Creatology: Brain Science for the 21st Century

Caroline L. Davies
Consultant and Teacher in Gifted Education, (Launceston, Tasmania)

Abstract:

A new subject to consider introducing into the curriculum for all students and
imperative for the Gifted and Talented. Creatology is a term I have coined, a word I
have invented, to incorporate many facets of learning and thinking founded on brain
research. This new subject includes the on-going assessment of personal learning styles,
thinking styles and Multiple Intelligences. The subject is about teaching about the brain,
how we learn by an enriched environment and multiple sensory experiences and how
we can improve our brain power all our lives by increasing the links between neurons
through association and the will to keep experiencing and learning. Creatology includes
the direct teaching of learning styles, thinking techniques, memory techniques,
mindmapping, multiple intelligences and creativity by whole brain learning.

Introduction :

This subject matter is not new. It has been given many names including: accelerated
learning, quantum learning, neuro linguistic programming, super learning,
mindmapping and others. I endeavour to bring all these learning techniques together in a
package that will be more concise and practical for classroom teachers to use and
empower students with the knowledge about themselves. The aim is to give students the
knowledge to be responsible for their own learning with the guidance and facilitation of
a trained expert in education and learning, the teacher.

Over the last 8 years, my quest for finding out more about the brain, how we learn, how
I could improve my teaching and turn children on to the love of learning and my
passion for the education of Gifted and Talented children has taken me all over the
World seeking new learning experiences. On my journey I have had the privilege to
work with world leaders, participate in workshops and conferences on creativity, Gifted
Education and new learning techniques and interview inventors.

In 1994 - 1995, I was fortunate to have the experience of being the Principal of the only
school for Gifted and Talented Children in Istanbul, Turkey. Here I was able to put into
practice the wealth of knowledge that I was accumulating to improve learning and the
education of the Gifted.

In the last 30 years an enormous amount of research has been accomplished in the field
of learning and particularly the brain, yet a surprisingly small amount of this
information is in the hands of the classroom teachers and administrators in education,
those who really need it. Why is this? I believe it is time to learn and change.

Creatology :

The basic questions:

 How do I learn how to learn?

  What is the nature of my thinking?
 What are the best techniques for memorising?
 What are the best techniques for creative thinking?
 How can I make plans and decisions more effectively?
 What are the best techniques for thinking in general?
 How can I solve day to day problems more efficiently?
 How can I understand my teachers, take and make notes more effectively?
 How can I harness my brain power to achieve my full potential?

Areas of study:
1. The Brain
2. Learning Styles
3. Mindmapping
4. Music
5. Critical Thinking
6. Creative Thinking
7. Memory

1. The brain :

"To read these words you are using your brain - the most intricate, complex, mysterious
and powerful object in the known universe."

It is the only known organ so highly developed that it can study itself. When nurtured
by a healthy body and a stimulating environment, a functioning brain can remain active
for over a hundred years. All of the higher intelligences, including intuition, are present
at birth, and over the first 8 years of life they can unfold if properly nurtured. The
neocortex is made up of an estimated 12 to 15 billion nerve cells called neurons. Each
neuron is capable of interacting with other neurons by means of its extending branches
called dendrites. A majority of these pathways and circuits are formed while the brain is
still developing in the first 8 years of a child's life. The potential interactions between
these neurons in one human brain is greater than the number of atoms in the entire
universe!

Knowledge to be Taught:
 Latest information on the brain from researchers, such as Dr. Marion Diamond
of California.
 The Triune Brain : Stem, Limbic System, Neocortex.
 Structure of the brain, neurons, glial cells, dendrites, synapses and mylenation.
 Intelligence and IQ - theories leading to the current widely accepted view of
Multiple Intelligences. Chronological age, Emotional age and Mental age and
their correlations.
 Hemispherical dominance and the functions of the right and left hemispheres.
 A study of the Great Brains: Leonardo da Vinci, Einstein, Picasso, Darwin,
Newton, Michelangelo, Edison, Vincent van Gogh, J.F. Kennedy, William
Blake, Beethoven, Mozart, Mark Twain, Christopher Columbus etc.

2. Learning styles :
Discover the ways that people learn, how we perceive and process information and
utilise this knowledge to balance personal learning styles and achieve learning success.

I believe that this is the foundation block for learning. Using the Barbe Modality Test or
others, together with observation, one can detect one's own personal learning style and
that of others and then communication can be increased and misunderstandings
overcome.

Knowledge to be Taught:
 The work of Rita Dunn and others.
 Assessing teachers, parents and students learning styles and results shared.
 Knowledge about how we perceive information using our senses - the major
modalities of VISUAL, AUDITORY and KINESTHETIC. Observable
characteristics of these modalities.
 How to maximize the personal learning style to learn more efficiently. For
example: the visual learners should read and write, draw pictures, charts and
graphs, do written projects; the auditory learners should be memorising aloud,
listening to tapes, asking questions, debating and discussing and giving talks and
lectures; the kinesthetic learners need to move, to perform and act out, they are
more physical and usually more sport oriented. I have found that if given a piece
of modelling clay or plasticine to manipulate whilst listening to a teacher talk,
the retention of information is greater. I also suggest doing some physical
activity such as walking or bicycling or swimming and at the same time going
over in the mind what is needed to be learnt.

3. Mindmapping :

This most important technique of note-taking and note-making was developed by Tony
Buzan in the 1970's. It is a whole brain approach that lets you fit an entire subject or
idea onto one page. By using visual images and graphic devices, Mindmapping makes a
deeper and more lasting impression on the brain. It is simply working with the brain
rather than against it. It uses: the left brain attributes of words, numbers, lists, logic,
analysis and order and the right brain attributes of rhythm, colour, daydreaming,
imagination, space and the ability to move through dimensions.

Knowledge to be Taught:
 Why and how to mindmap.
 Development of a dictionary of symbols, use of symbology to enhance
mindmapping and communication.
 Easy drawing techniques.
 Use of mindmapping in a variety of areas, usage is unlimited as I am discovering
the more I use it : daily planning, organization, decision-making, problem
solving, brainstorming, meetings, presentations, goal mapping, outlines, note
taking and making.

4. Music :

The reason music is so important to the learning environment is that it actually

corresponds to and affects our physiological conditions. During heavy mental work ,
our pulse and blood pressure tend to rise, our brain waves speed up and our muscles
become tense. During relaxation and meditation, our pulse and blood pressure decrease
and our muscles relax. The research and work of Dr. A. A. Tomatis in France and Dr.
Georgi Lozanov in Bulgaria have provided us with much practical knowledge on how to
enhance learning through the use of music. They found that relaxation induced by
specific music leaves the mind alert and able to concentrate. The most conducive music
is Baroque Music, such as that of Mozart, Bach, Handel, Vivaldi and Pachelbel, which
is timed at sixty beats to the minute, the same as that of an average resting heart.

Music being played in the background for 20 minutes at a time will induce an Alpha
state of relaxation.

New Age music such as that of Ken Davis "Atmospheres", Tony O'Connor's
"Wilderness", "Bushland Dreaming " etc., Don Campbell "Crystal Meditations" and
others that use dolphin, whale, birds and sounds of nature blended with woodwinds and
piano and strings are good for imagination, reflection, creativity and quiet activities.

Knowledge to be Taught:
 Why music is so important for learning. What music to use for different types of
learning.
 Playing a musical instrument, singing and listening to a variety of music should
be an integral part of daily learning. Mathematical and spatial ability will be
enhanced if a child learns to play a musical instrument before age 8 years.
 Play music in the background when you teach. Check to see if it will create the
desired effect.

5. Critical thinking :

Critical thinking is mainly a left brain function. I mainly draw on Bloom's Taxonomy. It
is a persistent effort to analyse and examine evidence to support any fact, belief,
solution or conclusion. It is the scientist's empirical methodology. Here we examine
mainly logical thinking and reasoning and we assume the role of Judge.

Knowledge to be Taught:
 I find Edward de Bono's CoRT Thinking exercises useful for critical thinking.
 Thinking Skills include: classification, comparison, patterning, sequencing,
cause and effect, labelling, observation, webbing, logical thinking, categorical
syllogisms, matrix logic, analogies, deductive and inductive reasoning,
forecasting, planning, hypothesising.
 Bloom's Taxonomy: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis,
synthesis, evaluation.

6. Creative thinking:

Creative thinking is more of a right brain function. It is the act of being able to produce
something new and original. Research shows us that we can improve our creativity
through systematic training. The Creative Education Foundation and the Creative
Problem Solving Institute at the University of Buffalo, New York is dedicated to this
pursuit and aims at systematically teaching the Osborn - Parnes 6 Step Process of
Creative Problem Solving to hundreds of people from many countries and all walks of
life very successfully every year in the 4th week of June.
Here we aim to teach divergent thinking through brainstorming, sketching and other
techniques.

Knowledge to be Taught:
 Edward de Bono's 6 Thinking Hats
 C.P.S. : Alex Osborn and Sidney Parnes 6 Step Creative Problem Solving
Process
 Roger von Oech's 4 Different Creative Thinking Roles for the Creative Process :
Explorer, Artist, Judge, Warrior.
 The fundamentals of creative thinking outlined in Roger von Oech's "A Whack
on the Side of the Head".
 The skills of : fluency, flexibility, originality, elaboration, brainstorming,
modification, curiosity, imagery, associative thinking, attribute listing, synectics
or metaphorical thinking, forced relationships.

7. Memory:

Our Memory for faces, names, facts and figures etc can be trained. Our memory is
relative to age and life experiences. Our marvellous brain remembers everything, the
problem that we have is ineffective recall. By learning to use techniques of
visualisation, association and imagery we can learn to recall more efficiently. We
remember information best when it is characterised by: sensory associations, emotional
context, intense associations, necessities for survival, personal importance, repetition
and what is presented first and last in a session.

Knowledge to be Taught:
 Knowledge on memory and recall and how the brain stores information.
 Association techniques
 Linking
 The Peg System
 The Location Method
 Acronyms and creative sentences
 Mindmapping
 Review and repetition
 Visualisation
 Diaries, journals and stories, anecdotal accounts.

Other areas:
 Use of MANDALAS for improving concentration, creative thought and quieting
the inner chatter and dialogue of the left brain.
 Relaxation and meditation techniques, for example, yoga exercises for
strengthening mind and body.

Conclusion :

I believe that Creatology is a necessary subject to be taught in all schools today as a

compulsory part of the curriculum. It is in fact The Brain Science of the Future and the
21st Century. These skills are often taught incidentally and incorporated in other
subjects, in particular, Studies of Society and the Environment. I recommend that these
skills are of the utmost importance to be taught directly and subject matter and
knowledge woven into the lessons where appropriate. Teachers need to be trained to
teach and use these skills. In a rapidly changing world and an explosion of information,
we need to be better prepared and equipped for the future. We need to start with
knowing ourselves and the incredible power of our minds and we need to learn to think
in a diversity of ways. I hope that Creatology may one day become an integral part of
education. These skills can be taught to young children in a simplistic way. This subject
as I have created it , is more applicable to children of age 7 to 8 years and above. I am
currently working on developing lesson plans for children of different ages.

References :

Buzan,T. (1993), The Mindmap Book,London: BBC Books.

Campbell,D.G. (1992), 100 ways to Improve Teaching Using Your Voice &
Music, Australia: Hawker Brownlow Education.

DePorter,B. & Hernacki,M. (1992), Quantum Learning, New York: Dell Publishing.

Foster,T.R.V. (1992), Positive Thinking: 100 ways to generate great ideas, Victoria:
Wrightbooks Pty Ltd.

MacGregor,S. (1992), Piece of Mind, Australia: Calm Pty Ltd.

Reid,L. (1993), Thinking Skills Resource Book, Australia: Hawker Brownlow

Education.

Von Oech,R. (1992), A Whack on the Side of the Head, California: Creative Think.