Just published as part of the Unitwin Network on Open Education 23 good reasons… to adopt Open Education
Incentivize original thinking by Solenn Gillouard
Today’s article is written by Djaine Damiati, Isabela Menezes & Debora Sebriam
Djaine Damiati (associate researcher) and Isabela Menezes (designer) are part of the UNESCO Chair in Open Education and Technologies for the Common Good (University of Brasília, UnB) which is part of the Unitwin network UNOE.
Debora Sebriam is member of the Open Education Initiative research group at UnB.
This article was originally written in Portuguese. The original version is available at: Incentivar o pensamento original – Chaire UNESCO RELIA
The concept of geniality and the idea of creative innovation took center stage in the Renaissance, amid a social imaginary that drove discoveries and inventions such as the heliocentric theory, the astrolabe, the geometric perspective, and others that, to this day, lay the foundations of the humanity’s technical and scientific framework (Burckhardt, 1990).
In the modern era, the idea of innovation has continued to be a kind of driving force behind the ideals of development in Western societies (Schumpeter, 1988), and although this notion has changed over time, starting from a vision exclusively focused on technical progress, later to encompass other aspects such as sustainability and social impact (Plonski, 2017), encouraging the ability of thinking originally and stimulating creation has never been so demanded and valued as it is today, shaping practices and processes in different social spheres, including the field of education.
Image: Da Vinci Mona Lisa funny technology . Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Encouraging original thinking in education: some approaches
Seeking to align teaching-learning processes with the ideal of valuing original thinking as the basis for building technical-scientific knowledge and innovation processes, between the 20th and 21st centuries, different theoretical and methodological approaches to education discussed and proposed ways of encouraging original thinking and creativity in the most diverse contexts. From the most classic to the most innovative, these approaches provide foundations for what is characterized as ways of encouraging original thinking and creativity. Among these are the following:
(1) Active role of the individual – Original thinking is encouraged when people face real problems and are encouraged to formulate their own hypotheses, experiment with solutions, and reflect on the results found (Dewey, 2023);
(2) Autonomy and criticality – The more individuals are involved as beings in the world, the more they will feel challenged (Freire, 1997, 2002);
(3) Collaboration and dialogue – Collaborative learning and group work favour the development of complex cognitive skills and creativity (Vygotsky, 1986), and the teaching process based on debates challenges preconceived ideas and creates an environment conducive to exploring one’s own ideas (Postman & Weingartner, 1969).
(4) Flexibility and adaptability – when education is adaptable to people’s needs and interests, it favours the development of creativity, critical thinking, and innovation (Dewey, 2023);
(5) Exploration and experimentation – people who are actively involved in creating something learn better (Papert, 1980; Postman & Weingartner, 1969).
Dialogues with the principles of Open Education
Open Education has characteristics that dialogue with all the foundations mentioned since it encourages:
inclusion by valuing different experiences and knowledge, broadening cultural and intellectual repertoire;
adaptability which allows adaptations of educational resources to meet local needs and realities;
collaboration and sharing favouring the collective construction of knowledge, leading individuals to refine and innovate in their own creations;
open access allowing more people to explore, question and build on existing ideas, fostering creativity and the production of new thoughts;
open technologies allowing users to explore and develop projects autonomously and innovatively.
Original thinking in the remix era
The notion of original thinking has changed a lot. One of the reasons is the profusion of information and forms of collaboration provided by the web, which has meant that original thinking has opened up more space for forms of remix.
The concept of remix refers to the act of creatively recombining, reinterpreting, and transforming content that already exists, generating new meanings, learning and perspectives (Amiel, 2014). Thus, the idea of originality is no longer necessarily linked to what is new, but to what acquires value in new contexts.
In elaborating on one of the most influential principles of pragmatist philosophy, semiosis, Peirce stated that signs do not arise from nothing, but are linked in a continuous network of meanings, so every representation or interpretation will depend on other signs (Peirce, 1931-1958). This is the popular idea that ‘nothing comes from nothing’, later adopted by other philosophical currents in the West and reinforced contemporaneously by authors such as Austin Kleon who states: ‘All creative work is built on what has come before. Nothing is totally original’ (Kleon, 2012).
The very concept of innovation has suffered a notable influence from this new paradigm, and today, different authors position it much closer to the ability to generate value with changes capable of responding to certain needs, rather than the creation of the new per se. This perspective is aligned with the principles of Open Education, which in this scenario is gaining strength and becoming an instrument of innovation. Encouraging the creation and remixing of educational resources and practices promotes the development and sharing of new solutions, solving common problems and stimulating innovative thinking to adapt and create specific solutions for different local realities.
In this way, Open Education not only democratizes access to knowledge but also stimulates creativity, autonomy, and critical thinking, consolidating itself as an essential pillar for the development of more inclusive and innovative societies.
References
Amiel, T. (2014). O uso do remix na educação e as novas formas de produção de conhecimento. Revista Brasileira de Educação, 19 (60), 587-603.
Burckhardt, J. (1990). A civilização do Renascimento na Itália (G. L. Aranha, Trad.). Editora Unesp. (Original work published in 1860).
Christensen, C. (1997). The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail.
Dewey, J. (2023). Experience and Education . Editora Vozes.
Freire, P. (1987). Pedagogia do oprimido (21ª ed.). Paz e Terra. Available from: Paulo Freire, 1970. PEDAGOGIA DO OPRIMIDO.pdf — PIBID
Freire, P. (2002). Pedagogia da autonomia: Saberes necessários à prática educativa (25ª ed.). Paz e Terra.
Furtado, D., & Amiel, T. (2019). Guia de bolso da educação aberta . Iniciativa Educação Aberta.
Kleon, A. (2012). Steal like an artist: 10 things nobody told you about being creative . Workman Publishing.
Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms: Children, computers, and powerful ideas . Basic Books.
Peirce, C. S. (1931-1958). The Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce . Vol. 2, Elements of Logic. Harvard University Press.
Postman, N., & Weingartner, C. (1969). Teaching as a subversive activity . Delacorte Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1986). Thought and language (A. Kozulin, Trans. & Ed.). The MIT Press.
“
Incentivize original thinking
” by Djaine Damiati, Isabela Menezes & Debora Sebriam is licensed under CC BY 4.0
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