Session Information
03 SES 16 A, Researching for Responsible and Innovative Practices in Education: Perspectives on inclusivity/exclusivity and methodological challenges
Symposium
Contribution
This qualitative study aimed at providing both practical design principles and new theoretical knowledge for a creative educational environment in schools characterized by simultaneous inquiry of science or math, and the arts. An educational design model called "Write a Science Opera" (WASO) was used in school interventions to this end. The research methodology applied was Educational Design Research (EDR), a genre in which iterative development of practical solutions to complex educational problems also provides context for empiri- cal investigations that produce theoretical understanding and which can inform the work of others (McKenney & Reeves, 2012; Van den Akker, Gravemeijer, McKenney, & Nieveen, 2006 and the underpinning theory is Wise Humanising Creativity (WHC) (Chappell, Pended, Swinford & Ford , 2016). The research question was: What characterizes creativity in the WASO context? What do such characteristics imply for the de- sign of WASO as a creative learning environment? Data was collected from teachers in interventions during which WASO was implemented in two primary schools in a Norwegian city. Data relating to informants’ experiences and perceptions was coded and analyzed to articulate the kind of creative activity witnessed. Data, consisting of interviews and reflective notes, was analyzed in accordance with Educational Design Research (EDR) theory in order to explore design principles which could further develop WASO in the future, as well as to provide theoretical knowledge for the benefit of other educational researchers in the field. Findings included numerous examples of relevant WHC theory, such as 'new ideas that matter' and 'immersion in creativity', and findings concerning structural design principles in the form of direct recommendations made by participating teachers and/or as themes which emerged hand-in-hand with other findings. Conclusively, WASO is perceived by teachers to be a creative educational environment. Yet, teachers lack a clear concept of how to describe creativity in WASO. Typically, they consider WASO creative due to it being di erent than traditional teaching, its reliance on arts education methods, and its improvisational elements. Data analysis did not, however, produce conclusive evidence in parts of the WASO creative process.Analysis did not, for example, yield good examples of how the balancing of working on one’s own and with others, a question that relates to the issues of inclusivity and exclusivity, may be characterized. For a full account of findings and discussion of this study see: Ben-Horin, O., Chappell, K. A., Halstead, J. & Espeland, M. (2017)
References
Biesta, G. J. J. (2014). The beautiful risk of education. Boulder: Paradigm Publishers. Chappell, K., Pender, T., Swinford, E. and Ford, K. (2016). Making and being made: wise humanising creativity in interdisciplinary early years arts education. International Journal Of Early Years Education Vol. 24, Iss. 3, 2016. European Commission (2009). Manifesto of the European Ambassadors for the European Year of Creativity and Innovation. Available at: http://www.create2009.europa.eu/ambassadors.html. Retrieved on Oct. 28th, 2016. Ben-Horin, O., Chappell, K. A., Halstead, J. & Espeland, M. (2017). Designing Creative Inter-Disciplinary Science and Art Interventions in Schools: The Case of Write a Science Opera (WASO). Cogent Education, Vol. 4 (1). McKenney, S. & Reeves, T. (2012). Conducting Educational Design Research. London: Routledge.
Search the ECER Programme
- Search for keywords and phrases in "Text Search"
- Restrict in which part of the abstracts to search in "Where to search"
- Search for authors and in the respective field.
- For planning your conference attendance you may want to use the conference app, which will be issued some weeks before the conference
- If you are a session chair, best look up your chairing duties in the conference system (Conftool) or the app.