Fostering creative pedagogies in science teaching: Experiences from Argentine and Scottish teachers

In a rapidly changing world, characterized by large scale impacts of human activities on the environment, creativity has been foregrounded as a key capability in science to envision alternatives to current modes of development. We believe that the learning of science, as an intrinsically creative endeavor, can particularly foster students’ creativity and prepare future generations to address global matters. Curricula worldwide have incorporated creative thinking
as an important educational goal. However, developing creativity in students demands for creative pedagogies and the deconstruction of more orthodox ideas of science and associated learning and teaching practices. This paper reports on the findings of an ongoing three-year collaborative research between the University of Aberdeen, UK, and the University of San Andrés, Argentina, which aims to deepen the understanding of what constitutes creative pedagogies in science education, based on the construction of a model that links creativity with
the “what?”, the “how?” and the “what for?” of science. We explore teachers´ views on the opportunities and challenges of adopting creative pedagogies and the contexts that influence their practice through semi-structured interviews with 13 primary and secondary teachers from both countries. Our findings point to the epistemological enculturation of teachers, which in most cases confine creativity as a tool for the delivery of scientific information. Teacher conceptions on science and learning seem to strongly shape what they define as creative
pedagogies. However, seeking for creativity also appears to open up opportunities for teachers to explore new ways of teaching and relating to knowledge. We conclude with suggestions for reframing science teacher education programs to include teachers´ engagements in critical, interdisciplinary and practical learning contexts in order to support the development of creative pedagogies.