Exploring creative thinking skills and creativity in English courses through the lenses of creative pedagogy in two continuum IB schools

Abstract

Creativity and creative thinking skills are imperative in the 21st-century workforce and are integral to modern educational curricula. The International Baccalaureate (IB) stands out for seamlessly incorporating these skills into its Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP), and Diploma Programme (DP). However, the interchangeable use of the terms creativity and creative thinking skills presents challenges to their differentiation and integration into teaching practices. This study examines the roles of creativity and creative thinking skills in two continuum IB schools in Türkiye. Lin’s (2011) creative pedagogy framework, which originally included teaching creatively, teaching for creativity and creative learning as the core components, has been revised twice for the current study. It now includes creative thinking skills as the fourth component and this is one of the major contributions of this research. Our findings revealed that IB curricula foster creativity and creative thinking skills, but the teachers faced some challenges as a result of the demanding nature of the curricula and time constraints. This multiple case study followed a concurrent mixed-methods approach employing semi-structured teacher interviews, questionnaires and class observations as data sources to ensure triangulation. Based on the findings, each component of the framework has been redefined from the IB perspective. Thus, the final version of the framework, the Creative Pedagogy Framework for Continuum IB Schools, offers a systematic infusion of each component mentioned previously into IB curricula in continuum IB schools, addressing challenges and enhancing integration.