Teaching children in a way that encourages them to empathise with others measurably improves their creativity, and could potentially lead to several other beneficial learning outcomes, new research suggests.
Inside the Fitzwilliam Museum, the Armoury and Renaissance galleries are alive with the sound of chattering children. Eyes wide in amazement, noses pressed against cool glass and little feet padding across polished floors, Cambridgeshire pre-schoolers are excitedly discovering treasures found close to home and further afield.
New research into the phenomenon of design fixation – allowing prior experience to blind us to new possibilities – may help in the development of new tools and strategies that help to stimulate the creative process without inadvertently limiting it.
Research into new education practices that fuse computing with music-making shows they create “enquiry-rich” conditions that empower children to take risks, and could help free future musicians from ‘locked-in’ hardware and fuel the creative economy.
An investigation into how musicians find creative inspiration has identified four key ingredients needed for creative expression. It also shows that musicians may be at their most inspired when they step away from their instruments and think about music in different ways.
A pioneering research centre studying live musical performance as creative practice launches in the Faculty of Music in October with funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).
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