Post 17: Creativity and The 4 P’s
There is no doubt that the Covid 19 crisis has been extremely hard on everybody these past few months, on many levels. The Corona virus has pressed pause on life as we knew it and catapulted us onto a new and uncertain way of living. We have all faced a collective challenge in how we work, play, communicate, collaborate, problem solve, reason and create. Home schooling certainly presents some mayhem but also gives us the opportunity to re-imagine, create, play, share and reflect. Adaption to life where everything is happening at home has almost become like a Covid Kindergarten, where we have all had to play around and figure out how to live, learn and problem solve through it! Mitch Resnick, Professor of Learning research at MIT Media Lab, says that the core ideas of creative learning are inspired by the way children play in kindergarten. Children imagine what they will do, create something based on the idea, play with the creation and share it with others. They then think about what they have done and think of new ideas and so a creative spiral begins. Resnick divides creative learning into “The 4P’s” Projects, Passion, Peers & Play.
Evidence of the 4 P’s during the pandemic has helped me get through Covid 19! It seems to me that projects, passion, peers and play are everywhere! I just love seeing children of all ages getting creative though play, be it through submissions to our own digital exhibition or via the multitude of videos online. Seeing these creative thinker’s experiment with ideas, families improvising and making up games with whatever is to hand – for instance a home-made obstacle course by Christopher and Grace Farrell for their 4 legged friends, made of toilet rolls and shoes. Their squeals of laughter show how passion, persistence and practice pays off!
Or composing a song as Bobby & Joey Doyle and Samuel & Andrew Moore did, inspired by their favourite band Wild Youth, to express how they felt about what is going on around them. They played around with words, sounds and song and encouraged by the reaction to their project and peer enthusiasm, brought their project to fruition in the form of this video!
Conor and Daire Jean put their passion for technology and time out of school to fantastic use. After hours of trialing their project, they successfully 3D printed PPE masks for front line staff. The combination of their imagination, interest and circumstance resulted in innovative socially aware activity to produce much needed product.
“Creativity broadly refers to a cluster of psychological processes and behaviours that enable individuals and groups to produce novel and useful contributions to their own lives and the lives of others.” – Joachim I. Krueger, The Inquisitive Mind
The time afforded during this crisis has compelled these children and many more to play with ideas and express themselves creatively, through a variety of means and technology. These projects involved passion, peers and play showing how now more than ever how creativity can bring about positive experiences. Through working together and sharing ideas there have been wonderful outcomes of fun, laughter, song and of social value. These creative thinkers have brought joy to their families and community through their creations
Their playfulness and creativity lift my spirits and give me hope that when we come out of this, we have a positive future with such creative thinkers in our midst!
Stay safe, Stay Creative
Aisling