Creativity Case Study (Temasek Junior College)

School Culture
Temasek Junior College (TJC) is a reputable school that takes in students of higher academic ability. There are 2 groups of students in TJC. They are the Temasek Academy (TA) students – those who enter the school via the Integrated Programme at Secondary 3 – and the Junior College (JC) students, those who enter the school after taking their O’ Levels. Students are hardworking and diligent, though slightly passive; many of them wait to be spoon-fed, or for the teachers to give them the answers, with students needing some probing before they give responses in class. The TA students however are noticeably more proactive and vocal than the others, perhaps because they have had more time in the school to build bonds with their peers and their teachers. Literature is only offered as a subject at TA3/4 or JC1/2 level; at TA1/2, Language Arts is offered as an amalgamation of English and Literature. That being said, because the approach to teaching Language Arts in TJC is inclined towards preparing students for General Paper, many students who decide to take Literature in TA3/4 are not particularly strong in the subject. In addition, there are students in JC1/2 who did not take Literature in Upper Secondary, but are taking the subject now, due to the requirement for students to take a contrasting subject (Arts or Science). These students tend to be the weakest of the lot.

Definition of Creativity
Creativity is an organic spirit of sensitivity, criticality and transitivity that is generally associated with interdisciplinary models of thinking, unique adaptations and original innovations. It is harnessed while being sensitive to and thinking critically of various perspectives, resulting in a tangible end product that draws connections and applicability across disciplines, mediums and fields of study.

Examples of Student-centred Creativity
The Literature department creates a climate of creativity that encourages student-centred creative products. The department exposes students to audio recordings of poetry recitals as well as def poetry videos to accompany the poems that are analysed in class, such as “Colourblind” and “Beethoven” respectively. In addition, students are given tasks that require them to come up with creative applications. Some of the products that students are required to come up with include crafting a poem with images to describe a colour of their choice to a blind person (Imagery Lesson), crafting a poem inspired by an artwork (Learning Journey to Singapore Art Museum), as well as demarcating line breaks in a poem that is presented to them in prose form and writing a reflection on why they have made the line breaks in that particular manner (Form Lesson). Students also had the opportunity to participate in poetry workshops conducted by Jacob Sam-La Rose, as well as create their own short comic strip on the characterisation of Richard based on Act 1 Scene 1 of Richard the Third.

Examples of Teacher-centred Creativity
The Literature department conducts lesson studies for the teaching of the poetry unit to JC1 students. The teachers come together to plan the poetry unit, sit in each other’s classes during the implementation period to observe the methodologies employed in teaching and learning, share feedback on what went well as well as AFIs, and lastly make changes for the next implementation cycle of the lesson study. This provides creative inputs to improve lesson delivery and student engagement. In addition, teacher-centred creativity is encouraged during events such as Lit Night – where the teachers perform – and poetry workshops – where teachers share a poem which they have crafted during the workshop.

Challenges of Infusing Creativity
With the school ultimately preparing students to sit for the A’ Levels, the syllabus and by extension time, poses a huge challenge to the infusion of creativity in the Literature classroom. With students having to read at least 2 set texts for each Literature paper, much time is devoted to the analysis of these texts, and it is impossible to ensure that every lesson is a creative lesson. Moreover, a creative lesson may not necessarily be an effective one as well, in terms of adequately preparing students for the exams. Perhaps the biggest challenge faced then is the prevailing culture of education in Singapore, where creativity and aesthetics is displaced by the need for pragmatic and economic results.