Nurture Creativity in Children: Case Studies and Strategies

This document provides case studies and strategies for nurturing creativity in children. It includes examples of environmentally friendly materials, promoting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, and improvising with equipment and materials during play. The document also emphasizes the importance of encouraging children's original ideas and artistic expressions.

CHC50113Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care
CHCECE018 Nurture creativity in children
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to attempt this assessment.
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convention when you save your Microsoft Word document. Your file should be named and
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[student number]_[assessment]_[assessment number].doc
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Getting started
The assessment tasks in this booklet have been designed to allow you to provide evidence that
demonstrates your competence in the unit CHCECE018 Nurture creativity in children.
Your trainer will:
 answer any questions that you might have about the assessment
 assess your competence as required by the unit of competency, by making judgments about the
evidence you have presented in line with the rules of evidence: validity, authenticity, currency
and sufficiency
 provide feedback on the outcomes of the assessment process.
Introduction
You are required to complete one written assessment that includes nine case studies,and a project
for CHCECE018 Nurture creativity in children.
In completing the final assessments, you will show evidence of your ability to:
 foster creativity through the physical environment
 foster creativity through the human environment
 foster creativity through a learning framework
 provide experiences
 evaluate experiences.
Assessment number Assessment deliverables
31873/01 Written assessment
31873/02 Project
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31873/01 Written assessment
Case studies
Student instructions
 Read the following nine case studies and then answer the questions.
 As this unit is about creativity, you are encouraged to be creative in your responses.
 Your responses may be recorded or presented in a written format. Written responses for each
answer should be approximately 150 – 300 words in length. The written responses may be
presented in narrative or bullet point format.
 To answer questions accurately you may refer to applicable legislation including the National
Quality Standard and Education and Care Services National Regulations, along withthe Belonging,
Being and Becoming – The Early Years Learning Framework, Early Childhood Australia Code of
Ethics, policies and procedures common to early childhood education and care services, position
descriptions detailing an educator’s duty of care responsibilities, and/or other sources such as
professional readings along with the course textbook and identified key resources.
 Ensure you acknowledge and cite your sources accordingly. This is important whether you use
your own words or quote the author’s words. For more information on referencing and
plagiarism, refer to the ‘Academic reference guide’ in the Student Handbook.
 When referring to policies and procedures or position descriptions please submit copies with
your assessment to support your answer.
Case studies
Case study 1
You are responsible for ordering the art and craft supplies for a preschool that is licensed to care for
forty (40) 3- to 5-year-old children. To encourage creative expression and to link with the program
focus on environmental sustainability, you would like to encourage and role model conserving, re-
using and recycling materials. You are considering the best way to source and use art and craft
materials that encourage creativity, and that promote children’s engagement with environmentally
friendly practices.
Complete the following tasks:
a) List a range of ten (10) environmentally friendly materials that could be sourced to
encourage creative expression.
1. A very crucial environmental friendly material is wooden blocks which could be used for
block playing through using them with leaves, pebbles, etc.
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2. Cardboard Boxes are another material which could be used for to encourage creative
expression within children by molding the same into the shape which they desire.
3. Moneybox Tins could be another vital resources for children to enhance their creative
expression
4. Drawing materials such as organic paint and crayons would help children express their
creation upon paper.
5. Egg cartons could also be great supplies for children as an art and craft supply to
contribute towards their creative expression.
6. Toilet rolls are yet another environmental friendly material which could be used as a base
to make something creative.
7. Water bottles are made with recyclable material these days which could be either cut or
painted to be used creatively by students.
8. CDs could also be used by the kids to be made into something creative such as pot
handlers
9. Books which are not being used by children or which could be recycled easily allows
students to creatively use the same towards building creative things.
10. In adult supervision, wood which has been shed or broken from the branches could also
be used as a supporting and binding material towards new creations.
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b) Outline three (3) strategies for how you could support children to feel a sense of ownership
and responsibility for these materials.
1. The very first strategy towards supporting kids to feel a sense of ownership and
responsibility of giving autonomy to kids to freely use the materials to generate something
which is highly creative.
2. Another strategy would be associated with modelling in front of children. This means that
the collected and arranged supplies could effectively be used into creating something new
and enlightening children how each of these supplies could be used in a different manner
to promote towards the knowledge being gained by these individuals.
3. Another prominent strategy would be to effectively asking for children’s feedbacks to gain
information about the kind of knowledge they possess in relation with their creative
expression and effective use of these materials.
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Case study 2
You recently took a group of eight (8) 2- to 3-year-old children on an excursion to a local display
garden. Whist walking through the gardens with the children you came across an exhibition of
paintings by a local indigenous artist. The artist was nearby and was involved in creating a painting as
the children watched. The children were interested and excited by the experience, and you
prompted discussions with them about the colours and tools the artist was using.
Describe how you would follow up the children’s enthusiasm for this experience by:
a) further introducing them to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, music and dance, and
promoting their own creative expression
It is very essential for the children to be aware and enthusiastic about different forms of arts and
creative activities so that their own expressions could be enhanced in an effective manner.
Therefore, to follow up the children’s enthusiasm, an in-house exhibition with interactive activities
could be used for introducing the children with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, music and
dance. This could be done by inviting professionals within these fields and display their content in
a sequential manner. Furthermore, all the artists present within the same could further interact
with student to help them promote their own creative expressions towards the activities being
displayed. For example, the artists could invite students to color the sketches, or rhyme with them
in their musical performance. Moreover, a simple step of the dancing style could also be taught to
these students in a creative manner.
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b) displaying the children’s art inspired by this experience in a meaningful way.
In order to follow up children’s enthusiasm in an even better and productive manner, children
would be given themes to work upon and develop artworks using paints, where they could draw
anything related to the theme as inspired by their experiences of the event. Then, a small in-class
exhibition could be arranged where the peers of children could be invited and they could then
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witness the art which was made by the students. Furthermore, this could also be showcased to the
artists who were invited so that they could add meaning to their efforts by giving their valuable
and effective feedback.
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Case study 3
Two 3-year-old children Flynn and Lucy are playing with plastic dinosaurs in the sandpit. Flynn is
growling with his dinosaur whilst burrowing it into a hole he has dug in the sand. Lucy’s dinosaur is
‘flying’ around Flynn and she is making ‘whoosh’ noises.
Describe how you would role-model creativity by improvising with equipment and materials to
support and inspire Flynn and Lucy’s dinosaur play. Examples could be given of how you could
achieve this spontaneously during their play or during follow up experiences.
There are several ways in which Flynn and Lucy’s play with dinosaurs could be improvised in ways
which could enhance the scope of improvement towards their creative experiences. A very crucial
way through which the same could happen is through replacing the toys with which they are
playing. For example, they are playing with plastic toys of dinosaurs, which could be knitted by
cloth to enhance their mobility by strings, such as puppets. These puppets could very well be
controlled and played in a role modelled way which could allow in depiction of a story which
would be quite interesting and meaningful for the children to enhance their experiences.
Furthermore, these puppets could also be made in a manner which could be easily controlled by
both Flynn and Lucy, so that they enact these dinosaurs in ways which were showcased in the
puppet show.
The plastic dinosaurs could be attached to scissor shaped equipments which could be designed to
be held by just one hand and while they contract, they result in a specific combination of
movement by the dinosaur. This would be more convenient for both the little children to learn and
play, as well as would also result in improvising the material through which their creativity levels
would also be enhanced and used in a diverse and better manner.
Another way through which this creativity within this activity could be role modelled is by
introducing the children from cartoons such as Barney, which is an animated dinosaur in a fictional
animated cartoon series. Doing so would be inspiring the play of Flynn and Lucy where they could
further depict scenarios similar to the ones which were showcased to them during the show. In
addition, this would also enable them to creatively mimic and present numerous dialogues within
their play, which are effective and essential to improvise their dialect and speech, along with their
creativeness towards the play.
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Case study 4
During a crayon and pencil drawing activity, you observe Maisie (3-and-a-half years old) sitting next
to Jacob (4 years old). Maisie is looking at Jacob’s drawing of a ‘monster’ and is trying to copy it.
Maisie holds up her picture to show you and says, ‘Look, my monster looks like Jacob’s one!’.
Outline how you would encourage Maisie’s creative expression by:
a) encouraging her to pursue her own original ideas and artistic expressions
Maisie is a 3 and a half years old individual and in this stage, it is pretty normal that children take
an easy way out towards improvising their artistic expressions. However, it becomes rather crucial
element for the teacher to ensure that creativity is flourished and induced within this age stage
only as these foundation years are crucial for development of creative expressions within
individual in a rather imperative manner.
Therefore, the first step which must be taken in order to encourage Maisie to pursue her original
ideas is through observation. A detailed analysis on both the drawings must be given so that the
differentiated elements or expressions could be identified. In case there are several elements
which Maisie has chosen to be different must then be encouraged by giving a blank sheet to the
student while asking her to elaborate her design based on those artistic expressions. However, if
there are so such elements which could have been found and there is a very high similarity within
those drawings, then it is imperative that Maisie is talked and counselled out of this situation. For
this purpose, the teacher could ask the girl about her interests and what are the things which
appeal to her as an artist. Based on the responses of Maisie, she must then be handed over
another blank sheet of paper and must be asked to draw what she described moments earlier.
Doing so would effectively encourage her towards enhancing her creative expressions and being
involved in her own drawings rather than spending her time in copying the original expressions of
others. This encouragement could further be motivated through providing her feedback on her
drawing and praising her creative expression which encourages her to develop her own artistic
mindset in future.
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b) engaging her in talking about her creation and asking her open-ended questions. Include
three examples of open ended question you could ask Maisie to inspire her creativity.
1. The first question in this regard would be, “Describe in words what you have drawn?”
2. “You chose rather bright/dull colours within your drawing, why so?”
3. “Would you like to name your drawing? If so, what would be it?”
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Case study 5
4-year-old Binh is sitting with a ukulele that he has taken from the music activity area. You notice that
he is turning the instrument around and tentatively plucking at some of the strings. Binh seems to be
a bit unsure about what to do with the ukulele.
Explain how you could encourage Binh to ask questions about the instrument and to encourage
him to explore the sounds he can make.
There are several ways in which Binh could be encouraged to ask questions about the instrument,
as well as encourage him to explore the sounds. The very first way is through bringing in another
ukulele from within the activity room and start playing the instrument slowly and gently, which
would encourage Binh to ask questions about how he could play the same. Moreover, this would
also be encouraging him towards exploring different sounds which the instrument makes by
enacting the teacher into playing the instrument appropriately. Furthermore, the teacher could
model the presentation by guiding Binh into holding the instrument in a correct posture, as well as
through making him strike the cords by assisting the position of fingers on the right cords.
Another effective manner which would be more interesting for Binh to be encouraged towards
asking questions and exploring sounds which Ukulele could make is by demonstrating a tutorial by
an expert on websites such as YouTube, which have hundreds of artists that holds a channel for
only kids to explore new instruments and music. Therefore, seeing someone on screen and
following his lead gently would be helping towards developing enthusiasm within the student,
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which would ultimately lead him towards asking questions about how this instrument could be
played effectively. In addition to all this, the tutorial could be paused, rewind and could be played
at a desired speed, which would encourage Binh in making different sort of sounds and trying
different string combinations while getting acquainted with the instrument.
Another crucial way through which these objectives could be achieved is by asking Binh with
questions about the instruments, for example, name of parts, key combinations, counting of
strings and so forth. Once these questions develop excitement and enthusiasm within Binh, a
detailed guide or sheet with essential information through pictorial display would be given to the
individual for better and more effective understanding of the instrument.
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Case study 6
The Director of the long day care service you are working at has allocated an outside wall for a mural
to be created by the children. She has asked you to plan the mural with the children and to guide
them in working together to create the mural. You have selected a group of six (6) 3 and 4 year old
children to be involved in the mural project.
Outline how you would plan and implement this activity. In your outline cover each of the following:
a) the resources needed such as materials and how time will be allocated
b) how you would encourage all the children in the group to participate and collaborate
c) how you would encourage the children to respect and appreciate each other’s
contributions
d) engaging children in talking about their creations and ask them open-ended questions.
a. In order to create a mural by kids of 3 and 4 year old, the best materials would be wall
paints, water and glace paper stickers to ensure that the wall is created as per the
requirements of the director. Moreover, as for time, since the whole wall for a mural is to
be created and developed with artworks, it would take at least an hour to seek perfection
by the children involved in the overall process.
b. Themes would be created, based on curriculum and interest of the students. Moreover,
colours and display design would be decided, which most probably would be creation of
scenery through hand painting. This would encourage students to participate as they love
to play with colours in different manner. Hand painting would encourage them to
creatively use their imagination towards developing designs of the scenery. Moreover, for
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collaboration, there would be different teams of 3 students each with different creative
elements to portray in an effective manner to ensure a better and more effective creation
of mural.
c. Since children are given free hand over creativity in development of mural, they would be
counselled towards respecting the creation of others rather than mocking. Moreover, the
encouragement would further increased through positive reinforcements by giving each of
them a good award for their discipline as well as their praises for one another’s work.
d. All the children involved in the activity would then be presented in front of the director
and class, where they would be given opportunity to speak about their creation and
engage the whole class towards describing what and how they have drawn their designs.
Furthermore, the open ended questions for the team are discussed below:
“Please tell the class about your design and what according to you is happening within the
drawing?”
“Why are there so many colours used while creating the mountains?”
“What is the best element of the whole mural according to you?”
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a.
b.
c.
d.
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Case study 7
You have noticed that cleaning up and packing away at the end of the day at your service is taking
longer and shelves and equipment are looking disorganised and untidy. You decide to ask the
children to consider the problem and to help you come up with ways to keep the service tidy, and to
take care of the materials and equipment that they use every day.
Describe how you would encourage the children to critically reflect on this problem and support
them to find solutions.
There are several activities which could be channelized in a manner which are associated with
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encouraging children to critically reflect on the problem and support them to find solutions. One
particular way is to ensure that each child must be demonstrated of how best they could manage
the shelves and equipments. Moreover, the same could be very well linked with reinforcements
where students must be promised a fun class activity if they demonstrate effective behaviour for a
week. This would be encouraging students to appropriately arrange their shelves and handle the
equipment in an even better manner.
Another way through which this encouragement could be built is through the fact that a group
activity could be performed where unity could be observed and tested by the teacher. This could
be done by asking a limited number of students to perform a complex task, for instance, puzzling
or painting a large canvas and others would be the spectators. When the other children would
start to be irritated, then they would also be indulged in the activity which would then take lesser
time and more interest of students towards accomplishment. Hence, after the activity is finally
finished, the students could finally be taught how it is not one person’s responsibility but that of all
the class to arrange the shelves and hand over their equipments safely after use.
There is another creative way through which students could be encouraged towards creating a
habit of maintaining the equipments and shelves. Twice a week, students would be given number
tags which they will be wearing all day. Then, 4 teams would be created where each student as per
the number given to them would be segregated. The whole day the respective teams would be
given the chance of maintaining the shelves and equipments which resemble their team number
and on the basis of the same, prices would be given. This would encourage the students to learn
how best to maintain their used equipments in a progressive and productive manner.
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Case study 8
While reading some funny rhymes to the children for quiet story time, you notice that several
children nod their heads along to the rhythm of the language and that several children are fidgeting.
Explain the ways you could modify or adapt the activity to follow the children’s interests and
behaviour.
There are certain ways through which modification and adaptation of the activity could be
accomplished to follow the interest and behaviour of children. It could be witnessed through the
case study that while several children nod through rhythm of the language, others are fidgeting.
Therefore, the interests are needed to be unified so that each student is interested within the
whole activity. Therefore, to achieve the same, the rhymes could be further developed as songs, or
could be used in place of famous songs or rhymes which children already know and cherish. Doing
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so would be developing the interests of children in an effective manner. In addition to this,
dancing steps and themes could be prepared by the teacher so that each student could relate the
rhyme with a particular step to form a parody amongst the class. Such activity would surely ensure
that the interests of students are aligned in a unified direction and that each student participates
towards understanding and reacting on these rhymes.
Another activity which could lead to development of interest of students is that the rows could be
divided into groups and each group would be responsible towards singing a line of the rhyme in a
particular rhythm as decided by the teacher. The second group would follow up from where the
previous one left off continuing the rhyme. This would result in an active participation of all the
students which would be developing their learning, as well as their interest within the classroom
activity.
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Case study 9
Over a period of time you have documented the range of behaviours and activities the children in
your care engage in of their own choice. Your observations suggest many children favour indoor
passive activities and that they are not getting enough physical play and outdoor activity.
Outline the approach you would take to make changes to the curriculum to encourage the
children’s active creative play.
The approach towards changing the curriculum is quite simple which would further develop and
incline the interest of students towards more outside and creative play. For instance, imagination
play a very crucial role in determining how a student’s learning could be shaped up. Therefore, the
first regard in context of shifting the whole approach would be towards determining the role play
and imagination activities which could be happened outside in the play area. As an example,
students could be given T-shirts of different colours and numbers which could possibly encourage
them towards learning additions and subtractions through formation of groups. Moreover, skits
and plays could be organised within the curriculum on weekends before the school goes off for
weekly breaks so that children could express their creative expressions related to art, music and
other essential extra curriculum activities.
Another approach for the same is that there must be a very strict inclusion of art and craft
activities that could happen with materials from the garden and other indoor materials combined
together. Doing so would encourage student to explore different ways through which distinct
materials could be used to formulae an effective craft. Therefore, the curriculum must be shaped
up in a manner which allows students of different age ranges to be eager to step out of the class
and learn new and creative methods which drives an instinct and positive mindset within these
individuals about creativity and art.
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