This article is an abridgement of a paper presented at the launch of “Creativity and Learning” Seminar on September 20, 1998, organised by the Singapore Chinese Teachers' Union.
The primitive man depended on creativity for survival；the history of creativity is as long as human history. However, scientific study of creativity is only half a century old. We in Singapore have been talking about creativity for less than two years.
New knowledge is fast multiplying and we are fast becoming outdated. New problems keep appearing and we cannot predict when and what problems will crop up. That being the case, creativity is not only important but vital. We teach creativity not because we want to appear fashionable but rather to prepare our younger generation both mentally and emotionally. What, then, can we teachers do and how？ I believe there are three stages.
The very first is to make teaching a proccss of creating. When teaching the same levels using the same textbooks, bring in some variations into your lessons； tell a different story to begin the lesson, explain the same word with a different example, ask a different question to stimulate students' thinking, project a different overhead transparency to illustrate. In short, do something new to make teaching refreshing for yourself so that a routine job bccomes an excitement and a challenge. This is good for your psychological well-being and professional morale.
Next, make learning a process of creating. Up till now, teaching is equated with dispensing and receiving knowledge.“Effective teaching” means “preparing the lesson well and transmit the knowledge to the students”。 Nothing is basically wrong here except that it has some problems. Such learning is boring and uninteresting. It limits what the students can learn and makes learning personally meaningless to them. It also encourages student to be overly dependent, so much so that they have no chance to learn how to learn and will not develop the desire to learn more.
If you want your students to learn more broadly and develop the desire for further learning, then, learning should become a process of creating. The future world is a world of information. Students need, therefore, not only to learn what the older generation has created but also to create their own new knowledge if they are to survive. Thus, the formula “teaching-learning=giving-receiving” is fast becoming ineffectual. We need to re-define teaching-learning as “teaching students how to learn, learning to ask questions, and learning to acquire new knowledge”。
This implies that language teaching is no more a routine of going through the workbooks with the students but to guide them in using the language to answer a variety of questions, to create their own problems, and to solve problems that are personally meaningful and exciting to them.
Thirdly, treat teaching-learning as a process of creativity training. Creativity researchers have agreed largely that creative ability, attitude, and motivation are teachable. This brings about questions of creativity education. Should creativity training be content-free（independent of school subjects） or content-based （taught through the various subjects）？ Will students who have learnt creativity through one subject be creative beyond the subject？
If the answer is no, students who have learnt creativity in Chinese lessons will only be able to write more interesting essays, more vivid travel journals, more touching and lyrical discourses, and more imaginative poems. This is, of course, not a small achievement as far as the teaching of the language is concerned. If the answer is yes, students who have learnt to be creative are creative generally. This will be an even greater contribution of the Chinese language teachers.
In sum, introducing creativity into teaching is neither for frills and thrills nor for looking fashionable but because creativity is intimately tied up with the younger generation's survival. The education we have had did not encourage creativity and hence with it we feel uncomfortable or even puzzled and threatened by it. Nevertheless, take one step at a time： first we teach creatively, next we make students learn creatively, and then their creativity will ultimately flourish.
（The writer is Senior Fellow of the National Institute of Education and a SPH Chinese newspapers resource panellist.）
創(chuàng)意與教學(xué)的三個(gè)層面
本文節(jié)錄作者9月20日在新加坡華文教師會(huì)主辦的“思考與學(xué)習(xí)”發(fā)布會(huì)所發(fā)表的專題演講。
原始人類的生存靠創(chuàng)意的歷史和人類的歷史一樣長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn),但是,以科學(xué)的方法研究創(chuàng)意,也不過(guò)是半個(gè)世紀(jì)的事,我們新加坡人,談創(chuàng)意還不上兩年。
新的知識(shí)不斷產(chǎn)生,既有的知識(shí)很快就變得沒(méi)用,新的問(wèn)題不斷出現(xiàn),而且什么問(wèn)題要在什么時(shí)候出現(xiàn)很難預(yù)料。這處境中,創(chuàng)意思考的能力非常有用,非常重要。創(chuàng)意教學(xué)不是為了時(shí)髦,而是幫下一代做好應(yīng)急應(yīng)變的心智上與感情上的準(zhǔn)備,老師在這方面能做到什么,要怎樣去做,可以分3個(gè)層次去做。
首先是把教學(xué)當(dāng)作創(chuàng)作,教同一個(gè)年級(jí),用同一本課本,但要在教學(xué)中變些“戲法”,用不同的故事去開(kāi)始一節(jié)課,用不同的例子去解釋一個(gè)詞語(yǔ),用不同的問(wèn)題去激發(fā)學(xué)生思考,用不同的透明片去輔助講解?？傊?在時(shí)間和精力允許的情況下,盡量求新求變,料和方法,使自己感到新鮮,把本來(lái)例行公事化的教學(xué)變成富有刺激和挑戰(zhàn)的創(chuàng)作,這么做,時(shí)間和精力上也許要稍微多付出一點(diǎn),可是效果卻有利于自己的心理健康和工作士氣。
其次是把學(xué)習(xí)當(dāng)創(chuàng)作,從過(guò)去到今天,教等于授,學(xué)等于受?！坝行Ы虒W(xué)”等于“充分備課,把學(xué)識(shí)傳給學(xué)生”。這沒(méi)有什么不對(duì),只是有兩三個(gè)缺點(diǎn),這樣的學(xué)習(xí)方式單調(diào)乏味,引不起興趣,學(xué)生全靠老師,所學(xué)的有限,也覺(jué)得學(xué)無(wú)所用,學(xué)生事事仰賴教師,懶得主動(dòng),也無(wú)從主動(dòng),沒(méi)有學(xué)習(xí)到怎樣學(xué)習(xí),也沒(méi)有更進(jìn)學(xué)習(xí)的愿望,要學(xué)生能學(xué)得更廣更多,要學(xué)生有更進(jìn)求知的欲望,而且懂得怎樣去求得新的知識(shí),學(xué)習(xí)本身應(yīng)該當(dāng)作是創(chuàng)作的歷程。
今后的世界是個(gè)資訊的世界,學(xué)生不但要學(xué)前人遺留的有用知識(shí),更要?jiǎng)?chuàng)造他們自己的新知識(shí),才能生存。因此,“教學(xué)＝授受”這公式很快地就要失效,“教學(xué)”應(yīng)該另下定義解釋成“教學(xué)生怎樣學(xué)”：“學(xué)問(wèn)”是“學(xué)怎樣提出問(wèn)題”；而“學(xué)識(shí)”是“學(xué)怎樣求新的知識(shí)”。
這意味語(yǔ)文教學(xué)的活動(dòng)不只是千篇一律的練習(xí),而是在學(xué)習(xí)之上引導(dǎo)學(xué)生利用已學(xué)的知識(shí)去解答多樣的問(wèn)題,去給自己制造問(wèn)題,再更進(jìn)設(shè)法解決自己感到興趣甚至興奮的問(wèn)題。
后是把教學(xué)當(dāng)作創(chuàng)意訓(xùn)練。創(chuàng)意心理學(xué)界大體上同意,創(chuàng)意（能力、態(tài)度和動(dòng)機(jī)）可以通過(guò)訓(xùn)練提高,這也就帶出創(chuàng)意教育上一個(gè)重要的問(wèn)題：創(chuàng)意的訓(xùn)練應(yīng)該獨(dú)立進(jìn)行,還是應(yīng)該通過(guò)選定的某些學(xué)科？學(xué)生受過(guò)創(chuàng)意訓(xùn)練之后,在該科之外能表現(xiàn)得更有創(chuàng)意嗎？
答案如果是反面的,那么,學(xué)生在華文課學(xué)到創(chuàng)意,也只能寫(xiě)出比較有趣的文章,比較生動(dòng)的游記,比較感人的散文,比較清新的詩(shī)歌,從華文教學(xué)的目標(biāo)來(lái)說(shuō),這不能不算是一個(gè)成就,答案如果是正面的,學(xué)生能在華文之外也表現(xiàn)得更有創(chuàng)意,華文老師的貢獻(xiàn)豈不是更大嗎？
總之,我們?cè)诮虒W(xué)中加入創(chuàng)意的成分,并不是搞花樣跟時(shí)髦,而是和下一代的生存息息相關(guān),我們本身所受的教育不大鼓勵(lì)創(chuàng)意。因此,我們對(duì)創(chuàng)意有點(diǎn)陌生,甚至感到惶惑,但是,只要我們按部就班,先使教學(xué)有創(chuàng)意,再讓學(xué)生進(jìn)行有創(chuàng)意的學(xué)習(xí),終,學(xué)生的創(chuàng)意必定能得到充分的發(fā)展。
（作者是南洋理工大學(xué)國(guó)立教育學(xué)院高級(jí)院士、華文報(bào)咨詢團(tuán)成員。）
The primitive man depended on creativity for survival；the history of creativity is as long as human history. However, scientific study of creativity is only half a century old. We in Singapore have been talking about creativity for less than two years.
New knowledge is fast multiplying and we are fast becoming outdated. New problems keep appearing and we cannot predict when and what problems will crop up. That being the case, creativity is not only important but vital. We teach creativity not because we want to appear fashionable but rather to prepare our younger generation both mentally and emotionally. What, then, can we teachers do and how？ I believe there are three stages.
The very first is to make teaching a proccss of creating. When teaching the same levels using the same textbooks, bring in some variations into your lessons； tell a different story to begin the lesson, explain the same word with a different example, ask a different question to stimulate students' thinking, project a different overhead transparency to illustrate. In short, do something new to make teaching refreshing for yourself so that a routine job bccomes an excitement and a challenge. This is good for your psychological well-being and professional morale.
Next, make learning a process of creating. Up till now, teaching is equated with dispensing and receiving knowledge.“Effective teaching” means “preparing the lesson well and transmit the knowledge to the students”。 Nothing is basically wrong here except that it has some problems. Such learning is boring and uninteresting. It limits what the students can learn and makes learning personally meaningless to them. It also encourages student to be overly dependent, so much so that they have no chance to learn how to learn and will not develop the desire to learn more.
If you want your students to learn more broadly and develop the desire for further learning, then, learning should become a process of creating. The future world is a world of information. Students need, therefore, not only to learn what the older generation has created but also to create their own new knowledge if they are to survive. Thus, the formula “teaching-learning=giving-receiving” is fast becoming ineffectual. We need to re-define teaching-learning as “teaching students how to learn, learning to ask questions, and learning to acquire new knowledge”。
This implies that language teaching is no more a routine of going through the workbooks with the students but to guide them in using the language to answer a variety of questions, to create their own problems, and to solve problems that are personally meaningful and exciting to them.
Thirdly, treat teaching-learning as a process of creativity training. Creativity researchers have agreed largely that creative ability, attitude, and motivation are teachable. This brings about questions of creativity education. Should creativity training be content-free（independent of school subjects） or content-based （taught through the various subjects）？ Will students who have learnt creativity through one subject be creative beyond the subject？
If the answer is no, students who have learnt creativity in Chinese lessons will only be able to write more interesting essays, more vivid travel journals, more touching and lyrical discourses, and more imaginative poems. This is, of course, not a small achievement as far as the teaching of the language is concerned. If the answer is yes, students who have learnt to be creative are creative generally. This will be an even greater contribution of the Chinese language teachers.
In sum, introducing creativity into teaching is neither for frills and thrills nor for looking fashionable but because creativity is intimately tied up with the younger generation's survival. The education we have had did not encourage creativity and hence with it we feel uncomfortable or even puzzled and threatened by it. Nevertheless, take one step at a time： first we teach creatively, next we make students learn creatively, and then their creativity will ultimately flourish.
（The writer is Senior Fellow of the National Institute of Education and a SPH Chinese newspapers resource panellist.）
創(chuàng)意與教學(xué)的三個(gè)層面
本文節(jié)錄作者9月20日在新加坡華文教師會(huì)主辦的“思考與學(xué)習(xí)”發(fā)布會(huì)所發(fā)表的專題演講。
原始人類的生存靠創(chuàng)意的歷史和人類的歷史一樣長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn),但是,以科學(xué)的方法研究創(chuàng)意,也不過(guò)是半個(gè)世紀(jì)的事,我們新加坡人,談創(chuàng)意還不上兩年。
新的知識(shí)不斷產(chǎn)生,既有的知識(shí)很快就變得沒(méi)用,新的問(wèn)題不斷出現(xiàn),而且什么問(wèn)題要在什么時(shí)候出現(xiàn)很難預(yù)料。這處境中,創(chuàng)意思考的能力非常有用,非常重要。創(chuàng)意教學(xué)不是為了時(shí)髦,而是幫下一代做好應(yīng)急應(yīng)變的心智上與感情上的準(zhǔn)備,老師在這方面能做到什么,要怎樣去做,可以分3個(gè)層次去做。
首先是把教學(xué)當(dāng)作創(chuàng)作,教同一個(gè)年級(jí),用同一本課本,但要在教學(xué)中變些“戲法”,用不同的故事去開(kāi)始一節(jié)課,用不同的例子去解釋一個(gè)詞語(yǔ),用不同的問(wèn)題去激發(fā)學(xué)生思考,用不同的透明片去輔助講解?？傊?在時(shí)間和精力允許的情況下,盡量求新求變,料和方法,使自己感到新鮮,把本來(lái)例行公事化的教學(xué)變成富有刺激和挑戰(zhàn)的創(chuàng)作,這么做,時(shí)間和精力上也許要稍微多付出一點(diǎn),可是效果卻有利于自己的心理健康和工作士氣。
其次是把學(xué)習(xí)當(dāng)創(chuàng)作,從過(guò)去到今天,教等于授,學(xué)等于受?！坝行Ы虒W(xué)”等于“充分備課,把學(xué)識(shí)傳給學(xué)生”。這沒(méi)有什么不對(duì),只是有兩三個(gè)缺點(diǎn),這樣的學(xué)習(xí)方式單調(diào)乏味,引不起興趣,學(xué)生全靠老師,所學(xué)的有限,也覺(jué)得學(xué)無(wú)所用,學(xué)生事事仰賴教師,懶得主動(dòng),也無(wú)從主動(dòng),沒(méi)有學(xué)習(xí)到怎樣學(xué)習(xí),也沒(méi)有更進(jìn)學(xué)習(xí)的愿望,要學(xué)生能學(xué)得更廣更多,要學(xué)生有更進(jìn)求知的欲望,而且懂得怎樣去求得新的知識(shí),學(xué)習(xí)本身應(yīng)該當(dāng)作是創(chuàng)作的歷程。
今后的世界是個(gè)資訊的世界,學(xué)生不但要學(xué)前人遺留的有用知識(shí),更要?jiǎng)?chuàng)造他們自己的新知識(shí),才能生存。因此,“教學(xué)＝授受”這公式很快地就要失效,“教學(xué)”應(yīng)該另下定義解釋成“教學(xué)生怎樣學(xué)”：“學(xué)問(wèn)”是“學(xué)怎樣提出問(wèn)題”；而“學(xué)識(shí)”是“學(xué)怎樣求新的知識(shí)”。
這意味語(yǔ)文教學(xué)的活動(dòng)不只是千篇一律的練習(xí),而是在學(xué)習(xí)之上引導(dǎo)學(xué)生利用已學(xué)的知識(shí)去解答多樣的問(wèn)題,去給自己制造問(wèn)題,再更進(jìn)設(shè)法解決自己感到興趣甚至興奮的問(wèn)題。
后是把教學(xué)當(dāng)作創(chuàng)意訓(xùn)練。創(chuàng)意心理學(xué)界大體上同意,創(chuàng)意（能力、態(tài)度和動(dòng)機(jī)）可以通過(guò)訓(xùn)練提高,這也就帶出創(chuàng)意教育上一個(gè)重要的問(wèn)題：創(chuàng)意的訓(xùn)練應(yīng)該獨(dú)立進(jìn)行,還是應(yīng)該通過(guò)選定的某些學(xué)科？學(xué)生受過(guò)創(chuàng)意訓(xùn)練之后,在該科之外能表現(xiàn)得更有創(chuàng)意嗎？
答案如果是反面的,那么,學(xué)生在華文課學(xué)到創(chuàng)意,也只能寫(xiě)出比較有趣的文章,比較生動(dòng)的游記,比較感人的散文,比較清新的詩(shī)歌,從華文教學(xué)的目標(biāo)來(lái)說(shuō),這不能不算是一個(gè)成就,答案如果是正面的,學(xué)生能在華文之外也表現(xiàn)得更有創(chuàng)意,華文老師的貢獻(xiàn)豈不是更大嗎？
總之,我們?cè)诮虒W(xué)中加入創(chuàng)意的成分,并不是搞花樣跟時(shí)髦,而是和下一代的生存息息相關(guān),我們本身所受的教育不大鼓勵(lì)創(chuàng)意。因此,我們對(duì)創(chuàng)意有點(diǎn)陌生,甚至感到惶惑,但是,只要我們按部就班,先使教學(xué)有創(chuàng)意,再讓學(xué)生進(jìn)行有創(chuàng)意的學(xué)習(xí),終,學(xué)生的創(chuàng)意必定能得到充分的發(fā)展。
（作者是南洋理工大學(xué)國(guó)立教育學(xué)院高級(jí)院士、華文報(bào)咨詢團(tuán)成員。）