Exploring the influence of creative thinking on the pedagogy of primary-aged children’s writing

Copping, Adrian J. and Elton-Chalcraft, Sally and Jackson, Alison (2021) Exploring the influence of creative thinking on the pedagogy of primary-aged children’s writing. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

This two year case study explored the influence that creative thinking has on writing pedagogy within a primary school context. Whilst the fields of creative thinking and writing pedagogy have been researched extensively, there is a paucity of research that explores how they are inextricably connected. It is useful to consider this connection in the context of firstly, children’s writing and thinking development and secondly the context of an English education system driven by high stakes testing that puts an emphasis on product not process. This testing arguably drives schools’ pedagogic decisions towards a focus on attaining good marks in the test often at the expense of understanding and knowledge application. The study involved design and facilitation of writing workshops for six primary classes in one school over a two year period. Data were collected through observation, follow-up interviews and focus groups and documentation analysis. Data were analysed using a thematic approach informing the development of a ‘think for writing’ planning model for practitioners. Analysis revealed several pre-requisites for children’s development of creative thinking. Notably, working within a classroom that is developed to enable thinking through consideration of task, developing learner agency and valuing the process of writing. For thinking to then influence writing, teachers must develop creative self-efficacy in their learners through teaching in between the building blocks of the writing process as much as on the blocks themselves. The findings have implications for teaching of writing in primary schools, such as developing writing pedagogies that both satisfy a high-stakes testing and accountability agenda whilst developing creative thinking. There are also implications for developing primary English modules in teacher education that emphasise the importance of working in between those writing building blocks. Recommendations are made for the development of these approaches utilising my ‘think for writing’ framework.