Denise de Souza Fleith

Teacher and student perceptions of creativity in the classroom environment

The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers and students perceptions about characteristics which either stimulate or inhibit the development of creativity in the classroom environment. Interviews were conducted with seven Connecticut public school teachers and 31 students (grades 3 and 4). The findings suggest that both teachers and students believe that a classroom environment which enhances creativity provides students with choices, accepts different ideas, boosts self‐confidence, and focuses on students’ strengths and interests. On the other hand, in an environment which inhibits creativity, ideas are ignored, teachers are controlling, and excessive structure exists.The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers and students perceptions about characteristics which either stimulate or inhibit the development of creativity in the classroom environment. Interviews were conducted with seven Connecticut public school teachers and 31 students (grades 3 and 4). The findings suggest that both teachers and students believe that a classroom environment which enhances creativity provides students with choices, accepts different ideas, boosts self‐confidence, and focuses on students’ strengths and interests. On the other hand, in an environment which inhibits creativity, ideas are ignored, teachers are controlling, and excessive structure exists.

Contribuições teóricas recentes ao estudo da criatividade

The paper presents three recent approaches to the study of creativity: Sternbergs Investment Theory of Creativity, Amabiles Componential Model of Creativity, and Csikszentmihalyis Systems Perspective of Creativity. These authors state that the creative production is the result of a set of factors which interact in a complex way, referring to the person as to the social, cultural, and historical variables of the environment in which he/she is included. Such approaches contrast with previous theoretical contributions by emphasizing distinct elements of the social context which nurture and recognize, to different degrees, the creative expression.

Barreiras à criatividade pessoal entre professores de distintos níveis de ensino

This study investigated different types of barriers to the expression of personal creativity among 544 elementary to higher education teachers. The Personal Creativity Barriers Inventory, designed and validated by the first author, was used to collect the data. This instrument includes items related to four types of barriers: Inhibition/Shyness, Lack of Time/Opportunity, Social Repression, and Lack of Motivation. Significant differences were found between male and female teachers in Social Repression, and among teachers from different grade levels in the barriers named Inhibition/Shyness and Social Repression. The results indicate different barriers that refer directly or indirectly to the motives, means, and opportunities for personal creativity expression, suggesting the need for strategies that increase the possibilities of teachersi creative expression.

Percepção de alunos do ensino fundamental quanto ao clima de sala de aula para criatividade

The purpose of this study was to examine the perception of elementary school students in relation to the classroom creativity environment. Six hundred and forty-four students, attending the 3rd and 4th grade in public and private schools participated in the study. The Classroom Creativity Environment Scale, used in the study, assesses five factors: Teachers Support to the Students Expression of his/her Own Ideas, Students Self-Perception concerning Creativity, Students Interest in Learning, Students Autonomy, and Teachers Support to the Students Ideas Expression. The results indicated differences between male and female students, between students from 3rd and 4th grades, and between students from public and private schools. Moreover, the results revealed a significant interaction between the students grade and the type of school students attend.The purpose of this study was to examine the perception of elementary school students in relation to the classroom creativity environment. Six hundred and forty-four students, attending the 3rd and 4th grade in public and private schools participated in the study. The Classroom Creativity Environment Scale, used in the study, assesses five factors: Teacher’s Support to the Student’s Expression of his/her Own Ideas, Student’s Self-Perception concerning Creativity, Student’s Interest in Learning, Student’s Autonomy, and Teacher’s Support to the Student’s Ideas Expression. The results indicated differences between male and female students, between students from 3rd and 4th grades, and between students from public and private schools. Moreover, the results revealed a significant interaction between the student’s grade and the type of school students attend.

Creativity in University Courses: Perceptions of Professors and Students1

Abstract This study addressed professors’ and students’ perception of the extent to which favorable conditions for fostering creativity exist in university courses. Thirty-five university professors and 874 of their students completed an inventory designed to evaluate the degree to which different aspects related to creativity had been fostered by these university professors. This inventory included 37 items distributed in four factors, labeled as follows: Incentive to New Ideas, Climate for Expression of Ideas: Evaluation and Teaching Methodology: and Interest for Students’ Learning. University professors, compared with their students, rated their behaviors as providing significantly more favorable conditions for the nurturing of creativity. The results suggest the need for professors to be belter equipped to create conditions that foster creativity in order to prepare students for the creative productivity that is necessary in all societies.

O estímulo à criatividade em cursos de licenciatura

Este estudo examinou a percepcao de 82 professores universitarios, de cursos de licenciatura, de instituicoes do Distrito Federal, acerca da extensao em que suas praticas docentes favorecem o desenvolvimento da criatividade de seus estudantes, bem como possiveis barreiras a sua criatividade pessoal. O estudo verificou ainda a percepcao de 1396 estudantes acerca destas praticas docentes. Foram utilizados o Inventario de Praticas Docentes e o Inventario para Identificacao de Barreiras a Criatividade Pessoal. Os resultados indicaram que a percepcao de professores acerca das praticas docentes foi mais favoravel comparada a dos estudantes. Alem disso, a percepcao de estudantes de semestres avancados foi mais favoravel do que a de estudantes de semestres iniciais em relacao aos fatores medidos pelo Inventario de Praticas Docentes. Estudantes de instituicoes particulares avaliaram mais positivamente fatores deste inventario do que estudantes de instituicao publica. Falta de Tempo/Oportunidade foi apontada pelos professores como a principal barreira a criatividade pessoal.

Percepção de professores sobre alunos superdotados

Esse estudo investigou a percepcao do professor de ensino fundamental e de educacao infantil sobre o aluno superdotado. Questionarios foram aplicados em um grupo de 41 professores de escolas particulares e publicas de Brasilia. Uma abordagem qualitativa foi usada nesse estudo. Procedeu-se a uma analise de conteudo dos dados obtidos. Os resultados sugeriram que tanto os professores de escolas publicas quanto os de escolas particulares consideram importante o papel da escola na educacao do aluno superdotado. Entretanto, nao adotavam medidas ou instrumentos para identificacao desses alunos, nem os atendiam de forma diferenciada. Os professores relataram nunca terem trabalhado com alunos superdotados. A maioria dos professores possuia um conhecimento superficial do conceito de superdotacao, do processo de identificacao do aluno superdotado e nao contava com uma orientacao especifica sobre praticas educacionais compativeis com as necessidades desses alunos superdotados.

Criatividade: novos conceitos e idéias, aplicabilidade à educação

A producao cientifica em criatividade passou a focalizar o processo criativo, o desenvolvimento do pensamento criativo e variaveis do contexto social que pudessem interferir no mesmo, ao inves de somente descrever e predizer o comportamento criativo, os estudiosos estavam interessados em compreender como se manifesta o ato criativo; devendo ser este compreendido nao como um fenomeno individual, mas como um processo sistemico, considerando tambem a influencia nao apenas do ambiente familiar e escolar, mas do social e cultural e do momento historico. Este artigo pretende demonstrar que os estudos acerca da criatividade no contexto educacional tem focalizado o aprimoramento de habilidades cognitivas e afetivas, a adocao de uma curriculo escolar que desperte o interesse e o prazer do aluno pelo ato de aprender, a implementacao de praticas educacionais que levem em consideracao caracteristicas dos alunos e ao acesso a informacao atualizada, contextualizada e significativa, constituem elementos de um ambiente escolar favoravel a realizacao escolar e producao criativa por parte dos alunos.

Avaliação das práticas educacionais de um programa de atendimento a alunos superdotados e talentosos

This study evaluated the impact of a program designed to meet the needs of gifted and talented students on the academic performance and creativity of its participants, to investigate teachers’, students’ and parents’ perception of activities and strategies implemented in the program, as well as to examine the extent to which activities and educational strategies adopted in the program differ from the ones used in the regular classes. Seventy-seven students who attended the program, 11 teachers who worked in the program, 6 teachers from regular clasrooms and 6 parents of students from the program participated in this study. The results indicated that academically gifted students had a better academic performance than talented students, who obtained a higher score in the creativity test. The perception of teachers, students and parents about activities developed in the program was positive. Educational practices implemented in the program were moderately different from that adopted in regular classrooms.

Creativity in the Brazilian Culture

Research has pointed out creativity as a sociocultural and contextually embedded phenomenon. As a consequence, the effect of cultural factors on the manifestation of creativity has been discussed worldwide. The purpose of this chapter is, therefore, to analyze the development of creativity in the Brazilian culture. A brief description of the Brazilian culture is provided. Models of creativity developed by Brazilian researchers, as well as a review of creativity studies conducted in the educational environment, are presented. Guidelines for future cross-cultural studies on creativity are also suggested. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol4/iss3/3