Creativity is defined as an ability to solve problems in a new, original and versatile way. Motor creativity is one of the possible ways to express creativity and is the main topic of this master’s degree thesis. The mentioned way of establishing creativity is used mainly when working with younger children who can better express themselves by a movement than by speaking. In this master’s degree thesis we research the connection between a creative movement as an active teaching method and motor creativity of children. The research was conducted during a mathematics class at the lesson in geometry. We focused on three topics: 1. Geometric shapes in solids, 2. Symmetry and 3. Lines and points. Creative movement was used as a teaching method in one of the selected classes (experimental group or EG). In the second class (control group or CG), no such method of teaching was used. In the practical part of the thesis we first analysed lesson plans by searching for activities which encourage the children’s motor expression. By analysing the lesson plans, we discovered that children in the EG received very little teacher-centred approach, they were able to do things individually and in pairs and find different ways of learning. Furthermore, the children were encouraged to use accessories and their own bodies for movement. The lesson plans for children in the CG were mostly based on the teacher-centred approach, the children had very few chances for using different ways of learning and there were fewer encouragements for learning through creative movement. In the research, we also compared the children’s general mathematical knowledge in the EG and CG, before teaching the lessons and their knowledge of geometry after the lessons. We found out that the children in the CG had better knowledge of the abovementioned subjects before attending our lessons than the children in the EG. Additionally, the children’s knowledge of geometry in the CG was better than their peers’ in the EG, after the lessons. Another point of interest in the research was to learn whether there were any significant differences in motor creativity (fluency and originality of answers) between the children in the EG and CG, before and after the lessons, which we established with Torrance’s (1981) test »Thinking creatively in movement«. The results showed that there were no differences in motor creativity between the children from the EG and CG before the lessons, nor were there any signs of statistically important differences in physical creativity between children in the EG and CG after the lessons.
|
