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Abstract
The authors have, for some years, studied the concept of ‘possibility thinking’ (PT), or ‘what if’ and ‘as if’ thinking in children aged 3–11, which generates novelty – and the pedagogical strategies which foster it. They have argued, on the basis of previous qualitative studies, that ‘PT’ is at the core of creativity in education. Having begun as a conceptual study for 7 years, this team has undertaken empirical studies of PT in classrooms. This paper discusses findings from the third phase of empirical work focusing on 9- to 11-year olds. The particular research question addressed here is ‘What characterises possibility thinking as manifest in the learning engagement of children aged 9–11?’. In a small-scale qualitative study, involving co-participation with teachers, the paper features episode analysis of naturalistic video data featuring children aged 9–11 in two schools. It focuses on PT evidenced by children engaged in a range of classroom activities, some established as individual activities and others as group work. The study reveals some features of PT in both sites (question-posing [Q-P], question-responding [Q-R], self-determination, intentional action, development, being imaginative, play/playfulness, immersion and innovation) to differing degrees of strength. Risk-taking was absent in both and a new feature, collaboration, evident in both. Differences were documented in how Q-P and Q-R manifest, compared with earlier studies with younger children. This study seeks to make an evidence-based contribution to the characterisation of PT as driving creativity in the classroom, with implications for research and practice.
Notes
1. A fourth stage of the study is under way with 3- to 5-year olds (Craft, McConnon, and Paige-Smith Citation2011; Craft, McConnon, and Matthews 2012) and 5- to 18-year olds (Chappell, Craft, and Greenwood Citation2009; Chappell and Craft Citation2011). The latter is not discussed here; the former is referred to later. This paper does not refer in detail to other works on PT in other curriculum areas, such as drama (Lin Citation2010, Citation2011) and dance (Chappell et al. Citation2009, Citation2011; Craft and Chappell Citation2009), with 9- to 11-year olds, although work on PT in mathematics (Clack Citation2011) is referred to later in the paper.
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6. SATs, as they were known, were undertaken by all Year 6 classes in the year we collected this data. Some schools have since chosen to boycott these controversial assessments.