The Failure-Creativity Link A Talk for Pitt County PAGE
Lawnmowers and Helicopters: How Parents and Teachers Can Prevent
The Failure-Creativity Link
Dr. Elizabeth [email protected]
www.lizfogarty.weebly.com
Suzanne [email protected]
NAGC 2014What outcomes would you like to see for your children
as a result of their education? A major IBM study of more than
1,500 CEOs from 60 countries and 33 industries in 2010 found that
the single most sought-after trait in a CEO is CREATIVITY.
Overparenting:Parents misguided attempt to improve their childs
current and future personal and academic success*See interesting
article in The AtlanticParental Responsiveness =Amount that the
parent responds to the childs needsParental demandingness =Parents
tendency to have rules and demand responsible and mature
behaviorParental ResponsivenessIsntgood?
hovering closely overhead, rarely out of reach, whether their
children need them or not
Parent can have difficulty accepting a childs failures, so
parent steps in to help child achievePROBLEM: child may fail to
develop autonomous motivation in academic settings, perceived
ability to effect change in life, & sense of wellbeing, may
cause separation anxiety or reduced self-efficacyCONTROL VS.
SUPPORTING AUTONOMYParental demandingnessIsntbad?
attempting to smooth out and mow down all obstacles in the way
of the childs success
Parents have a reduced expectation of the childs ability to do
the task or may expect others to compensate for themPROBLEM: May
cause anxiety in childrenOverparenting can cause:Reduced child
resilienceSense of entitlementChild anxietyReduced life
skillsInadequate sense of responsibility or self-efficacyin
childrenOverparenting can cause:ExhaustionStressGuiltAnxietyin
mothers/fathers
Have you ever failed? THINK TO YOURSELF:
What was your biggest failure ever?
What did you learn from it? Failure Creativity LinkWhat really
matters is that children learn HOW to deal with failure an evitable
part of life.
Enhancing childrens creativity is a GREAT way to do this.
MindsetFixed mindset believing that something like intelligence or
creativity is an inborn traitGrowth mindset believing that
intelligence or creativity can be developed over time.
Carol DweckA DefinitionCreativity is essentially a form of
problem-solving. But it is a special type of problem-solving--one
that involves problems for which there are no easy answers: that
is, problems for which popular or conventional responses do not
work. Creativity involves adaptability and flexibility of
thought.From NAGC Position Paper Creativity in Young Children by
James Moran5 Roadblocks to CreativityFear of Failuresuccess and
failure go hand in hand, one seldom has the former without the
latter.
Walt DisneyThe father of Mickey Mouse and the enchanted Disney
empire was fired from a Missouri newspaper for not being creative
enough.
How do you discuss or portray your own failures? Emphasize
Process over ProductWhen talking about an assignment, for instance,
discuss what HOW the child learned what she learned, not just HOW
MUCH or HOW WELL she learned it.In a piece of art, discuss HOW he
created it, not just the resulting picture.
**Knowing something will be evaluated can hinder creativity.5
Roadblocks to CreativityFear of FailurePreoccupation with Order and
Traditionwhen innovation is common, messiness is usually a
by-product.
5 Roadblocks to CreativityFear of FailurePreoccupation with
Order and TraditionOvercertaintysuccess can breed rigidity.Be
Careful ofRight Answer Fixation
Emphasize divergent thinking not just convergent thinking.
Sometimes its important to have the right answer, but sometimes
there is not ONE right answer.
** PISA results FinlandNo mandated standardized tests in Finland
except for the exit exam at the end of high school 5 Roadblocks to
CreativityFear of FailurePreoccupation with Order and
TraditionOvercertaintyReluctance to Playplay is characterized by
high energy and activity, and it is often unpredictable, which are
attributes of creative individuals behavior.
American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children play
outside as much as possiblefor at least 60 minutes a day.
study findings reported in the Archives of Pediatrics &
Adolescent MedicinePLAY is Important
5 Roadblocks to CreativityFear of FailurePreoccupation with
Order and TraditionOvercertaintyReluctance to PlayExcessive Reward
for Successlow stakes produce high success or reward is given when
unnecessary.Incentivising CreativityRewards interfere with
creativity since creative children are usually motivated
internally, not externally
Reduce childrens ability to shift from one category to another
(any external constraint will reduce this flexibility)Mindset
Praising students for the process they have engaged in (effort,
strategies used, choices made, persistence displayed) yields more
long-term benefits. (Dweck)Emphasize Challenge, Not Success
Your Text Herewww.diy.org
SCAMPERSubstituteCombineAdapt ModifyPut to other
usesEliminateReverseResourcesCNN. (2013). What Finland can teach
America about education. Retrieved from:
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2013/12/03/what-finland-can-teach-america-about-education/
Gowdy, T. A. (2013, October). Inspiring creativity. Parents
magazine.
Lahey, J. (2013, January 29) Why Parents Need to Let Their
Children Fail. The Atlantic. Retrieved from:
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/01/why-parents-need-to-let-their-children-fail/272603/
Locke, J., Campbell, M. A., & Kavanagh, D. J. (2012). Can a
parent do too much for their child? An examination by parenting
professionals of the concept of overparenting. Australian Journal
of Guidance and Counselling, 22(2), 249-265.
NAGC. Creativity in Young Children. Retrieved from:
http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=326
