By Kris Teubel
The
practice of creative arts can be such a mysterious thing. Mathematics and the sciences, being more
observable and quantifiable in nature, can be more easily explained in many
circumstances. There are always
outliers. To those studying quantum mechanics and non-Euclidean geometry, I tip
my hat to you. For those of us who are
more familiar with using our right brain, the creation of aesthetics and
qualitative elements can easily be the masters of our craft one day, and the
next, completely at a loss as to why we can't get our creation to find its
momentum.
The
folks at brainhealth.utdallas.edu have provided us a great article that may
help to shed some light on our dilemmas.
Our friends in the science corner of the room have taken a look into the
biological nature of our imaginations and how it relates to education. Though the research noted focuses on
adolescents, much of the information could be applied to more advanced age
groups.
Researchers
currently point toward the frontal lobes of our brains as a major player in the
creative process. According to Dr.
Sandra Bond Chapman, Ph.D., “Our brain’s frontal lobes are inspired by newness
and creating novel ideas, and research has shown that adolescent reasoning and
innovative problem solving skills across America have stagnated in recent
decades.”(Chapman Ph.D., 2011) With this general stagnation comes a higher
need to understand what the underlying processes are when one undertakes a
creative process. With the ever
pervasive nature of the globalized economy, individuals and countries alike
ought do what they can to stay competitive.
One
of the more evident culprits of this cognitive dilemma is the idea that,
regardless of socioeconomic levels,
students don't seem to be creatively engaged in grade and high school. The three more elemental aspects of creative
thinking are strategic attention, integration of information, and creative
processing. One must be able to
recognize important information pertaining to the problem at hand in order to
successfully reach an optimal outcome.
They must also understand how to use the given and interpolated
information to create a positive outcome.
A tool of any kind is useless with the knowledge of how to use it. Last, one ought to have the capacity to
problem solve creatively. This is the
key to producing optimal solutions versus an acceptable one ("Brainhealth teen reasoning," 2013) .
Doctor
Chapman and her colleagues are making great strides with their efforts into
understanding how educators can promote higher levels of creative
thinking. They currently are managing a
program called the Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Training (SMART). It focuses on cognitive neuroscience
principles in order to learn how to best engage our frontal brain
networks. The goal is to build strategic
thinking, problem solving skills, and advanced reasoning (The Center for BrainHealth, 2011). These and other principles help to build
one's mental flexibility and to promote healthier brains.
As
Einstein, a master of thought experiments, once said: “Imagination is more
important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
(Chapman Ph.D., 2011)
Chapman
Ph.D., S. B. (2011, July 19). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.brainhealth.utdallas.edu/blog/bringing-imagination-back
Brainhealth teen reasoning initiative. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.brainhealth.utdallas.edu/index.php/research/research_topic/brainhealth-teen- reasoning-initiative
The Center
for BrainHealth. (2011, March 30). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.brainhealth.utdallas.edu/index.php/blog/what-is-smart
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