Creativity\u00a0is not just for kids.<\/p>\n
A new course in the BEd in Adult Education program began this semester focusing\u00a0on creativity for the adult learner. It\u00a0studies how people explore, harness and utilize our creativity as they age.<\/p>\n
Sharon Abbey, Director for the Centre for Adult Education and Community Outreach (CAECO), has spent the last few\u00a0years researching and understanding the importance of creativity to adults.<\/p>\n
Understanding creativity in the adult learner may seem like a marginal inquiry, but as Abbey\u2019s research progressed she realized there is an extraordinary amount of work taking place to understand the creative process, especially as people age.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt started with the idea of why do adults tend to lose their creativity,\u201d said Abbey. \u201cFor whatever reason it seems to atrophy, and seeing as (the centre)\u00a0is focused on adult learning, I thought, let\u2019s explore that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abbey\u2019s immersion into the world of the creative process and the theoretical framework that housed it began. She noticed that while creativity had been studied from philosophical and psychological perspectives, there’s no blueprint as to how it can be formally assessed.<\/p>\n
In trying to develop the outline for the course, Abbey was reminded of a teacher education class she lectured years ago in which\u00a0she posed the question of whether or not creativity could be taught.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0response of her students surprised her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey said no, you either have it\u00a0or you don\u2019t,\u201d Abbey said. \u201cI thought, if you don\u2019t think\u00a0it\u00a0can be taught, you\u2019re not going to even try teaching it to little kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, several years later, Abbey will be looking to do what her class thought wasn\u2019t possible: teach creativity.<\/p>\n
While the course will require creative journaling \u2013 which could include anything from drawing with crayons to creating collages \u2013 Abbey says it will be academically rigorous.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach of the 12 weeks will contain a reading and discussions,\u201d said Abbey. \u201cBut, they\u2019ll have some kind of visual challenge to complete as well. At the end of the course they\u2019ll do a summary of reflection on what it was like to tap into that creativity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The course is being newly offered and\u00a0the hope is that students will be looking to delve deeper into the theories of creativity and its assessment, as well as its application.<\/p>\n
\u201cCreativity is such an important part of who we are,\u201d she says. \u201cSo if you push it down, you\u2019re missing part of yourself, you\u2019re not allowing that part of you to thrive and flourish.\u201d<\/p>\n