: A Comprehensive Literature Review on Teaching Visual Arts

Literature Review Sample Work

Nurturing Creativity in the Digital Era: A Comprehensive Literature Review on Teaching Visual Arts

Info: 2542 words Sample Literature Review
Published: 17th JULY 2023

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LITERATURE REVIEW

As an artist and visual arts educator, I've always been curious about creation. Is it inborn, or can it be learned? Why was my schooling lacking in creativity? Is it feasible to cultivate my creativity later in life? These inquiries have grown into a better knowledge of the function of creativity in the digital era, its influence on students' resilience and expression, and how high school art teachers may teach creativity through visual arts. The journey of questioning creativity has led me to investigate the function of creativity in the art curriculum and how high school art teachers may teach creativity via visual arts.

Examples of Creativity and Imagination

A lack of a precise explanation of creativity is a prevalent problem in publications. Most people describe creativity as the application of knowledge, imagination, and judgment by an individual to solve issues in an original, excellent way that is acceptable for the environment and its resources (Slocombie, 2000) (Kaufman & Sternberg, 2007). I now understand what creativity is better, thanks to this research.

We encounter the same problem when attempting to connect creativity with imagination: imagination has no precise definition. Maxine Greene (1995) describes imagination as the ability to face the wall, which suggests much misunderstanding about what it means. According to Greene (1995), the wall offers a chance to be disobedient, inventive, and resistant to certainties. Either you will overcome the wall via imagination, or the wall will overcome you. Although some people refuse to acknowledge the wall for what it is, everyone can break down their barriers. Instructors and reviews of related literature about arts and design or instructors, in general, should assist pupils in considering how to get beyond this challenge.

In addition to teachers, students sometimes pick up knowledge from their classmates who take on the role of teachers. Collaborative searches between teachers and students encourage attentiveness and critical awareness. Visual arts teachers should urge their pupils to address pressing problems with educational value. Teachers could capitalize on students' "not yet" mentality by explaining that while they cannot possibly know all the answers, they have the resources to decipher the puzzles and break down those barriers. To push the boundaries of the mainstream discourse, Greene underlines the significance of considering the various realities and experiences of students and instructors. Students can benefit from arts, literature reviews in research, music, and movie exposure.

The relevance of the art education research paper is emphasized by Greene (1995) and Eisner (2004), who claim that participation in various kinds of art may help students see more in their experiences, hear more about previously unheard frequencies, and become aware of what everyday routines have concealed. Students must engage in, produce, and experience the arts to develop their thinking and awareness. This is evident in the visual arts classroom, as students produce proud pieces of art that make them smile and pique their inner drive to create art. According to Greene, interactions with art provide life, hope, discovery, and light and are not optional for gaining new insights or exercising critical thought but are necessary. Imagination and creativity should be encouraged in students, classmates, and anyone who wants to become more imaginative or enhance their imagination. Visual arts teachers must remember that each student has a unique background and experience. The focus of education needs to be on this.

Students must comprehend the value of creativity in the era of digital media as a component of education. More employers are searching for workers with the capacity for divergent thinking as the effect of technology on Western culture continues to grow. Can this method of thinking aid in developing creativity in our students? Additionally, a lot has been written about the factors that might foster or inhibit people's capacity for creativity. According to Baer, Cropley, Kaufman, Reiter-Palmon, and Sinnett (2013), researchers in the field of creativity have various primary research focuses. Some researchers concentrate on the environment (a person, a process, the press, or a product), while others search for "systems" models that integrate multiple focuses into a single model.

Guilford (1957), following Gardner's theory of multiple intelligence, asserts that creative artistic genius is a complex amalgam of elements and fundamental mental faculties. He found a direct association between creativity and intellect in the lower to average IQ range but no relationship in the area of above average. According to Guilford's bivariate distribution, having a high IQ is necessary for having a high level of creativity, even if it is not a required condition for having a high level of DP (divergent production) capacity. Researchers now hold the prevalent assumption that having a strong intellectual capacity is a prerequisite for having vital creativity.

Many in the sample research about arts believe that creativity is one of the highest accomplishments someone can strive to achieve and sustain since it is a complicated human act and occurrence. To achieve the almost whole human reaction, many subcomponents of creativity are joined concurrently and progressively (Smith, 2005). Teaching creativity in an educational visual arts classroom may appear simple or intuitive, but do all students acquire creativity in the same way, and does teaching creativity automatically result in learning on the part of the students?

The 1960s saw a change in educational priorities toward pupils of colour, those from poor socioeconomic statuses, and those with special needs (Jolly, 2009), virtually eliminating gifted and talented education from the American public school system. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 made it possible to undertake studies on gifted and talented kids and students. The situation of brilliant children's educational opportunities had to be investigated, as the US Congress requested in 1970. Marland was entrusted with putting together a team of professionals who worked in the field of gifted education as both researchers and practitioners. Creativity was one of the characteristics of brilliant and talented children and students included in the 1971 Marland report.

Sternberg's Twelve Keys for Developing the Creative Habit

The problem of creativity in school was characterized as a forming habit by famous creativity researcher Sternberg in 2007. Although creativity involves a lot of work and consideration, it can be taught and improved. According to Sternberg, three elements are required to foster creativity: opportunity (students must be given a chance and a secure environment in which to express themselves), encouragement (students should have someone who can encourage and push them to develop their critical thinking skills), and reward (there must be some incentive for the student to be creative). (Sternberg, 2007, p. 8–16) Sternberg outlined the twelve principles for creating a creative habit that would aid in addressing the question, "What should we do?" These are listed below:

Problems have been redefined. Steinberg defines redefined problems as flipping the problem on its head, getting outside the box, and considering different approaches to the problem. Instead of the teacher describing how to solve an issue, enable the student to devise solutions.
Inquire about and examine assumptions. Everybody makes assumptions. Because these assumptions are so commonly held in society, many people are unaware that they are assumptions. Society formerly believed the Earth was flat and the sun rotated around it. Teachers can also serve as role models for pupils by challenging preconceptions and demonstrating that what they believe they know is incorrect.
Don't expect innovative ideas to sell themselves; instead, sell them. Everyone would want to believe that their innovative ideas would sell themselves, but as many unsuccessful entrepreneurs have discovered, this is untrue. On the contrary, these inventive ideas are frequently met with mistrust and distrust since individuals are comfortable with their current way of thinking and are hesitant to adapt.
Encourage the production of new ideas. The atmosphere in which ideas are encouraged should be critical but not severely critical. Students must recognize that some concepts are superior to others. Teachers and students should work together to recognize and promote innovative ideas. Teachers must do more than condemn when recognizing that these imaginative ideas have little value. Teachers should propose new techniques that embrace some of the concepts they felt were unimportant.
Recognize and act on the fact that information is a two-edged sword. One cannot be creative unless they have information. Many students have ideas that are novel to them but not in the field in which they work since others have had the same concept previously. Others with a more extensive knowledge base can be more creative in ways that others who are still learning the fundamentals of a discipline cannot be.
Encourage youngsters to recognize and overcome problems. The question is not whether impediments may exist; difficulties will always exist. The crucial question is whether the creative mind will be resilient enough to overcome such difficulties. Teachers can prepare students for these situations by discussing barriers encountered by themselves, their friends, and other well-known personalities while attempting to be creative. Otherwise, pupils would believe they are the only ones who have faced these challenges.
Encourage prudent risk-taking. Few pupils are willing to take chances in school since risks might have negative consequences. Failure to meet specific academic criteria might be seen as a lack of skill and effort, resulting in a worse grade, fewer prospects, or even failure. Some professors may unknowingly encourage pupils to "play it safe" by assigning tasks with no options and definite solutions to questions. Teachers must both promote and reward risk-taking.
Encourage ambiguity tolerance. Creative endeavour has many shades of gray, not all black and white. Artists who spend long hours working on a painting frequently report feeling disorganized and confused about their thoughts or ideas. They even question if they're on the right road, starting over multiple times before realizing that the initial artwork was superior to the others. Creative thinkers must embrace uncertainty and doubt until they get the perfect notion or idea. Creative ideas seldom co-occur; they appear in bits and pieces over time.
Assist youngsters in developing self-efficacy. Many people get the feeling that no one believes in them. Many artists have reached this stage, believing that no one appreciates their point of view or even what they do. Believing in the worth of your work is especially vital in creative work because it's often looked down on or dismissed. This is not to say that individuals should believe that every concept they come up with is good. However, individuals must recognize that, in the end, they have the potential to make a difference. The most significant constraint on what kids can achieve is what they believe they can do. Every kid has the potential to be creative.
Help youngsters discover their passions. Teachers must assist students in discovering what thrills and inspires them to unleash their pupils' most creative performances. Teachers should also remember that this may not be the only thing that fascinates kids; they may be interested in various topics. People who flourish creatively in a subject, whether a job you have to do or work you do for fun, nearly always enjoy what they do.
Create an environment that encourages innovation. There are several approaches for instructors to create an environment that encourages creativity. The most effective technique for instructors to foster creativity in their pupils is to demonstrate creativity in a way they can comprehend. Students develop creativity through being shown how to be creative rather than being instructed to be creative. The professors that students remember the most from their school days are not those who packed the most information into their lectures. The instructors most remembered by pupils from their school days are those whose views and behaviours acted as an example for them to emulate. These teachers could connect with students and care about their well-being.

Sternberg (2007) emphasizes combining Sternberg's twelve keys to cultivating a creative habit into practical teaching components. Teachers should allow pupils to revise issues, generate ideas, and develop ambiguity tolerance. With the world's complexity, students frequently seek the "right" solution and rush to judgment. Teachers may also restrict thinking owing to attention limits or limited classroom time. Include all twelve keys in a meaningful activity or lesson to stimulate and reward creativity.

Real challenges are more significant than imaginary ones in classroom exercises for properly developing creative habits. According to Sternberg, pupils can connect with genuine situations more quickly than impossible concepts because they can draw links from their own experiences and backgrounds. Teachers should generate compelling and relevant issues that involve all twelve of Sternberg's keys to establishing the creative habit rather than focusing on one of the twelve keys to building the creative habit, such as promoting prudent risk-taking. Instead of contemplating ways to utilize paper cups, instructors may use Sternberg's twelve keys to have students explore ideas for creating homeless shelters or changing paper cups into sculptures that symbolize their sentiments about their school or community.

Historical Events Connected to Curriculum Creativity Interest

The Space Race with the Soviet Union began with the launch of the space satellite Sputnik in 1957. This event drew attention to the importance of training a new generation of students in mathematics, science, and technological innovation to propel the United States forward in the space race and beyond. The passage of the National Defense Education Act in 1958 resulted in the first large-scale funding of gifted education. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, designed to provide equality to all people, was passed shortly after the National Defense Education Act—equality in education for all learners, including exceptional and talented children/students.

A well-known definition of cognitively gifted and talented children may be found in the Marland report (1971). It was the country's first national report on gifted education. Students who possessed or had the potential to possess the following talents (1-6) were designated as gifted and talented. 1) General intellectual aptitude, or the child's IQ. 2) Particular academic ability, such as English-Language Arts (ELA), reading (elementary), English (secondary), or mathematics. 3) Critical thinking requires creative or productive thinking, which includes open-mindedness, flexibility, and adaptation. 4) Leadership ability, according to Webster's Dictionary, is "the power or ability to lead other people," as well as "the ability to delegate, inspire, and communicate effectively" (Merriam-Webster's college dictionary, 1999). 5) Visual and Performing Arts, of which the performing arts are a subset

To Know more about secondary data collection methods in research, check our study guide on How to collect data for your PhD thesis?

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