1 = class title with descriptor(s)

2 = imaginative title that goes a little beyond the picture 3 = abstract but appropriate title

Elaboration: a count of the number of ideas added Beyond the minimum details that would be necessary for the basic response

Elaboration

smoke

moon

stars

owl

branches

grass

tree

ash more

panes

Roof detail

Additional tree

knob

Stepping stone

Different shapes

shutters

cat bushes

Resistance to Premature Closure Degree of openness

Based on Gestalt psychology

Scored on incomplete figures only

How Reliable is the TTCT?

TTCT is the most reliable of its kind: no other creativity measure has 40+ years history of research and examination

Standardized scoring (available through STS) further enhances reliability and validity

Longitudinal Studies of Elementary School Students at 22 and 40 Year Intervals confirmed the predictive reliability of the TTCT (however other factors such as economics, environment, etc., were shown to play a vital role)

flexibility, originality, and ability to sense deficiencies, elaborate, and redefine) does not guarantee that the possessor will behave in a highly creative manner. A high level of these abilities, however, increases a

Pilot Study Results

Originality Index

Pre-­test Change from Pre-­ to Post-­test

Creativity Index

Summary of Results

The findings of the study indicate that students in the Arts Advantage group made greater improvements in creativity than their counterparts who did not have Arts Advantage.

Interpretation

(1) Student Motivation (2) Curriculum (3) Pedagogy

Why did we get these results? Three factors:

Student Motivation

-of-

Curriculum

During the research period, the Arts Advantage group participated in nearly 7 hours of classroom time dedicated to the Arts Advantage curriculum. The Arts Advantage lessons included: (1)Portrait Drawing in Steps (2) -observational portrait exercise) (3) Self-Portrait (based on observation) (4) Portrait of a Historical Figure (5) Clay Masks (using additive and subtractive concepts) (6) Painting Clay Masks, using color wheel concepts learned

earlier.

According to Dr. Betty Edwards, renowned arts educator and author of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, teaching students to draw the human face is valuable in awakening their

- (1999, p. 8).

Clearly, a common thread for this cluster of lessons is the incremental mastery of depicting the human face.

Pedagogy

If I give them a sample art project, I tell them: none of yours I

-cutter stuff Teacher from the Arts Advantage cohort

Pedagogy

[Encouraging creativity; multiple viewpoints; originality] is just good teaching.

Teacher from the Arts Advantage cohort

Pedagogy

My kids know they have to give me a polished piece of work

Teacher from the Arts Advantage cohort

Elaboration is another creativity index where the Arts Advantage cohort made greater improvement than the comparison group.

Pedagogy

For the comparison group, one area of superior growth

was in the Abstractness of Titles index.

thinking. At its highest level, it's the ability to capture the essence of the information involved, to know what is important, enabling the viewer to see the

Interpretation Summary

Student motivation+Curriculum+Pedagogy BUT What appears to be most impactful, is the combination of the Arts Advantage curriculum and a teaching style that promotes creative thinking in all subject areas.

Implications for the Field This pilot study fits within a larger context of increasing attention to the role of creativity in education worldwide:

England (since 1999,NACCCE) Singapore (2004, Thinking Schools, Learning Nation) The European Union (2009, Year of Creativity and Innovation) The USA (i.e. Newsweek article, July 2010, The Creativity Crisis)

Implications for the Field

Around the world, national and regional education programs have established a twin foci for their research: (a) the impact of the program on student learning and (b) tracking changes in pedagogy as a result of the program

Recommendations

Address Creativity Development more Explicitly

Opportunities for Future Study

~A full scale study featuring larger sample and full statistical analysis ~A District level study focusing on the impact of creative teaching style + the Arts Advantage curriculum in an Arts Advantage district ~A school-level study examining the impact of the Arts Advantage curriculum on creativity in teaching and learning at the school

Investigation Team

Rebecca Faubion, Lead Researcher Jim Thomas, Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator, OCDE Dr. Elaine Keeley, Principal, Springbrook Elementary Dr. Stephanie Schneider, Manager, Instructional Services Assessment/Evaluation/Accountability, OCDE

References and Further Reading Cramond, B., Verbal and Figural Measures of Creativity. Presentation at the Torrance Center for Creativity and

Talent Development, UGA. Downloaded from the world wide web, as of April 2010: www.coe.uga.edu/torrance/TTCT_PPT/TTCT%20Current.ppt

Cramond, B., Matthews-Morgan, J., Bandalos, D., & Zuo, L. (2005). A report on the 40-year follow-up of the Torrance

Tests of Creative Thinking: Alive and well in the new millennium. Gifted Child Quarterly, 49, 283-291. Edwards, B. (1999). Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. New York: Tarcher/Putnam. European Council on Education, Youth, and Culture. (2009) Council meeting, Brussels. As of 8/9/2010: http://create2009.europa.eu/about_the_year/documents_of_the_year.html National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education (NACCE). (1999). All our Futures: Creativity,

Culture and Education. London: Department of Education and Employment. Guthridge, George (2006). The Kids From Nowhere. Portland: Alaska Northwest Books. Richardson, M. (2001) Singapore's Reforms Seek Creative Edge. In NY Times, October 15, 2001 http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/15/news/15iht-rsinga_ed3_.html. Also see: Singapore Ministry of Education Thinking

Schools, Learnng Nation at http://www.moe.gov.sg/about/ Starko, E. (2010). Creativity in the Classroom: Schools of Curious Delight. New York: Routlege. Torrance, P., and Safter, T. (1990). The Incubation Model of Teaching. Buffalo: Bearly Limited.