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59 
 

CHAPTER FIVE 
 

Creativity, Children and the Classroom 
Valentine Ani and Mary Emodi-Nnoruka 

 
Introduction 
reativity entails the forming or making of novel 
things. Creativity is a problem-solving 
endeavour that gives birth to new concepts. it 

involves innovativeness, and inventiveness, in terms of 
material and procedure ingenuity in craftsmanship. The 
created item may be intangible such as an idea, a scientific 
theory, a musical composition, or a joke. Hornby (2015) 
sees creativity as having the skill and ability to produce 
something new, especially a work of art. It is commonly 
argued that the notion of “creativity” originated in 
Western Culture through Christianity. According to the 
historian, Daniel J. Boorstin, the early Western conception 
of creativity was the Biblical Story of creation given in 
Genesis. 

However, this is not creativity in the modern sense, 
which did not arise until the renaissance. In the Christian 
transition, creativity was the sole province of God, 
humans were not considered to have, the ability to create 
something new except as an expression of God’s work. 
A concept similar to that of Christianity existed in Greek 
culture, for instance, muses were seen as mediating 
inspiration from the gods. Romans and Greeks invoked 
the concept of an external creative “daemon” Greek or 

C 



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“genius” (Latin) linked to the sacred or the divine. 
However, none of these views is similar to the modern 
concept of creativity, and the individual was not seen as 
the cause until the renaissance. It was during the 
renaissance that creativity was first seen, not as a conduit 
for the divine but from the abilities of “great men”. 

Creativity can be seen as the process of sensing 
problems or gaps in information, forming ideas of 
hypothesis, testing and modifying these hypotheses and 
communicating the result of this process. It is the 
awareness, observation, imagination, conceptualization, 
and re-arrangement of existing elements to generate new 
ideas. Creativity is the capacity to perform mental works 
that leads to an outcome both novel and applicable.  

Summarily creativity is the skilful use of ideas to 
generate new creative products for one to be creative, it 
calls for a state of uninterrupted self-motivation and 
expression, and creativity can apply to works of arts, 
engineering, and almost every aspect of technology.  
 
Types of Creativity  

According to Robert Sternberg (2002), creativity is 
stated as follows; 

• Technological creativity or innovation  

• Entrepreneurial creativity or economic creativity  

• Artistic and cultural creativity.  
 

These aspects of creativity are interdependent as 
they re-enforce one another.  



Creativity, Children and the classroom 

61 
 

 
Components of Creativity 

These are factors that contribute to creativity. A 
component of creativity implies all factors that contribute 
to creativity. Personality and environmental factors 
include; Expertise, Creative thinking, skills and Task 
motivation.  
 
Personality factor 

This aspect includes self-motivation, which is self-
imitated behaviour, confidence in oneself (belief in 
yourself) that is being original, and inventiveness.  
 
Environmental factors can influence the people around 
you, family background, school, external influences, skills, 
and task motivations.  
 
Methods of Fostering Creativity in an Art Class 

• Art aesthetic corner  

• Gallery or exhibition corner  

• Creation of art diary or art album for example; 
Nigerian Heritage, Art of Nok, Igbo Ukwu.  

• Provision of Art materials, tools, and equipment. 

• Conducive art studio or classroom, furnished with 
racks, shelves etc. and well-ventilated.  

• Allowing students to work freely (learners should 
initiate topics) 

• Field trips and excursions.  



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• Invite guest artists and artist entrepreneurs.  

• Select proper teaching methods for example peer 
teacher method, project; discovery, and inductive 
method in teaching and learning.  

• Computer-aided instructions.  
 
Nature of Creativity 

Creativity is the production of a novel, appropriate 
ideas in any realm of human activity, from science to the 
arts, to education, to business, to everyday life (Amabile, 
1997:40). Creativity is broad; It is not limited to art and 
design fields only. It covers all fields and activities of 
human life. Creativity is adventurous and open thinking. It 
does not tolerate rigidity. It encourages freedom to do 
things. Creativity is a product and a process. Creativity is 
of three types individual creativity, group creativity and 
organisational creativity (Mehtaa, Chandanib and Neerajac, 
2014: 804). 
  
Feature/Characteristics of Creativity  

• Flexibility: It has no rigidity to have the ability to 
turn ideas and materials into new ideas.  

• Fluency: It helps in bringing our many ideas.  

• Sensitivity: It senses problems.  

• Curiosity: It creates room to puzzle, seek, inquire 
and discover.  

• Action: It creates and ignites actions.  

• Originality: It is original.  



Creativity, Children and the classroom 

63 
 

• Interest: It entails paying attention.  

• Commitment: It makes one be involved.  

• Reflection: It enables one to consider and 
reconsider ideas.  

• Motivation: It performs good-oriented innovation 
of things, and strength to tackle difficult ideas.  

 
Accordingly, Uka, Onwuekwe, and Asogwa, (2022: 

222) developed what they named the "creativity quadrat 
diagram", using Getlein‘s (2008:12) explanation of the 
qualities of a creative person. He specifically mentioned 
traits such as sensitivity, flexibility, originality, playfulness, 
productivity, fluency, analytical and organizational skills. 
From there, they lifted the following; originality, 
sensitivity, flexibility and productivity and used the phrases 
to formulate the creativity quadrat, which was the basis of 
their research.  

Although their paper was not specifically on art and 
creativity, they focused on how creativity can bring about 
sustainable development in Nigeria if the creativity quadrat 
is applied passionately in all the sectors of the state. They 
further argued that corruption and lack of creativity are 
the banes of Nigeria's development which had lingered for 
over fifty years. Explaining the quadrat, Uka, Et Al (2022: 
223) opine thus; 

 
In the quadrat, originality entails novelty, ingenuity, 
resourcefulness, or inventiveness. Ideas come to play 
here, and it is the starting point of creativity. 



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Sensitivity entails response to influences, changes in 
other people‘s feelings, the environment, or events 

 
Below is the diagram of the creativity quadrat: 
 

 
 

Fig 1: The Creativity Quadrat. Source:  
Uka, Et Al 2022 

 
The Importance of Creativity 

• It is brainstorming. It is a thought-provoking 
approach which generates an alternative solution to 
a specific problem and challenge.  

• It expresses emotional feelings; it provides an 
avenue for sharing of though by various individuals.  

• It develops skills and stimulates the senses of 
thinking.  



Creativity, Children and the classroom 

65 
 

• It develops self-confidence and widens evaluation 
techniques.  

• It fosters internalization.  

• It is motivating. 
 
Testing the Children’s Creativity 1: Toy making 

Toys are objects that children play with. A toy is a 
work that encompasses dolls, action figures, play sets, 
creative and artistic materials, collectables as miniatures of 
all kinds and a wide variety of other items, games and 
puzzles, balls and other sports equipment. They all appear 
in different sizes. Toy serves different purposes. Toy 
entertains children, it occupies them. It is used to arouse, 
and sustain inquisitiveness in children. It is used in many 
ways such as in educating and teaching children. Toys 
have an important influence on the emotional, mental, and 
physical development of children.  
 
Materials for Toy Making  

Materials for making toys may vary. Some materials 
for making toys include plastic, foam, scissors, fabric 
(velvet) or any other soft cloth, thread and needle, wood, 
paper, pencil, pen, measuring tape, buttons, beads, 
cowries, shells, and cotton wool.   
 
Procedures for Making Toy 

• Make a drawing of the intended  figure of a toy on a 
surface of a paper 



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• Then cut out the shape from the drawn object on 
the paper  

• Place paper properly on a fabric  

• Then cut out the shape on the fabric 

• Use needle and thread to sew the shapes together 

• Stuff the sewn fabric with foam, pieces of fabric, or 
cotton wool  

• Then apply accessories like eyes, beads, or shells to 
depict the eyes, ears, or nose, where necessary.  

 
Making Models  

Model is commonly used in all aspects of visual art 
in different ways, in architecture, sculpture and ceramics, a 
model simply refers to a copy of the buildings, structures, 
statues or wares, usually smaller than the original objects 
or the final product. It is called prototype Marquette or 
miniature respectively (Ngumah,  2013).  

In graphic design, a model is a sample of a 
particular design or type of product. In textile or fashion 
design, a model is often referred to as a person whose job 
is to wear and pose with a new product style of clothes 
and be photographed wearing them. For example a 
fashion model. In drawing and painting, a model is a 
person employed to be painted, drawn, and photographed 
by an artist or a photographer.  

For this learning making models with paper folding 
techniques, vital emphasis will be on construction, using 
geometrical or basic shapes. A model is a preliminary work 



Creativity, Children and the classroom 

67 
 

or construction made of paper examples are straw boards, 
clipboards, cardboard, and embossed cards to form 
different objects like a building (Ngumah, Ayoola, 
Dalhatu, and Samkay 2013). Paper folding techniques 
means shaping, and building prototype, and different 
geometric or basic shapes and sizes to form cuboids, 
pyramids, abstracts, sculpture figures etc.  
 
Materials and Tools used in making Paper Models  

Its basic materials are clip board, cardboard, 
strawboard, embossed card, drawing sheet, brown paper, 
adhesive, and pencil. Tools, therefore, are cutting 
instruments to cut the cards into various shapes/sizes 
such as razor blades, cutters, pairs of scissors, ruler 
compass, measuring tape, etc.   
 

 
 

Plate 1: folding up cardboard paper to make a toy. Source: 
pineterest.com 



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Testing the Children’s Creativity 2: Puppetry 
Puppets are small figures/objects that can be held, 

carried about, or even tied to a rope. The art of using this 
puppet is called puppetry. Puppetry is a type of 
dramatization which can be used in pre-primary and 
lower-primary schools. It allows the learners to develop 
imaginary and creative ideas and to see how things can be 
transformed. Puppets attract and retain children’s 
attention, thereby making a dull class quite interactive. 
Because it is a doing thing, it makes learning more 
permanent. It encourages children's participation in the 
class. It helps the children to develop the spirit of 
imagination and critical thinking.  Puppets make dull 
children participate actively in learning activities. Again, it 
promotes confidence in children. 
 
Problem-Solving Methods of Teaching and Learning 

This is a method of teaching where learners are 
meant to look for and find out solutions to the existing 
problems by themselves. The problem-solving method 
helps the learner to identify problems and identify possible 
solutions with or without the direction of the teacher. A 
teacher may create a problem in an area of study and allow 
the learners to identify and look for solutions for such 
problems. This is therefore a form of inquiry method 
which helps the pupils to think for themselves and arrive 
at a deeper understanding of their problems. This helps 
the learner to develop the spirit of research and creative 



Creativity, Children and the classroom 

69 
 

thinking. There are various types of these methods which 
are quizzes, puzzles, cartoons work cards and sorting.  
 
Quizzes 

A quiz is a short assessment test in which learners 
are required to give specific information or answers. It is 
short and explicit. It did not require a long essay. A quiz 
may be in form of true or false, fill in the blank space, 
multiply choice, matching etc. A quiz may be oral or 
written. It may involve a whole class or some group.  
 
Puzzles 

Puzzles are the problem-solving method of 
teaching where learners are required to think critically and 
objectively before arriving at an answer. It is an 
educational game that requires a great amount of logical 
thinking before arriving at an answer. Puzzles may have 
solutions built inside them such as crosswords, etc.   
 

F O O D N O K 

E Y S T E W O 

A O Y A M C O 

T B G I R L B 

Food, Eat, Boy, Girl, Yam, No, Stew, Book 
 

Fig 1: Puzzle  

 
 
 



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Cartoons 
Cartoons are specially madepictorial art that 

expresses the idea in mind. It is mainly drawn to elicit an 
idea or concept in mind. It requires a lot of critical 
thinking and analysis before the message or real idea could 
be interpreted.  
 
Work Cards 

These Are specially made small cards in which 
problems/questions are written on one side while 
solutions to questions or problems are written on the 
other side. It can also be arranged in two groups. 
Questions will be written in one group while answers on 
the other group of cards. 

  

 
 

Fig 2: Word card. 

 
Sorting: It is a kind of problem-solving technique 
whereby learners are required to identify, arrange, classify, 
and match items according to the required standard. This 
technique permits the learner to think critically before 
organizing or categorizing ideas or issues on the ground.  



Creativity, Children and the classroom 

71 
 

 
Arousing, Sustaining and Encouraging 
Inquisitiveness in Children through Creativity 

Creative expression in early childhood education 
requires attention. It explores the role of creative 
expression which includes visual arts, music and 
movement and creative drama. Creativity is the 
involvement and use of skills and imagination to produce 
something new or a work of art. It is to make something 
happen or exist which aims at producing a particular 
feeling or impression on people. Pre-school children 
between the ages of (0 to 6 years) and zero to six years, 
therefore, need to nurture with the aid of creativity to 
arouse, sustain and encourage their inquisitiveness in a 
learning environment for effective learning to take place. 
This can be achieved effectively through the following; 
 
Drama 

Drama is a play that involves imitating the actions of 
people by acting their roles. There are different techniques 
for creating these actions, which are as follows;  
 

• Playwriting is a creative process of writing a play 
through imagination. The writing could be from the 
wealth of experience of the writer (who is known as 
the playwright) about the past events in his society. 
It could be real or fictitious happenings in his/her 
environment or comments on the social ills in 



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society. Children learn effectively through the sense 
of sight and involvement in the creative process. 

 

• Songs are composed in drama to enhance their 
aesthetic value. In drama, songs can be used 
creatively to express emotion through voice or 
musical instruments or with a combination of both. 
Songs can be used creatively in portraying the 
characters to the audience and can also serve as 
music in the background during the action. Songs 
can be creatively used to enhance learning in 
preschool children. 

 

• Dance is the movement of the body with 
rhythmical steps and gestures to music or sounds. It 
could be used as a technique of drama creation 
because; every human activity can be expressed 
through dance. It entails a lot of creative skills.  
 

• Mime is an action without uttering speech. It 
entails changes in facial expressions and gestures. 
These creative gestures are very vital in mime 
because they convey a lot of information to the 
audience, especially the preschool children and the 
learners at large.  
 

• Improvisation is making up a drama without a 
fixed speech as it is performed. Actors and actresses 
perform without written dialogues. They use their 



Creativity, Children and the classroom 

73 
 

imagination to say what is appropriate during the 
performance. Improvisation requires a lot of 
creative skills which could be used in sustaining and 
encouraging inquisitiveness in preschool children.  

 
Functions of Drama  
According to Ngumah, Et Al (2013) the functions of 
drama can be stated as follows; 

• Educative functions 

• Informative functions  

• Entertainment functions 

• Therapeutic functions.  
 
Educative Functions of Drama 
In educative functions of drama; 

• It teaches tolerance among people, that is people 
learn to accept each other through drama.  

• Drama teaches cooperation; people cultivate the 
habit of cooperation among themselves.  

• Drama encourages personal relationships among 
people  

• Drama inculcates in people the creative ability to 
express themselves.  

• Again, drama serves as a guide against the future 
occurrence of bad behaviours in society and 
thereby encourages good character. 

 
 



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Informative Functions of Drama 

• Drama is a means of self-expression. 

• Drama is used in enlightening people on the 
social and moral values of society. 

• Drama unveils important information about the 
society or group of people or sections of 
societies from the past to the present.  

• Drama highlights the effects of social vices like 
drug abuse, cultism, examination malpractice, 
tribalism, corruption, fighting, stealing, raping, 
kidnapping, indecent dressing, impersonation, 
armed robbery, child abuse etc. 

 
Entertainment Functions of Drama: Drama is a means 
of entertainment people derived pleasure in watching 
drama thereby arousing their interest. 

• The personalities involved in the drama enhance 
the value of the entertainment.  

 
Therapeutic Functions of Drama 

• Drama is a source of relaxation for people that 
is people forget their ugly past experiences for 
the moment while watching drama; this, 
therefore, relaxes their nerves.  

• Drama helps to build and develop confidence in 
people  

• It encourages self-realization  

• Drama creates employment opportunities. 



Creativity, Children and the classroom 

75 
 

Story Telling  
Story Telling is an oral presentation of characters 

and their acts. The characters may be human beings or 
animals. Storytelling has titles which could be derived 
from the plot of the story. Storytelling could be seen as a 
distribution of accounts of what has happened in the past. 
A story is also imaginary thinking that is been narrated to 
someone.  
 
Reasons for Story Telling 

• We tell a story for entertainment 

• Storytelling enhances experience  

• Storytelling is used for teaching moral lessons to 
children.  

• Storytelling is used to educate and nurture the 
mind of children. 

• It makes one happy.  

• It is also used to develop and sustain children’s 
interest in learning.  

• Storytelling arouses a child's interest in a 
learning environment.  

• It is used to review history or events.   
 
Evaluation  

• Attempt to make a toy with some of the tools 
provided 

• Briefly explain ways of encouraging inquisitiveness 
in children during learning.  



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  76  
 

• Carefully describe puppets.  

• Carefully explain creativity. 

• Describe in detail the features of creativity.  

• Describe Puzzle.  

• Describe Sorting.  

• Describe the components of creativity.  

• Describe ways of arousing children's interest in a 
learning environment. 

• Discuss the creativity quadrat. 

• Explain Cartoon.  

• Explain Quizzes.  

• Explain the nature of creativity. 

• Explain ways of sustaining children's interest in 
learning. 

• Make a model of a square using cardboard paper. 

• Produce a learning toy for children.  

• State the importance of creativity.  

• State three types of creativity.  

• State ways of solving problems. 

• What are Puppets?  

• What are the methods of fostering creativity in an 
art class?  

• What is Work Card?  
 
 
 
 



Creativity, Children and the classroom 

77 
 

References 
Amabile, T.M. (1997). Motivating creativity in an organization: 

On doing what you love and loving what you do. 
California Management Review, 40(1), 39-58. 

Getlein, M. (2008). Living With Art (8th Ed). New York: 
McGraw Hill. 

Mehtaa, M. Chandanib,  A. and Neerajac, B. (2014). Creativity 
and Innovation: Assurance for growth. Symbiosis 
Institute of Management Studies Annual Research 
Conference. 11 P 804 – 811. Retrieved from 
www.creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-ncnd/3.0/ 

Ngumah, H. C, Ayoola, O.,  Dalhatu, S., and Samkay, A. 
(2013) Cultural and Creative Arts for Junior 
Secondary Schools. Ibadan: Evans Brothers Nigeria 
Ltd. 

Uka, G. O., Onwuekwe, C. O., and Asogwa, N. C. (2022). 
Creativity and Innovation as Ways of Enhancing Socio-
Political, and Economic Development of Some 
Nigerian Sectors. LWATI: A Journal of Contemporary 
Research. 2022, 19 (1): 215-228 
www.universalacademicservices.org 

 

http://www.creativecommons.org/%20licenses/by-ncnd/3.0/

