Creativity : Origins From Joyful Learning

ABSTRACT

The concept of joyful learning is a very rich rewarding and innovative idea in a system of education particularly when it gets enlarged in the labyrinth of role learning, mere information gathering, insensitive teaching and unintelligent learning. Joyful Learning is a concept designed to activate students in developing creativities in an effective and joyful atmosphere.

Introduction 

The core aim of education is to foster all-round development of a child i.e., intellectual, social, physical, moral, sensible that can be achieved only through education. To fulfil this objective, there is a prime need of striking a balance between syllabus, curriculum, books and co-curricular activities. Co- curricular activities always take place outside a typical pen and pencil classroom experience. It provides the opportunity to the students to develop particular skills and exhibit their non-academic abilities. As these activities are vital even though they are not part of the core curriculum, they play a very crucial role in giving the young boys and girls the ability their lives to become well-rounded people and it is here, learning happens to be a joy for the student.

What is Joyful Learning?

Joy captures the thrill of true learning – the curiosity, the passion, the collaboration, the connection, the effort, the fun, the pride, the sharing. Joyful learning speaks to both the learning process, where there is considerable evidence that a focus on techniques that we would describe as joyful are far more effective, and to an outcome that we believe should be valued highly: Joy. 

Our current short definition of joyful learning is, "Engaging, empowering, and playful learning of meaningful content in a loving and supportive community. Through the joyful learning process a student is always improving knowledge of self and the world." We recognize, however, that joy is experienced individually and that context matters a great deal. We also recognize that experts in the field might use slightly different descriptors. For example, Tony Wagner might describe it as "passion, play, and purpose" while Martin Seligman might focus on "meaningful engagement." What is more important to us is that we are having the conversation – that we value joy in the learning process and as a life outcome. 

The concept of joyful learning is a very rich rewarding and innovative idea in a system of education particularly when it gets enlarged in the labyrinth of role learning, mere information gathering, concept in a situation where wisdom and knowledge get replaced by information and the system of education should revolve.  Joyful learning is a concept designed to activate students in developing creativities in an effective and joyful atmosphere .

     Language, Mathematics and Environmental Studies are to be taught through art,  craft,  songs, dance and other activity-oriented methods for making the learning joyful.

    Learning has been defined as the modification of behavior through experience. Learning results by the active reaction of the student with the stimulus situation which the teacher creates in the class.  A student is always an active participant in what goes on in the class and he/she is fully perfect in his or her attempt; a huge amount of joy springs up from his state of perfection. Hence,  it is a must that a teacher should making the learning process as much joyful and joy yielding as possible.  Creativity is an imaginative activity fashioned so as to produce outcomes that are original. 

History in Brief

Joyful learning  was started as an experiment in classroom transaction. Spearheaded by teachers themselves, it began in Heggada Devan Kore Talk in Mysore district . In 1995, M. N. Bags,  Education Officer of Mysore district along with UNICEF decided to receive the Micro Plan and look into Activity-Based Learning (ABL).  The joyful learning method of classroom transaction not only gives greater autonomy to the teacher but also to creates the right atmosphere for child to learn in a friendly and joyful way. 

Learning takes place systematically in groups organized according to age-wise competencies in an interactive manner.  When the children master the competency of one group ,they move on to another group to learn the next competency.  In joyful learning  method a minimum level of learning could be scrutinized among all the students.  Learning load was reduced to realistic and achievable level.

Pillars of Joyful Learning

There are four main pillars of joyful learning as follows: (a) Active,)(b) Creative, (c) Effective and (d) Joyful. The pillars have been designed as follows :

A) Active Pillar: Learning is of two types; teacher-centered and student-centered learning.

Teacher-centered: This is i) More traditional ii) Teacher as a lecturer iii) Transfer of learning through lecturing iv) Teacher determines what to teach and how a student gains information.

Student-centered: i) Teacher as facilitator not lecturer.ii) The teaching -learning focus is on students and not on teachers. iii) Students learn actively. 

B) Creative  Pillar: Class management is required to develop the students' interest and their activeness in learning classroom can be made attractive by changing the layout setting of desks. 

        Creative Learning is a process that stimulates students to develop their creativity thereby giving them freedom to develop new ideas and self-awareness.  The teacher gives them questions which stimulate students creativity such as why and how instead of what and when. Here the teacher becomes more creative by creating varieties of learning activities and gives new concern to their cognitive, mental and emotional facts. 

C) Effective Pillar: Effective means take into effect, give result, or have influence. An effective learning will produce knowledge that students need to master after the learning process. 

D) Learning Pillar: Fun learning means "enjoyable learning environment". Enjoyable here doesn't  mean noise.  Joyful Learning environment is being relaxed, without pressure, safe, interesting, stimulating learning, full involvement, good attention, attractive learning environment, understanding and mastery of the learning material, full of spirit, cheerful and highly concentrative.

Role of Teacher in Joyful Learning 

In the classroom the teacher plays an important role. Even the best curriculum and the most perfect syllabus remain dead unless quickened into life by right methods of teaching. 

The teacher's role is very different from the traditional one of providing knowledge. 

Through the right methods and strategies the teacher not only achieves aims and objectives of education but also job satisfaction.

Hence the teacher should function more creatively in learning rather than a teaching environment .His role should be to suggest and present rather than command. He should show the child how to devise his own methods of learning and organizing the knowledge which he gathers and discovers. The teacher should remember that the child finds interest and joy and the attention of students becomes spontaneous. 

            The teacher should also identify the elements in physical ,economic and socio-cultural environment found around the school, having a natural correlation with the curricular content for making learning concrete, meaningful and interesting. This learning of many ideas,attitudes, values and skills should be facilitated if the teacher-student interaction is marked on the part of the teacher by impartiality, affection, kindness, sympathy, politeness, concern for students' welfare, emotional control,democratic approach.

Essentials of Joyful Learning

The most essentials of joyful learning lie in the fact that in joyful learning lie in the fact that in Joyful Learning, illustrations and activity method play a significant part. They make the lesson interesting and activity method play a significant part. They make the lesson interesting and attractive and enable the learner to absorb the knowledge . In this method there is a role of teacher but it is only that of a guide.  It is more self learning and self experience. This alone can be sustainable learning as it becomes a part and parcel of one's being. However, the following essentials are also to be  taken into consideration when the teachers can pour joy into the students' experiences.  

i) Finding pleasure in learning  

Learning of a student should be such which will give him or her pleasure. If the teacher wants to make the learning of students more joyful, s/he should rethink. Students must be helped to find pleasure in their learning and make the learning infinitely successful. 

ii ) Students should be given choice

Children should be made free to pursue their interests.  Learning usually requires some ownership on the part of the learner.  Students can own some of their school learning by choosing the books they want to read through independent reading.  In writing workshops, teachers can inspire them to be real writers and choose for themselves what genres to write in. During units in math, science, art and social studies, they can choose specific subtopics to study; then, as "experts," they can share their learning with the class. Students can also choose which products they want to create to demonstrate their learning. 

iii) Let students create things

People like to make stuff. There is a special pride in bringing an original idea to fruition.  It empowers us and encourages us; it helps us appreciate the demanding process of creating something from nothing . The list of what students can create across the curriculum is virtually limitless : newspapers and magazines, brochures,stories, picture books, posters murals, websites, podcasts, Power Point presentations, interviews, oral histories, models, diagrams, blueprints and floor plans, plays and role-plays, mock trials,photographs,paintings,songs, surveys,  graphs,  documentary videos etc. 

iv ) Show off student work 

          Schools and classrooms should be brimming with wonderful, original student work. School spaces that are devoid of student work perpetuate a sterile and joyless environment.  The walls of their classrooms should speak to people; they should say exactly what goes on in that space throughout the school day. 

v) Give students time to tinker

 By providing a collaborative environment in which to explore basic and advanced building techniques and principles, the teacher should strive to create a school where students learn by fooling around.  All activities are hands-on, supervised, and at least partly improvisational. Grand schemes, wild ideas, crazy notions,  and intuitive leaps of imagination are, of course, encouraged and fertilized. Students must be allowed to dream. They come up with their own ideas for an object ,and the faculty and staff help them sketch, design,  and build it. Teachers too must take risks, experiment ,play with the art of pedagogy, and feel the joy that comes from tinkering with their teaching. 

vi) Schools to be made to look as inviting

The classrooms should always be kept clean neat, Desks have to be arranged and a blackboard with a chalk and duster in the front. Enough space should also be there so that students can work in small groups. They can even be asked to do wall painting which is really a joyful thing for them 

Further, schools can turn outdoor spaces into gardens, sculpture parks, walking paths, and reading areas. 

vii) Get outside

Fresh air, trees and a sunny day can do miracles for the human spirit. Interacting with nature brings a unique joy. The easiest way to get students outside to read,write or have a class meeting. It is delightful for a student to sit under a tree and read or for a class to sit in a circle on the grass and they will find a flourishing life in the soil beneath their feet. 

viii) Students should be given good books to read 

Many a time teachers give their students certain story books to read. But these are not that serious. Let the books be of important themes that can make a better world, but the teacher must also sometimes allow, even encourage students to read thrillers; romance novels; action-adventure books; stories about sorts, animals ,and pop culture; graphic novels and non-fiction on topics they love. 

ix ) Offer more gym and art classes 

It is common for students to have no art, music and drama at all, and gym only once or twice a week. For the children who have a special affinity for the visual arts, theatre, music, or sports, classes in these subjects are golden times for them to experience joy in school. 

x )Schools should bring out transformation in the assessment system

Assessment is not bad and students' assessment has to be done at any cost. The only important thing to be noted by teachers is that they must help their students to understand the value of assessment. Teachers have to make more use of narrative assessments and report cards, portfolios of authentic work, and students presentations and performances. In addition, parent conferences should not only include students ,but also encourage the students to do much of the talking, using the conference as an opportunity to present their work and discuss their strengths. A teacher should allow students regularly do self-assessments.

xi) There should be some fun together for students 

Schools need to find ways for students, teachers and administrators to take a break from the emotional, tense, and serious school day and have some fun together. Sporting events, outdoor -filled days, movie nights, visits to restaurants, and talent shows can help everyone get to know one another better, tear down the personal walls that often get built inside schools, form caring relationships, and have a wonderful time together. 

xii) Teaching as a joyful experience    

To experience the joy, teachers must strive to own their teaching so that they can enter their classes knowing there will be golden opportunities for them as well as for their students. 

xiii)  Towards holistic learning 

With the advent of information technology the new challenges necessitate a systematic change towards a model of holistic learning that is experiential and linked to real-life situations. The students can find situations that help incorporate what they learned in their everyday lives. 

xiv)  Music and rhythm

Many of the things can be easily learned with song. Students can create songs and rhythm when learning something new and they will remember much longer and have an easier time retrieving the information for a test. By this they will experience joy. 

Certain Benefits to be Noted

Educational institutions provide a structural environment or atmosphere where children learn values of cooperation, hard-work, sympathetic attitude, etc. In fact, it is through education that society seeks to preserve and promote it's cherished values. However, it is good to go through various benefits of creating a joyful learning by engaging students in various creative activities. 

• The teachers are the first role - models to the children outside their family. When the children see the model showing concern for others, motivating them for their good deeds and cooperating and helpful with their academic issues, the children learn them by observing and imitate it with fellow peers. 
• Teachers become important in the development of values in their students through joyful learning method. 
• When a teacher appreciates his or her students for any specific action they have done to help others,  it has a strong positive effelt on the personality development of the students .
• One should remember that student carry habits (good or bad) that begin to foster good school activities. All good habit of the teachers’ help children to grw up into wonderful and successful human beings. Make sure that teachers and school atmosphere guide and support children in the all round development.
• By joyful learning students become more critical learning become effective, creativity of students increases, students are provided various atmospheres and experiences, students develop learning productivity, emotional and social maturity of students develop and students become ready to face any obstacles while learning.

Conclusion

            It is unfortunate the present day system of learning in India is far removed from this type of joyful learning. The student is overloaded with text books and overworked with home assignments there is too much of quantity but too less of quality. Neither is the teacher interested in his/her job nor is the student inquisitive in learning. The learning is also in the form of information gathering, rot learning, cramming and memorization not only the teaching learning process is dull and mechanical, the method of evaluation is far from being genuine and trustworthy. It is much more unfortunate that all concerned are painfully aware of this unhappy situation but everyone feels helpless; everyone finds oneself in despair. This situation seems to be incurable. But we can hope that the  day of redemption will come and we shall revert to the joyful days of joyful learning.

          When a child enters the class, s/he is completely unaware of its complexity. Mind of child is like a clean slate but gradually with the increase of time and interaction with the surrounding environment, s/he goes on accommodating concepts and their by adjustes to his/her surroundings. During this process of interaction, the child(student) faces many problems for his/her development- physical, intellectual, emotional, moral, social etc. for all such said things, creating a joyful environment and giving lot of opportunities of their talents, creative activities have to be undertaken by the school authorities their by making the entire learning the most joyful activity for them.

Reference

Unicef.in/pressreleases/336/joyful-learning

S.K. Mangal. “essentials of educational psychology”.

https://www.creativeassociatesinternational.com/.../indiaschools-communities-champi

www.joyfullearningnetwork.com/what-is-joyful-learning.htm