“It’s the most fun to teach when there is some action“

A narrative of Eyrún Óskarsdóttir, a comprehensive school teacher

Abstract

Creativity is one of the six pillars on which Iceland’s national curriculum is based. It should be visible in all studies from pre-school to upper secondary school (Ministry of Education and Culture, 2011). The creative pillar is considered a key factor that touches and intertwines with the other basic pillars in various ways. Creativity is defined in the Icelandic National Curriculum (Mennta- og menningarmálaráðuneyti, 2011, p. 24) as “Creation involves forming tasks and communicating them, to make something, make something new or different from what the individual knows or has done before”. The creative element is thus not only focused on arts and crafts but should be visible throughout all learning and teaching.

Research has shown that creative pedagogy and teaching methods are characterised by seven interconnected elements: presenting and exploring new ideas, encouraging autonomy and independence, play/joy, solution-seeking, willingness and permission to take risks, building on collaboration, and the seventh element is the creation of the teacher (Cremin & Chappell, 2021).

Eyrún is an elementary school teacher who has worked in various schools in various parts of Iceland, from a small rural school to one of the larger schools in the capital area. She is a visual art teacher who has seldom taught arts exclusively. Her teaching experience is in general classroom teaching at the primary school level.

The purpose of this study is to understand how teachers can be creative in their work. The aim is to examine a single case narrative to gain insight into a creative teacher’s teaching methods and practices. This is a narrative study with data consisting of interviews, communication, and Eyrún’s journal entries. The narrative is a tool for looking beneath the surface for insights into practices.

The results reveal that Eyrún strives to be creative. She employs diverse teaching methods. She believes that when students are interested and enjoy what they do, they are more active participants in their studies. Through creative projects, Eyrún aims to develop the students’ creative abilities. She gives students time and space to create, focusing on spotting their resources through that work. She guides and supports students in the creative process and sets the framework for them within which they work (Jeffrey & Craft, 2006; Svanborg R. Jónsdóttir & M. Allyson Macdonald, 2019).

Eyrún emphasises creative learning through the active and creative participation of students. She is bored with teaching, where the students are passive recipients and learn through the teacher’s authority. In her eyes, creativity is a disciplinary tool because students are more active when given the freedom to be creative and encouraged to have joy and interest. Discipline problems become less noticeable (Hafdís Guðjónsdóttir & Edda Óskarsdóttir, 2016).

Through Eyrún’s narrative, we see the courage and daring it takes to try new approaches to teaching and embark on large thematic or creative projects (Beghetto, 2018; Cremin & Chappell, 2021; Freire, 2005). It is imperative to know the student group and their resources (Hafdís Guðjónsdóttir & Edda Óskarsdóttir, 2016) to be responsive and emphasise the flow or process of creation over the final product. The results show that place-based or thematic learning and subject integration are ways to connect students to their environment and support them in connecting nature, society and the subjects taught at school (Gruenewald, 2003; Ingólfur Ásgeir Jóhannesson, 2020; Sigrún Björk Cortes et al., 2016).