The idea of creativity can be very confusing - who exactly is creative and why are they creative? It's easy to recognise the creative giants whose contributions form the basis of our culture like artists and musicians that we can all name, or people who provide a scientific discovery or technological explanation that enable us to understand ourselves, our world or the cosmos. But where do we fit into all this? How can our creativity be compared to that of the people who shaped our understanding and experience of the world. James Kaufman, Ronald Beghetto (2009) provide us with a neat framework which they call the 4C model of creativity, that enable us to see that we are part of a continuum. These authors refer to 'Big-C' creativity that brings about significant change in a domain; 'Pro-c' creativity associated with the creative acts of professionals or other people with expertise who have mastered a field; 'little-c' creativity - the everyday creative acts of individuals who are not particularly expert in a situation and 'mini-c' the novel and personally meaningful interpretation of experiences, actions and events made by individuals. Central to the definition of mini-c creativity is the dynamic, interpretative process of constructing personal knowledge and understanding within a particular socio-cultural context ie learning!
The Four-C model of creativity proposed by Kaufman and Beghetto (2009).
Both mini-c and little-c forms of creativity are relevant to higher education learning and curriculum designs, teaching and learning strategies could usefully encourage and facilitate these. One might speculate that participation in these forms of creativity are pre-requisite for Pro-c and Big-C creativity in later life: if we want creative professionals then we should be encouraging students to be creative. It is however important to note that 'everyday creativity can extend from mini-c to little-c through Pro-c. It is only Big-C that remains eminent creativity (ibid:6) beyond the reach of most of us. From an educational perspective it might be reasoned that by encouraging and empowering students to use, develop and make claims for mini-c and little-c forms of creativity, we are better preparing them not only for using these forms in later life but for engaging in more expert-based forms of creativity that emerges through sustained engagement with a particular domain or field of activity.
Does this provide a useful way of visualising how you and your creativity fits into the creativity of humankind?
Using your own creativity? Can you enrich this model or propose an alternative one that makes sense to you?
Source:
Kaufman, J.C. and Beghetto, R.A. (2009) Beyond Big and Little: The Four C Model of Creativity. Review of General Psychology 13, 1, 1-12.
Download their article
The Four-C model of creativity proposed by Kaufman and Beghetto (2009).
Both mini-c and little-c forms of creativity are relevant to higher education learning and curriculum designs, teaching and learning strategies could usefully encourage and facilitate these. One might speculate that participation in these forms of creativity are pre-requisite for Pro-c and Big-C creativity in later life: if we want creative professionals then we should be encouraging students to be creative. It is however important to note that 'everyday creativity can extend from mini-c to little-c through Pro-c. It is only Big-C that remains eminent creativity (ibid:6) beyond the reach of most of us. From an educational perspective it might be reasoned that by encouraging and empowering students to use, develop and make claims for mini-c and little-c forms of creativity, we are better preparing them not only for using these forms in later life but for engaging in more expert-based forms of creativity that emerges through sustained engagement with a particular domain or field of activity.
Does this provide a useful way of visualising how you and your creativity fits into the creativity of humankind?
Using your own creativity? Can you enrich this model or propose an alternative one that makes sense to you?
Source:
Kaufman, J.C. and Beghetto, R.A. (2009) Beyond Big and Little: The Four C Model of Creativity. Review of General Psychology 13, 1, 1-12.
Download their article
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