Creative Helping Process
To achieve Quality in any learning area students need sensitive help:
- Help with idea generation
Help through 'mindmapping', 'brainstorming' or 'learning conversations' with the teacher. Thinking 'what to do' is often difficult for insecure or novice learners.
- Help to 'focus' on the important things.
Focus followed by elaboration is the key to quality or powerful work.In art, make the important action big and then elaborate with pattern, line and texture. In poetic language, select an event and write as if there - how you felt at the time - or by visualising being back in the situation In science / social studies, focus on what few key questions you want to research.
- Help to make a start.
Just to make a start is hard for some learners. Just doing something is vital as this then allows the teacher a 'place' to help. To do this the learner needs to feel emotionally safe enough to take the 'risk' of learning or to try new ideas.
Students can be helped to: make a plan of what they want to do or study; in art a 'draft' sketch can be enlarged and expanded; in language a 'draft' copy. These preliminary activities are the place for sensitive teacher interaction and, where necessary, modelling, demonstrating or 'thinking aloud'.
- Ongoing help.
In art, with media skills, details and elaboration In studies, depth of thinking. In any activity, changes of plans may need to be considered - the creative process is often a 'messy' one - the process is often just as important as the product. As the 'product' is taking 'shape' is the best opportunity for 'learning conversations' to: clarify and challenge students ideas; to encourage risk taking; to stress the importance of perseverance and effort; and to help define a sense of quality necessary for self assessment.
- Help to 'judge' how well the task is going and when completed.
Before and during the task students should become aware of the criteria that make a good piece of art, or writing, or research. This will allow them to continually self assess their progress (making appropriate changes) and to consider the quality of their work when completed. They should be encouraged to feel pride in what they have achieved as well as consider how they might improve next time.
Every thing we do is a draft. 'Quality is a journey not a destination'.
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