A new study from the educational psychology research group in University of Helsinki has been published in Creative Education Journal. In their study, Iida Vedenpää and Kirsti Lonka explored what kinds of conceptions of creativity and learning do Finnish teachers and teacher students express. The study also aimed to find out do teachers and student teachers think that there is a connection between learning and creativity. The respondents’ conceptions of learning viewed learning as assimilating new knowledge into a pre-existing framework or interpreting knowlegde within an existing framework. The learner was most often seen as implicitly passive. Neither individuality nor collaborativity of learning were emphasized in the answers. Conceptions of creativity viewed creativity as an ability that is not innate, but needs time or exercise to develop. The respondents’ focus was in a creative process, not creative product. Creativity was viewed individual. Teachers and teacher students typically saw a connection between learning and creativity.
To find out more:
http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?paperID=51547#.VIgPjGPET18