________ It needs ________

Needs to be in a safe but challenging environment

Participants need to feel safe, relaxed, happy and as if they are on a challenging journey.

Ideally participants involved (including facilitators) have chosen to be there

Everyone is happy to be involved

Time for reflection

Time for pauses

Breaks

Lulls - times when there is uncertainty lead to moments of genuine discovery of knowledge

Currently, because creative learning is not the ‘norm’ in many learning situations, creative learning can be activated as something extraordinary in extraordinary places. For example galleries, the beach, in the rain, at a different university, at someone’s house or during a residential. Places participants feel are special or places that are unexpected or secret.

It needs innovative ways of recording the process of learning; new media, social networking, video and audio recordings, learning diaries, stop frame footage etc. Recording the learning process in such a way lessens the need for ‘outcomes’ or finished  products. The recorded learning is the outcome.

People setting up creative learning situations need to know about a range of really good creative learning projects. This is a bit chicken and egg but letting a group make a mess with some paint is worlds away from allowing a group to discover new skills through collaboration. There needs to be a summary of excellent creative learning projects/initiatives in one easy to access place so community groups, organisers and institutions can see what’s been done and steal ideas.

“Right side thinking”.
Awareness that creative learning required a different type of thinking.
We spend most of our academic lives learning on the left side of our brains. The left side is used for verbal communication, working things out step by step and being rational. The right side is very good at non-verbal cognition, seeing the whole picture, suspending judgment, allowing things to form with no real plan, making leaps of insight and perceiving the overall pattern of things.

The correct setting; in school, at home, at a youth club, in a gallery, on a football pitch, in a gym or at uni. - not always in a classroom, education room. Setting can affect the type of learning; football pitch for a run around = thinking of new ideas, a quite small den for writing a story about elves.

Divergent thinking - not just trying to be right as quickly as possible ( De Bono - thinking hats, lateral thinking etc )

Everyone involved needs to have the same basic skills in place. This required ‘skill set’ needs to be identified and ‘tested’ before the creative learning activity. For example; if you were planning to build an online learning network you would be looking at participants computer literacy, if you were planning a den building day you would be looking at the groups fine motor skills and tool use skills ( children = can I use a hammer and nails, adults = can I use a power tool )

Parameters - structure is important

Malleable learners - not too set in their ways, happy to try something different - the younger the better!

To be valued - the school, gallery, institutions, club its happening in needs to truly value creative learning.
It should therefore be given enough time, enough budget and enough room.

To be allowed to change - creative learning projects should be fluid and dynamic.

To be full of genuine choices - materials, timings, venues etc. it needs to be shaped by all involved but more so it needs to be learner led.