A Nation-wide Creativity Crisis
In Dr. KH Kim’s “The Creativity Crisis (2011)”, she reported that American creativity declined from the 1990s to 2008. Kim’s 2017 Creativity Crisis Update: How High-Stakes Testing Stifles Innovation reveals that “The Creativity Crisis” has grown worse since 2008. The results also reveal that the youngest age groups have suffered the greatest.
SOURCE: http://www.creativitypost.com/education/the_2017_creativity_crisis_update_how_high_stakes_testing_has_stifled_innov
The significant declines in outbox thinking skills (fluid and original thinking) indicate that Americans generate not only fewer ideas or solutions to open-ended questions or challenges, but also fewer unusual or unique ideas than those in preceding decades (Figure 1).
According to Dr. Ken Robinson, one of the world’s most influential voices in education, our schools are killing creativity
“America is now facing the biggest challenge it’s ever faced—to maintain its position in the world economies. All these things demand high levels of innovation, creativity, and ingenuity. At the moment, instead of promoting creativity, I think we’re systematically educating it out of our kids.”
One of the world’s top business thinkers, Dr. Teresa Amabile’s Theory of Creativity outlines three components necessary for an individual to acquire creativity, defined as the production of ideas or outcomes that are both novel and appropriate to some goal:
- Expertise
- Creative thinking skills
- Motivation
SOURCE: http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/12-096.pdf
A Grassroots Solution
The Universe Within is a world-building course developed by Mat Bevel Company to help solve this national creative thinking deficit at a grassroots level. Coursework integrates Mat Bevel Company President and Founder Ned Schaper’s magical world of Beveldom and his Available Resource Technology (A.R.T.) practices. Students learn how to innovate, problem-solve and navigate unknown situations through original thinking exercises and out-of-the-box approaches.
Students stretch their imagination during classes by watching footage from Beveldom—the museum’s whirling fine-art sculptures and the theater’s funny characters. Classroom instruction teaches students how to capture, connect, test and activate their original ideas through a series of classes: The Daily Doodle, Corrugated Headgear, Story Book and Pedestrian Carnival.
Students play the part of a central character in a unique imaginary world of their own making all while learning art, science and English language arts lessons.
With the addition of The Universe Within TV show that will launch in the fall of 2018 in partnership with Creative Tucson. new inspirational educational programming will be used in the classroom and for long-distance learning.