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| Feature | No.65 October 2013 |

Physical Literacy and Creativity – First Thoughts

Patricia Maude

Abstract

This paper contains some first thoughts on developing creativity as an enriching aspect of physical literacy and some considerations concerning the potential for creative activity to add further value to the quality of life, with a specific focus on childhood. The paper is structured to consider firstly the concept of creativity and secondly the related attributes of physical literacy as stated in the extended definition. It will then be suggested that making progress in respect of physical literacy can support the development of creative abilities, and, in a mutually reciprocal fashion, those learners who are becoming proficient in respect of creativity could more readily make progress in their physical literacy journey through life

Introduction

These ‘first thoughts ‘ stem from years of experience of observing infants and young children at play and through gradually realising the great extent to which the young are inherently creative. Their playful lives seem to involve a perpetual round of insatiable curiosity, experimentation, trial, error and success. Learning is achieved through movement and increasing movement ability drives inquisitiveness to discover whatever can be found in the immediate and extending environment. Risk taking and testing ability to the utmost seem to be important motivators. Confidence is seen as much in acceptance of failure as in delight in achievement. As Compton (2010:p1) states: ‘Play and creativity are intrinsically linked’. These experiences of observing creativity in action prompted the idea that this is a concept worthy of nurture as an enriching aspect of lifelong physical literacy and a topic worth pursuing in further discussions of physical literacy.

Creativity

Scenario 1

Watching Don climb up the steps to the top of the slide in the local playground and slide down to the ground, then to run round to the steps and start again seemed to be just a great way to engage in active play. However, after several turns, he stops at the bottom and, rather than going round to the steps, he turns and laboriously pulls himself back up the slippery slide to the top and then slides down again. Next he throws a ball up the slide and tries to catch it as it comes rolling down. His sister appears and they play a kicking and throwing game, using the structure of the slide as a goal for kicking under and as a net for throwing over and they make up rules as they go along.

Scenario 2

Children are out playing on the grass with a collection of chiffon scarves. One child says that he has a kite and runs around, trying to keep it up in the air; another makes hers into a ball to send up and catch; a third announces; ‘This is a parachute’ and flies off to outer space, whilst a fourth child spreads two scarves out on the ground to make puddles for jumping into and over.

There had been no prompts to the children to play in these ways, no adult intervention to make suggestions, no stories from which to generate responses, no other players to copy, just a slide and a ball in a playground and a grassy area with a supply of scarves. These are children confidently engaged in playful creative activity involving them variously in self -expression, invention, investigation, imagination, decision- making and fun.

Before proceeding further it is worth asking the question: what is creativity? The Oxford Dictionary suggests that it is ‘the use of imagination or original ideas’, whereas in Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org) we see that “Creativity is the ability to generate innovative ideas and manifest them from thought into reality. The process involves original thinking and then producing.”

Kozbelt (2010) offers ‘the four Ps’ in his identification of the dominant factors of creativity, namely process, product, person and place. In addition to the scenarios above, the following example illustrates the four Ps in action. Inuit carvers of the Northwest Territories of Canada work with soap-stone rock. The carver selects a rock, hews off a piece of stone, commits his tools to the stone along with an idea and vision of what may emerge as a finished product. In the process the carver employs the skills learnt since childhood, honed and refined through years of experience, to reveal a completely original and personal product. This scenario also demonstrates the concept of ‘manifesting an idea from thought to reality’.

Johnstone (in Compton 2010:p7) offers a comprehensive overview of creative development. She suggests that being creative can involve problem solving, discovery, imagination and lateral thinking. She cites Beetlestone (1998 :p2) who proposes six categories in her construct of creativity. Broadly, these involve:

- engaging creatively as a form of learning

- expression

- being productive, as in making something

- being original

- thinking creatively and problem solving

- emotional interaction between the individual and the environment

Robinson (2001: p137) states that intelligence is essentially creative and that our lives are ‘shaped by the ideas we use to give them meaning’. He also reminds us that creativity is possible in ‘all areas of human activity’ and that it draws from ‘intuitions and feelings as well as from practical knowledge and skills’, involving a process of ‘seeing new possibilities’. Craft (2001) suggests that creativity Involves playfulness, exploration, ideas, purposefulness, problem solving and imagination, whereas Barnes (2007) suggests that the characteristics of creativity are curiosity, connection making, originality, ownership and questioning.

Physical Literacy

The short definition of Physical Literacy focuses on physical competence, knowledge, understanding, motivation and confidence, whereas the broader definition embraces factors that can be related specifically to the development of creativity. The first of these is the statement ‘D’, (Whitehead 2010:p13) that ‘physically literate individuals will be perceptive in ‘reading’ all aspects of the physical environment, anticipating movement needs or possibilities and responding appropriately to these with intelligence and imagination’. The statement ‘E’ refers to ‘self-expression’.

It seems therefore that as children become more physically competent and increase in knowledge and understanding of their movement potential, they can achieve greater freedom to explore their environment more widely, can make connections and transfer movement knowledge from one situation to another and are increasingly enabled to use their intelligence, imagination, self expression and ingenuity as creative learners.

To take ownership of becoming an imaginative and creative mover requires the learner to ‘move outside the box’ and to be prepared to re-discover the quality of probing and exploration in movement that was a natural element of play in the early years. To have the confidence and motivation to adopt a discovery-learning approach, to be prepared to engage in ‘trial and error’, to have a willingness to embark on a movement experience that is flexible and to be open to change as it progresses, may present considerable challenge. Having a new idea and then drawing on the existing bank of movement experience to work with that idea, to bring it to fruition in a different form, calls for considerable imagination and tenacity and an ability to suspend disbelief. Learners thus engaged are doubtless enhancing their physical literacy.

Developing a Model to demonstrate Links between Creativity and Physical Literacy

In the chart below (Fig xxx) the key attributes of physical literacy, are collated under the three headings of ‘Movement Attributes’- to include Physical Competence, Knowledge and Understanding; ‘Affective Attributes’ – to include Confidence, Motivation and Self-esteem; and ‘Interactive Attributes’ – to include Indoor and Outdoor Environments, People and Resources. Set alongside these are charted some examples of ways in which creativity can enhance physical literacy and in the column opposite are some examples of ways in which physical literacy can enhance creativity. The arrows are included to suggest that these are not discrete, but rather, inter-related concepts and activities.

For example, under the heading ‘Contributions of creativity to enhancing physical literacy’ and sub-heading ‘Movement Attributes’, it is suggested that ‘through tackling self-set as well as teacher-promoted creative challenges, learners can explore alternative aspects of movement vocabulary, evaluate creative experiences and thereby also gain further knowledge and understanding of physical competence’.

Another example from the same column but in the lower section entitled ‘Interactive Attributes’, it is suggested that ‘Creative exploration of movement spaces, the texture of the environment, work surfaces and access to various levels, pathways, and directions of movement, can enhance learners’ physical literacy’. This would be achieved through breadth of experience and increased ability to ‘read’ the environment.

Making progress in their physical literacy journey enables learners to nurture and support the development of their creative abilities. Taking an example from the box entitled ‘Affective Attributes’, learners whose confidence is strong as a result of having achieved skilful performance levels and an extensive movement vocabulary, along with sound knowledge and understanding of movement, are well prepared to ‘move outside the box’ of prior experience in order to explore new and creative movement territory. In another example from the same column, in the section entitled ‘Environmental Attributes – People’, it is suggested that ‘Interacting comfortably in movement with younger learners and peers as well as with older children and adults can stimulate and strengthen the creative experience’.

Summary and Question

This paper is a compilation of first thoughts concerning links between creativity and physical literacy. Having established a broad definition of creativity and discussed the attributes of physical literacy as defined in the extended definition, we proceeded to explore the concept of creativity as an enriching element of physical literacy and the opportunities of drawing on all attributes of physical literacy in enhancing creativity. The paper culminates in the proposal of a model illustrating examples of the interplay between creativity and physical literacy.

Question.

Having studied the model proposed below, can you add further statements to support the links between creativity and physical literacy?

References

1. Barnes, J. (2006) Cross-Curricular Learning 3-14. London: Paul Chapman

2. Beetlestone, F. (1998) Creative Children, Imaginative Teaching. Buckingham: Open University Press

3. Compton, A. (2010) Creative Development. London: Continuum

4. Craft, A. (2000) Creativity Across the Primary School Curriculum. London: Routledge

5. Cremin, T. (2009) Teaching English Creatively. Abingdon: Routledge

6. Fryer, M. (1996) Creative Teaching and Learning. London: Paul Chapman Publishing

7. Fisher, R. and Williams, M. (Ed) (2004) Unlocking Creativity. Abingdon: David Fulton

8. Kozbelt, A.; Beghetto, R. and Runco, M. (2010). "Theories of Creativity". In James C. Kaufman and Robert J. Sternberg. The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-73025-9.

9. Maude, P. (2001) Physical Children, Active Teaching. Buckingham: Open University Press

10. Maude, P. (2010) Physical Literacy and the Young Child in Whitehead, M. (Ed) Physical Literacy: London: Routledge

11. Montessori, M. (1995) The Absorbent Mind. New York: Holt Paperbacks

12. Maude, P. in Pickard, A. and Maude, P. (forthcoming 2014) Teaching Physical Education Creatively: Abingdon: Routledge

13. Robinson, K. (2001) Out of our Minds. Chichester: Capstone

14. Sawyer, R. K. (2003) Creativity and Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press

15. Whitehead, M. (2013) www.physical-literacy.org.uk

16. Whitehead, M.E. (Ed) (2010) Physical Literacy throughout the Lifecourse. London: Routledge

Contact

Patricia Maude
Homerton College, University of Cambridge
United Kingdom

http://www.icsspe.org/