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Enhancing Creativity
Through Story-Telling
Innovative Training
Programs for
School Settings
Edited by
Alessandro Antonietti
Paola Pizzingrilli · Chiara Valenti
Palgrave Studies in Creativity and Culture

Series Editors
Vlad Petre Glăveanu
Department of Psychology and Counselling
Webster University Geneva
Geneva, Switzerland

Brady Wagoner
Communication and Psychology
Aalborg University
Aalborg, Denmark
Both creativity and culture are areas that have experienced a rapid
growth in interest in recent years. Moreover, there is a growing interest
today in understanding creativity as a socio-cultural phenomenon and
culture as a transformative, dynamic process. Creativity has traditionally
been considered an exceptional quality that only a few people (truly)
possess, a cognitive or personality trait ‘residing’ inside the mind of the
creative individual. Conversely, culture has often been seen as ‘outside’
the person and described as a set of ‘things’ such as norms, beliefs,
values, objects, and so on. The current literature shows a trend towards
a different understanding, which recognises the psycho-socio-cultural
nature of creative expression and the creative quality of appropriating and
participating in culture. Our new, interdisciplinary series Palgrave Studies
in Creativity and Culture intends to advance our knowledge of both
creativity and cultural studies from the forefront of theory and research
within the emerging cultural psychology of creativity, and the intersection
between psychology, anthropology, sociology, education, business, and
cultural studies. Palgrave Studies in Creativity and Culture is accepting
proposals for monographs, Palgrave Pivots and edited collections that
bring together creativity and culture. The series has a broader focus than
simply the cultural approach to creativity, and is unified by a basic set of
premises about creativity and cultural phenomena.

More information about this series at


http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14640
Alessandro Antonietti · Paola Pizzingrilli ·
Chiara Valenti
Editors

Enhancing Creativity
Through Story-Telling
Innovative Training Programs for School Settings
Editors
Alessandro Antonietti Paola Pizzingrilli
Department of Psychology Department of Psychology
Catholic University of the Sacred Catholic University of the Sacred
Heart Heart
Milan, Italy Milan, Italy

Chiara Valenti
Department of Psychology
Catholic University of the Sacred
Heart
Milan, Italy

Palgrave Studies in Creativity and Culture


ISBN 978-3-030-63012-6 ISBN 978-3-030-63013-3 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63013-3

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer
Nature Switzerland AG 2020
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights
of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and
retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc.
in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such
names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for
general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and informa-
tion in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither
the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with
respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been
made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps
and institutional affiliations.

Cover illustration: © Melisa Hasan

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Preface

Since the 50s of the past century, the need to promote creativity in people
has been stressed and many attempts have been made to devise methods,
techniques and procedures to enhance individual and group creativity and
to test the efficacy of such approaches. Educating creativity became one
of the most salient goals of school instruction. The interest towards the
possibility to foster creativity grew up further and nowadays it is still one
of the eminent topics in education. Why is it still important to try to
stimulate creativity?
It is argued that habitual behaviours and thoughts may not be appro-
priate in a world that changes rapidly and where people have to face new
challenges almost on a daily base. New answers to new questions must
be rapidly found. These responses are expected to be faster and more
adequate from creative individuals. Flexibility and imagination should be
the qualities of the leaders of tomorrow. Hence, schools and companies
are expected to prepare young people to develop those skills. Moreover,
creativity seems to be particularly necessary in times of crisis. Because of
the absence of traditional resources and opportunities, escape routes—
which so far were not prefigured—are needed. Thus, it is hoped that
someone may devise new paths, produce new discoveries, identify new
strategies which can open unexpected horizons and allow persons to face
difficulties and impasses, even where no way out can apparently be seen.
A second set of reasons that justify the attention that schools should pay
to creativity is as follows. Often parents, teachers and principals complain

v
vi PREFACE

of poverty of ideas that students show. They complain that behaviours


are conformist and that judgements are aligned to the common way of
thinking and feeling, without any personal reflection. Educating creativity
is proposed as an antidote to this situation. It aims to stimulate a personal
processing of the environmental stimuli so to overcome existing models
and to explore new possibilities. Creativity challenges the individual,
who is asked to ground his/her life on him/herself—on his/her beliefs,
desires, dreams—and get to create something that can then be shared
with others, starting from an internal and original source. Creativity asks
persons to expose and express themselves starting from what characterises
and distinguishes them. The hope is that giving the individual the oppor-
tunity to explain his/her way of seeing, thinking and acting can help
him/her to become aware of his/her potential, so to be an active agent,
but not just a passive observer, of his/her world. This should hopefully
be a way to gain autonomy, independence and security in life.
A third reason supporting the need to promote creativity refers to the
link between creativity and well-being. It is well known that creative abil-
ities are a powerful resource for resilience, i.e. the ability to cope with
challenging situations, even dramatic, so to not only overcome them, but
changing them in opportunities for development and learning. Environ-
mental or historical circumstances of deprivation, or even more simply
limitations or stressful situations, stimulate the ability to devise creative
remedies and expedients or to reinterpret the current condition in a new
way to succeed despite the external adversities. The perception of being
able to cope with heavy situations and being able to play an active role is,
in a proactive and not just reactive perspective, a component of subjective
well-being. This is accompanied by perception of control, sense of agency,
autonomy, adequate self-efficacy and self-esteem, which are aspects that
creativity promotes. In addition, we must not forget the motivating force
that a creativity process requires—as well as the sensations of pleasure
and satisfaction or fulfilment that exerting creativity produces—are further
aspects which increase well-being.
Finally, it has to be kept in mind that creative skills are generally
more enhanced in children and adolescents affected by some neurodevel-
opmental disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Atten-
tion Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), or dyslexia (Cancer &
Antonietti, 2019; Cancer, Manzoli, & Antonietti, 2016; Manzoli &
Antonietti, 2016). As a consequence, such skills might be appreci-
ated and stressed to support the self-representation of students with
PREFACE vii

those disorders (and also the representation that parents and educa-
tors have of the students in question) by leading them to recognise
that, despite the deficits associated to the disorder, they have some
potentialities. Further, it is possible to engage them in creative activ-
ities, where they should excel, to motivate them. Rehabilitation activ-
ities can become more interesting for them if presented in a creative
way as well. Cultivating the creative aptitude of these students can
result also in providing them strategies they can apply to address school
works in non-standard manners, which match the way they process
stimuli and reason, so to circumvent the difficulties produced by the
disorder.
Two main approaches can be followed in order to lead people to
learn to be creative (Parnes & Harding, 1972). The first approach orig-
inates from suggestions provided by active pedagogies and, more specif-
ically, by the learning-through-discovery movement. The main purpose
is to arrange learning settings to induce individuals to express personal
ideas, to freely imagine unusual situations, to look for new and not
obvious solutions to problems. Usually no specific materials are devised
for these aims; Educators are generally invited to modify traditional ways
of managing learning activities by paying attention to their attitudes and
communication styles, so to create a climate which facilitates learners’
expressivity and ideational fluency (Barron, 1968). The second approach
consists in employing sets of exercises useful for stimulating creative ways
of thinking. For instance, learners are asked to devise several manners to
use a given tool, to figure out possible ends of an uncompleted tale and to
find alternative linguistic expressions for the situations described. Funny
games, curious experiments and practical trials are employed to stimu-
late creativity, sometimes through the manipulation of concrete materials,
graphical signs and visual patterns.
Six main questionable assumptions seem to be shared by many of the
past attempt to enhance people’s creativity:

1. Creativity consists of a unique mental mechanism. Thus, people can


be trained in such a single mechanism. For instance, a single creative
technique like brainstorming (Osborn, 1957)—one of the well-
known creativity techniques, focused on the free, abundant produc-
tion of bizarre ideas in order to promote innovation-—is proposed
as a general approach for developing creative ideas and skills.
2. Trainees are like a tabula rasa, that is, before being instructed they
know virtually nothing about how to be creative; They are meant as
viii PREFACE

having no ideas or opinions about creative strategies and are not able
to control them. All this has to be “imprinted” into their allegedly
“empty” minds.
3. Even though trainees are instructed with non-ecologically valid
materials (such as puzzles, riddles and so on), the training
programmes can succeed in prompting the subsequent spontaneous
transfer of creative strategies to everyday situations.
4. The development of creative thinking can be induced by simply
asking trainees to perform a specific mental operation a given
number of times. In other words, getting some practice in executing
an operation should be sufficient to allow people to learn it.
5. Creativity is only a matter of cognitive processes. Therefore, trainees
must be taught only to activate particular kinds of cognitive oper-
ations, without any reference to the complex interaction of these
operations with other cognitive processes, emotion, motivation and
the context.
6. Creativity can be promoted as a general ability, without making
reference to specific domains.

Given these assumptions, it is not surprising that the traditional


programmes designed to stimulate creativity often failed to reach their
goals. In fact, ordinary situations where creative thinking is needed
are usually complex situations that involve multiple mental operations.
Furthermore, in everyday life explicit hints to employ the relevant strategy
are seldom given, so that individuals need to be able to identify by
themselves the specific features of the situation in question and choose
the appropriate way to deal with it. Finally, individuals must not only
know how to think creatively, but also must want, namely, be inclined
or motivated to process situations creatively. These remarks stressed the
need for a different approach to promote creativity. More precisely,
various components have to be identified in creativity; More attention
to common reasoning and to complex real-life situations is required; The
role of metacognition in the acquisition of new competencies has to be
highlighted.
On these grounds, in order to produce in trainees a stable aptitude
to think and behave creatively in extra-training contexts, it seems that
educational tools should:
PREFACE ix

1. Develop an integrated structure of various mental mechanisms, each


playing a role in a particular kind of situation or in a particular phase
of the creative process;
2. Use materials that mimic real-life situations or, at least, help trainees
to recognise the relationship between the training tasks and such
situations;
3. Consider individuals’ spontaneous beliefs and tendencies towards
creative thinking and begin teaching from their naïve creative
competencies, with the hope of changing spontaneous beliefs,
tendencies and strategies by means of an internal restructuring
process;
4. Show a metacognitive sensibility, that is, train learners not only to
perform creative strategies, but also to control their execution (for
instance, to select the strategy to be applied and to monitor its
application);
5. Encourage a creative attitude, e.g. encourage learners to accept the
risks and discomforts that creativity involves, to avoid the tendency
to stick to familiar responses and to look for novelty.

Various attempts to integrate cognitive, emotional and personality aspects


of thinking have been made (Antonietti, Colombo & Memmert, 2013).
A constructivist point of view—aimed at substituting the spontaneous
beliefs and tendencies of an individual with new and evolved strategies by
means of an internal restructuring process—is shared by many contempo-
rary creativity programmes. The features of current training materials are
in agreement with the issues discussed previously. First, they induce indi-
viduals to learn a set of reasoning strategies that can result in a creative
way of thinking. Further, they make people aware of the strategies they
employ, of their relevance, of their benefits and costs. In other words,
the programmes should stimulate a metacognitive attitude. They also try
to encourage autonomy in the management of thinking strategies. More-
over, the critical situations where learners are trained to be creative are real
situations or have obvious counterparts in real life. Finally, the application
of a given thinking technique is linked to the development of a corre-
sponding attitude, such as to be open to the experience, to recognise the
emotional states, to look for novelty or to accept contradictions.
Experimental investigations carried out to test the validity of such
training materials generally showed that a larger increase of creativity
x PREFACE

scores is found in the training conditions as compared to the control


conditions. Learning materials are more effective when implemented by
ad hoc instructed educators, who were trained to control their feeling,
attitudes and communication patterns. In general, a clear superiority of
well-structured programmes over simple and isolated tasks emerges. In
particular, highly creative individuals increase their creativity levels only
when a well-structured intervention is carried out by expert trainers
(Antonietti, 1997). In conclusion, people can learn to be creative. Such
learning is possible, however, only if teachers and educators employ
instructional materials that are consistent with the complex nature of
creativity stressed by recent research and that involve learning proce-
dures that are not based simply on repetitive activities. To do so, training
materials should allow learners:

1. To know various creative strategies and the conditions under which


each of them is adequate;
2. To be aware of the mental operation that they are activating in order
to monitor its application;
3. To recognise the attitudes and emotions that accompany the imple-
mentation of a creative strategy and be inclined to adopt such
attitudes and emotions.

The final message that can be drawn from recent investigations is that
a particular learning environment is needed and that creativity requires
a global involvement of individuals, who should be taught to manage
by themselves the mental mechanisms that promote creativity (Gardner,
1991).
In the present books some training programmes devised to enhance
creativity in children and adolescents are described. They are grounded
on a tradition in which attention to the educational aspects of creativity
has been paid (Antonietti & Cornoldi, 2006) and have been designed
in accordance with the assumptions mentioned before and, even if they
were elaborated in different periods and in different circumstances, they
all share the same general theoretical approach. The description of each
training programme includes examples of the materials and activities
included in the programme. In some cases the training programmes have
been also tested in experimental studies, whose findings are summarised
in the book.
PREFACE xi

In the first chapter the theoretical model at the basis of the training
programmes which are reported in the book is explained. The model
tries to synthesise the main theoretical positions about creative thinking
in order to define a coherent framework to be applied in education. Three
general mental operations seem to rely on the basis of creativity: Widening
(W), Connecting (C) and Reorganising (R). W concerns the tendency to
keep an open mind and to deal with a great number of elements. C refers
to the capacity to establish relationships among different elements and
to combine them in unusual ways. R consists of changing the perspec-
tive and inverting relationships among elements. The model of creativity
resulting from the integration of W, C and R is described by reporting
several examples coming from everyday life and from cases of innovation
in the field of arts, science and technology.
In the second chapter two training programmes aimed at increasing the
creative skills inspired to the WCR model and targeting the youngest chil-
dren are described. The first training programme is addressed to kinder-
garten children and to children attending the first years of the primary
school. It is based on a set of short stories whose protagonists are common
objects which can be found at home. The second training programme
is addressed to children attending the last years of the primary school
and consists of four tales. Each tale is framed in a different scenario and
it is divided in episodes corresponding to work units. In both training
programmes activities (verbal, pictorial/graphic and practical) aimed at
developing creative skills are included in some points of the narration.
In the third chapter a structured training programme—addressed to
children aged 4–8 years—consisting of an interactive story in which it
must be discovered why a volcano is extinct is illustrated. In the story
some tutors accompany children in search of the secret of the volcano.
During such a search children meet characters who personify psycho-
logical features which obstacle creativity. Children have to overwhelm
the non-creative aspects of the situations they encounter and to adopt
a productive and innovative perspective. The training programme was
designed to induce children to learn a set of creative strategies and to
stimulate metacognitive skills. It also tries to encourage autonomy in the
management of thinking strategies. Furthermore, the critical situations
where children are trained have obvious counterparts in common life.
Finally, the application of a given thinking technique is linked to the
development of the corresponding attitude. The program has been tested
in two studies involving, respectively, 300 4 to 6-year olds and 900 4
xii PREFACE

to 8-year olds. There was evidence that classes engaged in the program
resulted in a significant higher test-retest increase of the creativity scores
as compared to control classes. Besides these quantitative results, teachers
who applied the training programme reported modifications of children’s
behaviour and attitudes in other school tasks.
The fourth chapter is about a more recent training programme
designed to be implemented in primary and secondary school (a distinct
version is available for each school level). Each version includes two
different kinds of training: the metacognitive approach and the symbolic-
imaginative approach. Both approaches have the same narrative plot, but
they present two different styles: It is more structured in the metacogni-
tive approach and more provocative in the symbolic-imaginative approach.
The episodes of the training programme are about some students who
have to deal with situations of both scholastic and personal life. The main
characters present some stereotypical features that help students to iden-
tify themselves with them. Furthermore, each character shows resources
and limits. The focus is on positive and negative aspects that every
person/situation has. Each training activity included in the story is not
separated from the curriculum, but actually it refers to some scholastic-
related contents that can be dealt by the teacher in the class. With refer-
ence to the first approach, the aim is to develop a metacognitive-reflexive
attitude in students so to help them to generate self-awareness acts and
remarks about different aspects of their mental functioning. Self-awareness
acts can be produced in three different temporal moments: before an
action, during it or at the end of it. These acts are about different aspects:
strategies, resources, difficulties, processes and individual/personal expe-
rience. The three creative operations of the WCR model are empow-
ered with activities put on three different levels: modelling (a model is
presented; It can motivate, invite to the personal assimilation, suggest
transformation prompts), research (a problem-solving request is proposed
that stimulates individuals to find unconventional answers) and inter-
rogation (the generation and the discovery of questions is stimulated).
Each episode of the training presents, in some points, different activi-
ties focused on a creative operation. After each activity, some metacog-
nitive stimuli are presented: They invite to reflect on previous activities,
on observed difficulties, on the possibility to improve the process. The
symbolic-imaginative approach is less structured than the metacognitive
one. In this case, there are not activities to be carried out, but the narra-
tion is interrupted by “evocative stimuli” in some points. They provide
PREFACE xiii

indications about how to use creativity empowerment tools that acti-


vate imaginative, identification and transformative skills. They consist of
suggestions about the use of creative mental operations in order to favour
a symbolic and emotive approach. The symbolic process has a circular
structure and it involves two principal lines: symbolisation of reality (the
internal self generates the external reality) and exposition to symbolisa-
tion (the external reality evocates the internal self). The whole training
programme has been tested in a large-scale study which involved about
400 students in Sicily and in other small-scale studies carried in different
regions of Italy.
The book is addressed to researchers interested to learn about new
approaches to train creativity skills and to know which empirical find-
ings support the validity of the proposed programmes. Hence, a goal of
the book is to contribute to disseminating updated notions about the
enhancement of creativity. The book is addressed to professionals as well,
for instance, teachers and educators who are interested in knowing what
practical activities can be implemented in their work setting if they should
increase the level of children’s and adolescents’ creativity.

Milano, Italy Alessandro Antonietti


Paola Pizzingrilli
Chiara Valenti

References
Antonietti, A. (1997). Unlocking creativity. Educational Leadership, 54 (6), 73–
75.
Antonietti, A., Colombo, B., & Memmert, D. (Eds.) (2013). Psychology of
creativity: Advances in theory, research and application. Hauppauge, NY: Nova
Science Publishers.
Antonietti, A., & Cornoldi, C. (2006). Creativity in Italy. In J. Kaufman & R.
J. Sternberg (Eds.), International handbook of creativity (pp. 124–166). New
York: Cambridge University Press.
Barron, F. (1968). Creativity and personal freedom. Princeton: Van Nostrand.
Cancer, A., & Antonietti, A. (2019). Creativity and dyslexia: Theoretical insights
and empirical evidence supporting a possible link. In S. Kreitler (Ed.),
New frontiers in creativity (pp. 125–148). Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science
Publishers.
xiv PREFACE

Cancer, A., Manzoli, S., & Antonietti, A. (2016). The alleged link between
creativity and dyslexia: Identifying the specific process in which dyslexic
students excel. Cogent Psychology, 3, article 1190309, 1–13. 10.1080/233
11908.2016.1190309.
Gardner, H. (1991). To open minds. New York: Basic Books.
Manzoli, S., & Antonietti, A. (2016). Gli studenti con dislessia sono creativi?
Uno studio nella scuola secondaria di primo grado. Psicologia Clinica dello
Sviluppo, 20, 121–134.
Osborn, A. F. (1957). Applied imagination: Principles and procedures of creative
thinking. New York: Scribner.
Parnes, S. J., & Harding, H. F. (Eds.) (1972). A source book for creative thinking.
New York: Scribner.
Contents

1 The Mechanisms of Creative Thinking 1


Alessandro Antonietti, Barbara Colombo,
and Paola Pizzingrilli
1.1 Three Main Theoretical Perspectives 2
1.2 Widening 5
1.3 Connecting 7
1.4 Reorganising 9
1.5 Conclusions 12
References 13

2 Short Stories for High Goals: The “Creativity


in the Classroom” Programmes 15
Chiara Valenti and Alessandro Antonietti
2.1 The Training Programme “Creativity in Classroom 1” 16
2.1.1 Outline of the Training Programme 16
2.1.2 The Creative Activities 17
2.1.3 The Training Programme as an Assessment Tool 17
2.1.4 The Training Programme and the Curriculum 18
2.1.5 An Example of the Stories 19
2.1.6 Assessment Sheets 24
2.2 The Training Programme “Creativity in Classroom 2” 33
2.2.1 Outline of the Training Programme 33
2.2.2 The Training as an Assessment Tool 34

xv
xvi CONTENTS

2.2.3 An Example of the Adventures 35


2.3 Conclusions 44
References 45

3 In Search of the Volcano’s Secret: The “Programme


to Develop Children’s Creativity” 47
Alessandro Antonietti and Luciano Cerioli
3.1 Assumptions Underlying the Training Programme 48
3.2 Outline of the Training Programme 49
3.3 Examples of the Story 51
3.4 Testing the Efficacy of CCDP 63
3.5 Conclusions 65
References 67

4 A Special School Year: The Programme “Developing


Flexible Thinking” 69
Alessandro Antonietti, Luciano Cerioli, Paola Pizzingrilli,
and Chiara Valenti
4.1 Supporting Creativity Using Metacognition
and Symbolic-Imaginative Thinking 71
4.2 Outline of the Training Programme 72
4.2.1 The Approach 72
4.2.2 The Episodes 72
4.3 Two Approaches to Foster Creativity 74
4.3.1 The Metacognitive Approach 75
4.3.2 The Symbolic Approach 79
4.4 An Example of the Episodes 80
4.5 Testing the Training Programme 84
4.5.1 The Objectives of the Project 84
4.5.2 Methods 85
4.5.3 Results 87
4.6 Conclusions 90
4.7 General Overview 92
References 95

Index 97
Notes on Contributors

Alessandro Antonietti he is full professor of psychology at the Catholic


University of the Sacred Heart, where he is director of the Research
Center for Vocational Guidance and Career Development and of the
Service of Learning and Educational Psychology. His research interests
concern the enhancement and rehabilitation of cognitive functions and
life skills both in children and adults.
Luciano Cerioli he is an educational and clinical psychologist.
He collaborated with the University of Milano Bicocca, Catholic Univer-
sity of the Sacred Heart, Politecnico, and Accademia delle Belle Arti di
Brera in Milan.
Barbara Colombo she is associate professor of psychology at Cham-
plain College, where she is also the chair of the Neuroscience Lab. Her
research interests focus on the assessment and empowerment of cogni-
tive skills (creative thinking, decision making, problem solving), as well as
the use on non-invasive brain stimulation to promote neurorehabilitation,
emotion regulation, and well-being.
Paola Pizzingrilli she got her Ph.D. in Psychology at the Catholic
University of the Sacred Heart in Milan. Her research interest focused
on the creation of instruments and training programmes aimed at investi-
gating and fostering children’s creativity. She is currently employed at the
Career Service of the same University, Research and Development Area.

xvii
xviii NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS

Chiara Valenti she is psychologist and psychotherapist in training. She


is specialized in Learning Disabilities and ADHD. Her research inter-
ests are related to the field of general psychology. She built and validated
different assessment and empowerment training tools related to children’
and adolescents’ socio-cognitive skills, above all creativity.
List of Figures

Fig. 2.1 An example of combination of shapes 20


Fig. 2.2 Example of shapes to be employed in a picture
combination task 21
Fig. 2.3 Materials of the task requiring to compose a square 22
Fig. 2.4 Examples of the cartoon recombination task 23
Fig. 2.5a The necklace problem: the outcome to be achieved 24
Fig. 2.5b The necklace problem: the starting, incorrect situation 24
Fig. 2.6a The hidden faces task: the staring picture 37
Fig. 2.6b The hidden faces task: the solution 38
Fig. 2.7a The hidden master task: the starting picture 43
Fig. 2.7b The hidden master task: the solution 44
Fig. 3.1 The drawing as it appears at the beginning 53
Fig. 3.2 The drawing after the first change 54
Fig. 3.3 The pets-tutors 59
Fig. 4.1 Total WCR mean scores before and after the training
considering the typology of training as between-subject
variable 88
Fig. 4.2 Total WCR mean scores before and after the training
considering the school level as between-subject variable 89
Fig. 4.3 Widening subtest mean scores before and after the training
considering the typology of training as between-subject
variable 90
Fig. 4.4 Widening subtest mean scores before and after the training
considering the school level as between-subject variable 91

xix
xx LIST OF FIGURES

Fig. 4.5 Connecting subtest mean scores before and after


the training considering the typology of training as
between-subject variable 92
Fig. 4.6 Connecting subtest mean scores before and after the
training considering the school level as between-subject
variable 93
Fig. 4.7 Reorganising subtest mean scores before and after
the training considering the typology of training as
between-subject variable 94
Fig. 4.8 Reorganising subtest mean scores before and after the
training considering the school level as between-subject
variable 95
List of Tables

Table 4.1 The main characters of the training programme 73


Table 4.2 Schematic representation of self-awareness acts
before in three temporal moments 76
Table 4.3 Evocative stimuli included in Episode 3 80
Table 4.4 Number of students and age according to school levels
and experimental conditions 85
Table 4.5 The basis of the WCR test 86

xxi
CHAPTER 1

The Mechanisms of Creative Thinking

Alessandro Antonietti, Barbara Colombo,


and Paola Pizzingrilli

Abstract The theoretical model at the basis of the training programmes


which are described in the book is explained. The model tries to synthe-
sise the main theoretical positions about creative thinking in order to
define a coherent framework to be applied in education. Three general
mental operations seem to rely on the basis of creativity: widening (W),
connecting (C) and reorganising (R). W concerns the tendency to keep
an open mind and to deal with a great number of elements. C refers
to the capacity to establish relationships among different elements and
to combine them in unusual ways. R consists of changing the perspec-
tive and inverting relationships among elements. The model of creativity
resulting from the integration of W, C and R is described by reporting

A. Antonietti · P. Pizzingrilli
Department of Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy
e-mail: alessandro.antonietti@unicatt.it
P. Pizzingrilli
e-mail: paola.pizzingrilli@unicatt.it
B. Colombo (B)
Champlain College, Burlington, VT, USA
e-mail: bcolombo@champlain.edu

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 1


A. Antonietti et al. (eds.), Enhancing Creativity Through Story-Telling,
Palgrave Studies in Creativity and Culture,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63013-3_1
2 A. ANTONIETTI ET AL.

examples coming from everyday life and from cases of innovation in the
field of arts, science and technology.

Keywords Creativity · Divergent thinking · Productive thinking ·


Fluency · Flexibility · Originality · Remote associations · Combination ·
Restructuring · Insight

1.1 Three Main Theoretical Perspectives


The perspective according to which creativity concerns primarily the
production of abundant and diverse ideas still survives. Starting from
Guilford (1950), and according to the Factorialistic perspective, creativity
is linked to the ability to produce many ideas from a stimulus. This
ability is characterised by the richness of the thinking flow and the
ability to follow new directions in order to achieve uncommon and orig-
inal outcomes. The generation of fluid, flexible and original ideas often
comes from changing existing ideas (Perkins, 1988; Simonton, 1999;
Weisberg, 1993): By analysing scientific discoveries, technological inno-
vations and artistic masterpieces, it was found that they usually originated
from existing ideas that have been modified through gradual adjust-
ments to fit the specific problem or goal the creator had in mind. In
fact, information that people gradually obtain while testing solutions that
progressively come to their mind by trying to solve a problem leads them
to change the direction of their reasoning. Not all changes, however, lead
to something useful and valuable. Proposed changes have to be selected.
The creative process, hence, becomes similar to the evolution process
(Campbell, 1960), which is determined by the generation of variations
of the characteristics of existing species. The selection of these variations
leads to the maintaining of those that provide greater survival capacity
(Johnson-Laird, 1998).
Secondly, associationism is also a resistant conception of creativity.
From this perspective, the production of creative ideas would be achieved
through the unusual combination of known ideas. Bizarre associations
often led scientists and artists to mature brilliant insights. Vygotsky
(1932) was one of the first authors who proposed a conception of
creativity based on the idea of “association”. According to Vygotsky,
1 THE MECHANISMS OF CREATIVE THINKING 3

creative activity consists of the recombination and processing of informa-


tion already known or previously acquired, which leads to the production
of new realities. Mednick (1962) argued that creativity can be identi-
fied by the ability to connect ideas which are distant from each other.
According to him, creativity is the ability to combine, in a new and
unusual way, disparate elements that apparently have little in common.
This perspective has been renewed by Koestler (1964) under the concept
of bisociation: The creative act consists of bringing together two struc-
tures of reasoning usually considered incompatible or to find similarities
between different fields of knowledge. Innovative thinking would be
implemented when two independent ways of reasoning come to an
intersection, producing something that did not previously exist. The
assumption that creativity derives from the association of elements usually
considered as unrelated is also present in more recent theories. For
example, Rothenberg (1979) identified creativity with Janusian thinking
(a name derived from Janus, the ancient Roman goddess having two
faces looking at opposite directions). This form of thinking allows one
to combine the terms of an antithesis, that is, to simultaneously keep
in mind two opposing elements and to attempt their integration. The
creative person, therefore, will be able to combine two different elements
and to make antagonistic elements coexist in the same line of thought.
This aspect of creativity is stressed in the Geneplore model (Smith, Ward,
& Finke, 1995), according to which original and innovative outcomes
can result by a process in two phases: the generative phase, in which an
individual constructs mental representations, and the exploration phase,
in which these representations are interpreted in order to lead them to
suggest creative discoveries. In the generative phase, the representation
results as a consequence of an associative process through which elements
are combined together.
Thirdly, some of the suggestions derived from the Gestalt tradition
have been used to define an “updated” concept of insight . Gestalt
psychologists did not generally use the word “creativity”, even if they
dealt with acts of thought that produced discoveries and inventions. What
is commonly meant by “creativity” refers to what Gestalt psychologists
called productive thinking , which, as Wertheimer (1959) claimed, allows
individuals to identify new properties of the given elements, which are
then conceived and used in new or different roles or perspectives. This
implements a restructuring act, which represents: (a) the transforma-
tion of the point of view from which the situation is analysed; (b) the
4 A. ANTONIETTI ET AL.

reorganisation of available informational data; (c) the discovery of new


relationships and (d) the identification of new functions of the available
material.
Gruber and Davis (1988) pointed out that not all innovations and
discoveries must necessarily proceed from a sudden reorganisation of
the conceptual field. For example, Gruber (1974), by reconstructing
the development of Darwin’s evolutionary theory, emphasised the pres-
ence of slow and incremental changes in the theoretical system that the
British naturalist was gradually formulating. Schank (1988) also main-
tained that some sort of restructuring is at the basis of creativity. This
author suggested that to understand reality we must have specific knowl-
edge structures. A knowledge structure used several times to explain an
event constitutes a pattern of explanation. Facing a stimulus, the most
economical strategy is to treat it as something familiar, namely, trying to
apply a pattern of explanation which refers to other known situations.
Creativity emerges with new situations. In this case people can apply an
“unexpected” pattern of explanation. The creative process comes from
a deliberate misapplication of an explanation pattern: Facing an event, a
person does not apply the usual pattern of explanation for it but tries a
completely different pattern.
Is it possible to find a way to synthesise those different positions, in
order to define a coherent framework to conceptualise creativity and to
inspire attempts to educate creativity? Apart from the specific aspects that
characterise each theory, we can identify three major mental operations,
which appear to be the basis of creativity.
The first group of authors fundamentally claims that creativity comes
from the widening of the mental field. If the individual is capable of
producing many different and unusual ideas (Guilford), if the individual
takes something that exists and tries to change it (Perkins, Simonton,
Weisberg), if the individual generates different solutions in order to iden-
tify at least one surviving evaluation (Campbell, Johnson-Laird), the
individual will discover many mental elements, increasing the probability
of finding among them one that could lead to something new and valu-
able. Hence, expanding the mental horizon through the discovery or
invention of new elements contributes to creativity.
The second group of authors recognises, however, that creativity
emerges when people establish a relationship between realities which are
very different from each other (Vygotsky, Mednick, Koestler) or even
opposite (Rothenberg). According to this perspective, connecting mental
1 THE MECHANISMS OF CREATIVE THINKING 5

fields usually considered remote, and possibly antithetical, is the basic


process of creativity.
Finally, the third group of authors thinks that a creative act occurs
when there is a reorganisation of the mental field. This can happen
through restructuring (Wertheimer and Gruber) or through the appli-
cation of an interpretive scheme that usually applies to other situations
but that, when applied to the present one for which it is not the conven-
tional scheme, produces a new vision in which it is possible to grasp not
obvious and interesting meanings (Schank).
The WCR model of creativity (Antonietti & Colombo, 2013, 2016;
Antonietti, Colombo, & Pizzingrilli, 2011) tries to integrate these
operations—Widening (W), Connecting (C) and Reorganising (R)—to
help teachers and trainers design interventions which can enhance each
different aspect of creativity. Widening concerns the tendency to keep an
open mind, to be aware of the great number of elements that can be iden-
tified in a given situation, to recognise possible, not obvious, meanings, to
discover hidden aspects and to overcome apparent constraints. Connecting
refers to the capacity to establish reciprocal relationships among different
elements, to draw analogies between remote things, to combine ideas in
odd ways and to synthesise the multiplicity of disparate elements into
an overall structure. Reorganising consists of changing the perspective,
assuming a different point of view, seeing things by inverting relation-
ships between their elements, asking original questions and imagining
what should happen if unusual conditions occurred.

1.2 Widening
The first mechanism that we see operating in creative thinking consists
of coming out from the limited conceptual framework within which
people spontaneously pigeonhole situations and breaking all the “thinking
bonds” that often restrain them. To produce something new and original,
it is important to move in a wider mental field that will mobilise ideas and
lead to new directions of thinking, helping to find new opportunities and
new meanings.
A good example is related to marketing. For decades, manufacturers
of tennis rackets were bound to a standard shape and size, when actu-
ally no regulation prevented the use of different rackets. Breaking this
implicit constraint, the owner of a sporting goods company successfully
launched onto the market the “big racket”, a tennis racket with a wider
6 A. ANTONIETTI ET AL.

than usual tailpiece. A tennis racket with this shape and this size offers
several advantages over traditional rackets: First, beginners are more likely
to intercept the ball; Second, a larger tailpiece allows tennis players to give
more strength to the shot; Finally, the effects of the return stroke on the
elbow ligaments are lower. The designer of this “big racket” expanded the
field of mind, acknowledging that tools with better and different features
could be produced.
This link between creativity and breadth of the mind field within
which people move can be found in early childhood. For example, when
faced with disconnected data, individuals enact categorisation strategies
in order to gather more data within the same class. In such situations
it is possible to stress individual differences. On the one hand, there are
those (broad categorisers) who tend to form broad categories; On the
other hand there are those (narrow categorisers) who tend to make a lot
of subtle discriminations among data and gather them under the same
class only on the basis of close similarities. A positive correlation between
broad categorisation and creativity has been proven. In fact, broad cate-
gorisers—as happens with creative individuals—are prepared to process
large amounts of information, not based—as happens with narrow cate-
gorisers—on well-structured principles, and proceed by changing their
own thought patterns and integrating new ideas in a quickly changing
mental organisation (Wallach & Kogan, 1965).
A situation similar to that previously described and likely to bring out
individual differences in “style” of thought is made up of a task of concep-
tualisation in which, faced with fifty images of everyday objects, people
have to group them into classes and justify their choices. In this task
subjects may adopt different criteria. There is, first of all, who classifies
objects on the basis of analytical-descriptive criteria, that is, based on phys-
ical characteristics and perceptual aspects. Then there are those who sort
objects based on categorical-inferential criteria, that is, based on the fact
that certain objects are all examples of a given concept (for example,
the objects “fork”, “glass” and “cup” are grouped into as members of
the category “dish”). Finally, there are those who divide the objects on
the basis of relational-thematic criteria, inserting objects into broad cate-
gories (for example, the objects “comb”, “clock”, “port” and “lipstick”
are grouped as representatives of the concept “ready to go out”) (Kogan,
1974). It is observed that individuals with high intelligence and low
creativity prefer the categorical-inferential criteria and shun the thematic
1 THE MECHANISMS OF CREATIVE THINKING 7

relationships, whereas individuals with low intelligence and high creativity


employ the relational-thematic criteria but not the categorial inferential.

1.3 Connecting
We consider now the second creative mechanism, namely, the mental
operation which leads one to link together apparently disparate realities.
Why do unusual associations support creativity?
Sometimes not trivial or bizarre associations have led scientists and
artists to mature brilliant insights. For example, Wilhelm Röntgen, while
investigating the properties of cathode rays, discovered, almost by chance,
that, on a screen near the table on which he was conducting his
experiments, a green luminescence was produced. He associated this
phenomenon to the rays he was studying and, carrying out specific
experiments in this new direction, discovered the existence of X-rays.
Similarly, Alexander Fleming, while studying cultures of bacteria, noticed
that one of these cultures, carelessly exposed to air, had been destroyed.
He associated the exposure to the death of the bacteria—two factors with
apparently nothing in common—and came, on the basis of this insight, to
the discovery of penicillin. Darwin reported that the insight that led him
to develop the theory of evolution was prompted by the reading of an
essay of demography and economics written by Malthus and from having
established a connection between the dynamics governing the growth of
human populations and those of the animal world.
These cases of scientific findings suggest that establishing a link
between aspects of reality that we usually separate can lead to identifying
useful hidden similarities. This is also true of technical discoveries. For
example, Leonardo da Vinci designed a system to automatically move a
rotisserie, establishing a connection between the instrument itself and an
environmental element that had nothing to do with it. When we cook
a dish stuck on the spit over the fire, it produces smoke. Would it not
be possible to establish a link between smoke and spit? If the smoke is
conveyed in a hood at the end of which is placed a windmill, the smoke,
going up, will set it in motion. Such bloodstream motion of the whirlwind
can be transmitted, with appropriate couplings, to rotate the spit without
any human intervention. In a similar way, Henry Ford was able to reduce
the production cost of the Model T, an innovative car that was launched
on the market, demanding that the goods supplied to the factories were
packed in boxes of a defined size and with the screw holes made in specific
8 A. ANTONIETTI ET AL.

locations. The walls of the boxes were actually used, being designed with
the right dimensions, as the floors of the cars that were built in the factory.
The ingenious idea was to establish a relationship between two elements
usually conceived as distinct: packaging material and the product inside
the package.
A particular case of combination is analogy, which consists in transfer-
ring what is known in a familiar domain to a different, possibly new or
unfamiliar, domain. Analogies suggested discoveries and inventions. For
example, technologies for the operation of radar devices were inspired
by the mechanism of emission and reception of ultrasound by bats. The
current research aimed at improving the systems for humidification of the
passenger compartments of cars are inspired by studies on the anatomical
structure of the nose of the camel. To design a roof that was white to
repel heat in summer and dark in winter to absorb heat, the behaviour
of the scales of a fish in particular situations suggested a stratagem to
achieve this. The flounder, when swimming in the water, takes on the
colour of the surrounding environment. This happens thanks to the
chromatophores, vesicles of dark pigment that is retained when pressure
exerted on the skin of the animal is not high (as happens when the fish is
near the surface of the water) and is released when the pressure is high (as
happens when the fish swims deep), so allowing the fish to be indistin-
guible from its surroundings. This phenomenon suggested the idea of
building a roof completely covered with black plastic small white spheres.
These beads were dilated with the heat making the roof lighter, while the
cold would be restricted, making the roof darker.
Also the ability to combine ideas thanks to analogies is connected to
cognitive style. Field-independence, as shown by investigating individual
differences in analogical reasoning (Antonietti & Gioletta, 1995), is one
of the personality traits related to the connecting phase of problem solving
by analogy: Mapping the solution strategy embedded in a familiar situa-
tion onto a novel problem, so as to integrate two different frameworks,
is more likely to occur in field-independent than in field-dependent indi-
viduals. Consistently, creativity can be increased by stimulating people to
look beyond the immediate cognitive field and to perceive the opportu-
nities which are at hand in other fields. In fact, training students to make
analogies is a successful way to enhance creativity (Antonietti, 2001).
1 THE MECHANISMS OF CREATIVE THINKING 9

1.4 Reorganising
If we were asked to determine the volume of a ball, we could use our
school memories trying to recall the formula to calculate the volume of
the sphere. But if we were required to determine the volume of an irreg-
ular solid (e.g. a small rock), there would be no formula or past experience
that could help us. Instead, we might think to immerse the rock in a grad-
uated jug, partially filled with water, and measure the resulting increase
in the level of the liquid. The increase corresponds to the volume of the
dipped rock. In this case the success is caused by setting the problem
in different terms: not related to formulas, but as a practical-operational
problem. Assuming a new perspective allows us to find an original and
effective response. Another example: If I want to help a depressed friend,
rather than following the obvious path and trying to comfort him, I could
reverse the relationship, pretending to be the one needing help. Reversing
the roles—in order to help my friend, the one in need, I ask him to help
me—can, in some circumstances, lead to solution.
Also a historical case can be relevant, particularly relating to the Thirty
Years’ War. The Spanish army had defeated the French and was spreading
out into French territory, destroying villages and raging on the popula-
tion. A small village received the news of the arrival of the Spanish army
and people gathered to decide what they could do to defend themselves.
It was clear that trying to oppose the enemy troops with barricades would
be futile, given the disproportion between the number of attackers and
the villagers. Hence, the men of the village decided to do just the oppo-
site of what people would expect: Rather than trying to resist the enemy
and defend their home and family, they escaped, leaving in the village only
children and women. This reversal of attitude—to leave their loved ones
and their properties rather than defend them—proved to be a winning
solution. When the Spanish army reached the village, they entered it
without a fight. If the soldiers had fought, they would then have had
the “right” to persecute the losers, but since they not have “earned” the
looting right, according to their military code they would had been men
without honour if they used violence without having to fight for this right.
Hence, the Spanish army passed over, respecting the people and proper-
ties in the village. As a more recent case, we can remind that during the
Second World War, when Nazi occupied Denmark, they wanted to impose
the obligation in that country for Jews to wear the armband with the Star
of David. The Danish king did not agree, but he had no power to oppose
10 A. ANTONIETTI ET AL.

this law. Forced, he signed the requirement to bring this despicable badge
of distinction, but he first began to wear the armband. In this case, it was
impossible for him to do what he wanted to do (not signing the edict).
Thus, he made the opposite. The king, instead of opposing to what the
German occupiers forced him, conformed more than was required. In
doing so, he found a decent way out of a situation that looked like a dead
end. He expressed his opposition against the measure and his solidarity
with the Jewish population and thus emptied it of its meaning as a symbol
of disgrace. In fact, if the king was wearing the armband—the population
thought—it was not so humiliating to wear it.
Perspective reversal is a mechanism that we find at the basis of another
of Leonardo’s inventions. For example, the conception of the cochlea,
a tool designed to bring water from one level to the next, involves the
mental operation we are discussing. The main aim of this instrument is to
bring water upwards; But, to do that, it operates in the opposite direction,
actually going down. The spiral wrapped around the rotating cone, “pen-
etrates” the water tank placed in the lower level. Part of the water enters
the first segment of the spiral. The rotary motion leads this segment at
the top and the water contained in it falls down into the next loop, which,
with the next rotation, finds itself at the top and so the water, lap after
lap, reaches the exit at the top.
The restructuring act appears to be the core of what De Bono (1967)
calls lateral thinking . Lateral thinking is opposed to vertical thinking.
The latter consists in the application of rigid reasoning patterns related to
consolidated habits, routines and previous experience. It is characterised
by sequential and systematic processing procedures in which the various
steps are connected one another on the basis of logical links. Vertical
thinking may be associated to the image of the ascent of a staircase (where
each step rests on the previous one) or to the construction of a tower by
means of the superposition of many cubes. In contrast, lateral thinking
moves from one pattern of reasoning to another one and induces people
to look at problems in new ways, to follow directions not explored previ-
ously and not usually considered to overcome the obstacles, to examine
all alternative forms of reasoning. On other occasions De Bono has desig-
nated lateral thinking by using expressions such PO thinking (PO comes
from suppPOse, POssible, hyPOthesise, words that suggest exploration
and search) as opposed to the YES-NO thinking (logical thinking, crit-
ical and dogmatic) (De Bono, 1972, 1973), the water-logic (based on
1 THE MECHANISMS OF CREATIVE THINKING 11

perception, intuition, flexibility) as opposed to the rock-logic (based on


the rigidity of the opposition) (De Bono, 1990).
Reorganising can be facilitated by hinting to students at simulating
mentally how it is possible to transform given situations. Visual images
can be especially helpful to do this (Antonietti, 1999; Antonietti, Cerana,
& Scafidi, 1994). Several autobiographical reports suggest a significant
contribution to mental image in scientific creativity (Shepard, 1978). For
example, the French mathematician Jacques Hadamard confessed that
when he thought of algebraic problems, made use of visual representa-
tions that was building in his mind. Hadamard used these mental images
especially when the problems became too complex, so the visual coding
was the only one allowed to have a simultaneous understanding of all
elements of the problem. A physicist who made extensive use of visual
images to solve theoretical problems when it was committed was Einstein.
For example, he reported having had the first suggestion that led to the
subsequent processing of the special theory of relativity at the age of
sixteen, when he imagined himself to travel at the speed of light sitting
in the front end of a light beam with a mirror before him. In this scene
happened that on the mirror you could ever reflect the image of the trav-
eller. The light and the mirror, in fact, are travelling in the same direction
and at the same speed, so that the mirror was always a little ahead of the
beam and the latter could not reach the mirror. From this visual scene
Einstein concluded that there can be no observer (i.e. no body) that can
reach or exceed the speed of light. A particularly common use of mental
images in the process of the invention was made by Nikola Tesla, inventor
of the neon lights and self-induced engine-start. He in fact usually devel-
oped his own projects using imaginary mechanical models which worked
mentally for a few weeks in order to determine what parts were subject
to premature wear.
For what reasons can mental images foster creativity? According to
Kosslyn (1983) mental images play a facilitator role in thought processes
as a means of simulation and symbolisation. As a simulation tool, images
allow people to anticipate mentally the actual operations and phys-
ical transformations thanks to an internal representation that maintains
correspondence with the analog world outside. As instruments of symbol-
isation, mental images of concrete objects or events can be replaced by
conventional signs. In the first case mental images are useful because they
offer the opportunity to view some consequences of the situation that
the abstract representation does not make it immediately apparent. In the
12 A. ANTONIETTI ET AL.

second case imagery would help the subject to mentally manipulate the
elements of the situation, encouraging the design of the structure of the
situation and allowing a smooth and rapid transformation of the elements.
With more specific reference to creativity, reorganisation is facilitated by
images which are sensitive to structural symmetries and organisations. The
images allow individuals to transform data so that the changes which are
to be produced in reality can be simulated more flexibly in mind. Finally,
images allow people to reorganise the way in which one represents a situ-
ation so that it can be reconsidered more productive. In short, the mental
representation of information in visual form work can facilitate reorganisa-
tion by providing a pictorial support to abstract concepts, keeping various
elements of the situation simultaneously present within a single scenario,
encouraging a comprehensive view of the situation, supporting the iden-
tification of relationships between data. In short, mental imagery would
promote creative thinking since it is a kind of representation which is very
flexible and easily transformable (Antonietti, 1991).

1.5 Conclusions
The present chapter proposed an integrated view of creativity by high-
lighting that three main mental operations—Widening, Combining and
Reorganising—can be meant as the core mechanisms of creative thinking.
The WCR model can be meant as a basis to devise instruments to assess
creativity skills. Such tools are useful in educational settings to evaluate
students’ creativity levels and possible increases depending on age and/or
instructions.
The WCR model was also conceived as a framework to devise inter-
ventions to train creative thinking. It is possible to design training
programmes which stimulate mental dynamics in students that favour the
emergence of streams of thought which are rich, varied and original and
to provide teachers and educators precise suggestions about the manner
in which this can be done.
Research showed that an “open” style of interaction is not always the
best option to promote the development of the cognitive components of
creativity. Instead, structured activities specifically aimed at this goal are
needed. In order for them to be successful, the structured nature of such
programmes requires part of the activities to be run in a “steering” way.
Hence, a conduction marked by excessive freedom and acceptance—such
1 THE MECHANISMS OF CREATIVE THINKING 13

as those implemented by the “open” teachers—would be to not allow the


educational occasions potentially provided by the training programmes to
be fully exploited. This stresses the need that the attempts to enhance
creativity should include precise exercises and instructions, as the training
programmes which will be described in the next chapters do.

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Guilford, J. P. (1950). Creativity. American Psychologist, 5, 444–454.
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Johnson-Laird, P. N. (1998). The computer and the mind. London: Collins.


Koestler, A. (1964). The act of creation. London: Hutchinson.
Kogan, N. (1974). Categorizing and conceptualizing styles in younger and older
adults. Human Development, 17, 218–230.
Kosslyn, S. E. (1983). Ghosts in the mind machine. New York: Norton.
Mednick, S. A. (1962). The associative basis of creativity. Psychological Review,
69, 220–232.
Perkins, D. N. (1988). The possibility of invention. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), The
nature of creativity (pp. 362–385). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Rothenberg, A. (1979). The emerging goddess: The creative process in art, science
and other fields. Chicago: University Chicago Press.
Schank, R. C. (1988). The creative attitude: Learning to ask and answer the right
questions. New York: Macmillan.
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In B. S. Randhawa & W. E. Coffman (Eds.), Visual learning, thinking and
communication (pp. 133–189). San Francisco: Academic Press.
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approach. Boston, MA: MIT Press.
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Academy of Pedagogical Sciences.
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study of the creativity-intelligence distinction. New York: Holt-Rinehart and
Winston.
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Freeman.
Wertheimer, M. (1959). Productive thinking. New York: Harper.
CHAPTER 2

Short Stories for High Goals: The “Creativity


in the Classroom” Programmes

Chiara Valenti and Alessandro Antonietti

Abstract Two training programmes aimed at increasing the creative skills


coherent with the WCR model are described. The first programme is
addressed to kindergarten children and to children attending the first
years of the primary school. It is based on a set of short stories whose
protagonists are common objects which can be found at home. The
second programme is addressed to children attending the last years of the
primary school and consists of four tales. Each tale is framed in a different
scenario (Ancient Egypt, Middle Age and so on). Each scenario is divided
in episodes corresponding to work units. In both programmes activities
(verbal, pictorial/graphic and practical) aimed at developing creative skills
are included in some points of the narration.

C. Valenti (B) · A. Antonietti


Department of Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy
e-mail: chiara.valenti@unicatt.it
A. Antonietti
e-mail: alessandro.antonietti@unicatt.it

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 15


A. Antonietti et al. (eds.), Enhancing Creativity Through Story-Telling,
Palgrave Studies in Creativity and Culture,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63013-3_2
16 C. VALENTI AND A. ANTONIETTI

Keywords Creativity · Creative training · Creativity testing · Fluidity ·


Flexibility · Originality

2.1 The Training Programme


“Creativity in Classroom 1”
2.1.1 Outline of the Training Programme
The training programme “Creativity in classroom 1” (Antonietti &
Armellin, 1999) is a collection of small stories, so that each can be read
within a single work session. This should allow an easy use of the tool
in the context of a modular organisation of school activities where the
teacher sometimes finds himself/herself having short times of interaction
with the pupils.
Although distinct, the stories revolve around the same environment
(the domestic context) and have household objects as protagonists. The
choice of this scenario and the characters, indeed a little unusual, responds
to the idea of leading the child to discover that fantasy is not a world
inhabited only by elves, fairies, magicians, and so on. Even at home,
among everyday objects, it is possible to imagine stories no less extrava-
gant than those that traditional fantasy sets in forests, castles or realms of a
distant past. This seemed a first useful element to feed the child’s curiosity
and ability to go beyond the opaque and prosaic aspects of reality, to
guess other meanings and to find questions where apparently there are
only artefacts to use.
Furthermore, the narrative stories present a moral intent as well. In
particular, in some of them a sort of “technological” ethics is presented,
aimed at suggesting that principles and values (such as friendship, soli-
darity and respect for others), which can guarantee a good coexistence
between people, are reflected also in the action of mechanical and elec-
trical appliances. Finally, the stories present a “didactic” purpose; Actually,
they are also aimed at explaining, in terms understandable for a child, the
functioning of some household objects.
2 SHORT STORIES FOR HIGH GOALS … 17

2.1.2 The Creative Activities


In some points of the stories there are numbered references that recall
the creative activities; They represent the operative parts of the training
programme. These exercises are described in the pages that follow each
story. Generally, they are descriptions provided in a summary form: The
aim is to envisage ways of working rather than offering rigid “instruc-
tions for use”. In any case, the teacher can vary and enrich the activity
or adapt it to the contingent school situation. Likewise, the teacher will
be able to contextualise the exercise, linking it to other elements of the
curriculum, accompanying it with premises, developments, and resump-
tions. Generally the activities offer the opportunity to insert clarifications
and explanations, to be accompanied by other exercises (dramatising the
episodes, drawing the environments and the characters, etc.) and to be
completed by further elaborations (telling personal experiences, referring
to daily cases, discussing the “moral” of the story, etc.).
Each activity is accompanied by an abbreviation which refers to the
type of creative process that is most involved in it. Four main aspects
that distinguish creativity have been identified: free production of ideas
[PRO], combination of elements [COM], search for similarities [SIM]
and change of point of view [POW]. The teacher can freely decide what
activities to present to children and whether to interrupt the story at the
marked point or to propose the operative parts at the end of the story.
These aspects easily recall the different operations of WCR Model
(Antonietti, Colombo, & Pizzingrilli, 2011). The production of ideas
[PRO] is similar to Widening operation, because it allows children to
create a lot of different ideas in order to find new interesting intuitions.
Combination of elements [COM] and search for similarities [SIM] corre-
spond to Connecting operation because, respectively, allows pupils to
find unusual links between different aspects of reality and to discover
strange similarities between objects that do not seem to have anything
in common. Change of point of view [POV] corresponds to a central
point of Reorganising operation that allows people to see situations and
reality from different perspectives and points of view.

2.1.3 The Training Programme as an Assessment Tool


The training programme can be used for the purpose of stimulating
creativity, carrying out the activities mentioned above. It can be used as,
18 C. VALENTI AND A. ANTONIETTI

or even as, a tool to determine children’s creativity levels as well. In this


case, teachers can use assessment sheets that are proposed at the end of
each story, which contain detailed indications about the operations to
be performed. Once the children’s answers have been collected in the
appropriate forms, scores will be attributed according to the procedure
illustrated in the cards themselves. For each form, three types of scores
can be calculated: “fluidity”, “flexibility” and “originality”. The first score
refers to the richness of the creative flow, that is, to the quantity of ideas
produced, regardless of their quality. The second score refers to the diver-
sity of the ideas: If they insist on the same line of thought, flexibility
score is low; If they range in different areas, the child presents a high
level of flexibility. Flexibility is operationally defined by the number of
categories to which the provided answers belong to. For example, asked
the question “List all the red things that come to your mind”, a child
who replies “strawberry, cherry, raspberry” is more fluid than one who
answers “mushroom, heart”. On the contrary, the former is less flexible
than the latter because all his answers fall into the same category (fruits)
while those of the second child refer to two different categories. The third
score is about the frequency of production of a particular idea: An original
one is provided by a single subject within the group.

2.1.4 The Training Programme and the Curriculum


The activities reported in the training programme (more than 120) can be
well integrated with non-creative school activities. Indeed, they provide
ideas for these moments, for example by suggesting interventions aimed
at extending the lexicon, studying scientific phenomena, understanding
technical mechanisms. In short, the training programme does not intend
to propose creative activities in specific moments of the curriculum, but
to give a creative direction to knowledges and skills developed by the
education system.
In consequence, it is important that students understand that the
requests included in the training programme differ from the traditional
tasks because there are different constraints (there is not only one
right answer, etc.), requirements, criteria, objectives (originality is impor-
tant, etc.), mental processes to be activated (to produce ideas freely, to
combine, etc.), and attitude (to imagine new ideas and situations, to try,
to take risks). All these aspects allow to complete other kinds of activities
to develop a creative mind, so to move on the more pertinent approach
according to situations and needs.
2 SHORT STORIES FOR HIGH GOALS … 19

2.1.5 An Example of the Stories


This paragraph presents an example of a complete story with the related
proposed activities.
THE RED TELEPHONE
Didì and Didà—the main characters of the training programme—are
playing in their bedroom. At some point, however, as often happens between
siblings, they start to quarrel because they want to play with the same object,
but not together.
“It’s up to me; I’m the older brother!” Didì says, trying to forcefully
snatch it out from her sister’s hands.
“I want it, I’m the youngest!” replies Didà, who also pulls with all her
might.
“Don’t fight, children!” Daddy intervenes, who has come to see why they
are shouting. “Try to get along and play together: You will see that you will
have more fun! Now I want to tell you a story to better understand how
important it is to get along. Come on, stop it and come near!”
Dad continues, starting to tell his story.
Once upon a time there was a red telephone. It was a very good phone:
It could talk to everyone, even far away and in all the languages of the
world. It was very kind and helpful and it never tired in working, neither
by day nor at night. With his argentine trill, it warned of incoming calls
and seemed to say: “Drin drin come come, there is someone waiting.
Drin drin come come, but quickly, faster”.
One day, however, that red telephone began to fail. What had ever
happened?
It had happened that its numbers had begun to quarrel among them-
selves. The 1 wanted to go instead of the 9 because it felt unimportant.
The 2 had become angry with the 3 and it wanted no longer to be near
it. The 7 had felt neglected by his friend 8 and it wanted to change close:
It thought that with the 4 it would get along better and be more consid-
ered [reference to activity 1]. In short, every number had gone out of place
[reference to activity 2] and I don’t tell you that trouble had resulted from
it! [reference to activity 3].
Mum wanted to phone Aunt Laura, but the firemen answered her. Dad
phoned the office, but the automatic exact time was told. In short, it was
a real mess!
The red telephone was silent for a while, but then, as the numbers
continued to quarrel among themselves, he scolded them very loud:
20 C. VALENTI AND A. ANTONIETTI

“Enough, enough, stop it! You can’t go on in this way. But you don’t
understand that only together, each one in its place, you can be fine and
I can still work? [reference to activity 4] If you don’t end your quarrels, I
will be thrown away and you with me”.
The numbers were immediately silent and they realised that the phone
was right: There was not one number more important than another
among them, but each was useful as it was and where it was. They imme-
diately made up and each number quickly returned to its place [reference
to activity 5].
The red telephone started working again as before and to this day its
numbers always get along and they never dream of changing their order
[reference to activity 6].
ACTIVITY 1

(a) The teacher draws some objects resulting from the combination
of geometric shapes on the blackboard and asks the children to
draw other objects resulting from a different combination of these
shapes. An example is shown in Fig. 2.1 [Involved Operation:
COM ].

Fig. 2.1 An example


of combination of
shapes
2 SHORT STORIES FOR HIGH GOALS … 21

Fig. 2.2 Example of shapes to be employed in a picture combination task

(b) A slightly more difficult version of the previous exercise occurs with
non-geometric shapes, such as those shown in Fig. 2.2 [Involved
Operation: COM ].
(c) Finally, the composition of parts is suggested in situations where,
unlike in the previous cases, there is only one possible answer.
These tests stimulate creativity because they help subjects to over-
come the tendency to make the most “natural” combinations in
favour of combinations that contravene symmetry or involve an
inversion of the setting of the problem [Involved operation: COM ].

Cut a square so as to divide it into parts as indicated in one of the


two cases shown in Fig. 2.3. Mix the pieces and ask the child to combine
them in order to reconstruct the square. In the first case, there will be
difficulty in juxtaposing the two larger pieces as in the starting figure;
children, like adults, will instead tend to form a right angle with these
pieces, a combination that prevents the solution of the problem. In the
second case, the prevailing tendency will be to bring the two semicircles
together so as to form a circle, thus avoiding the “shifting” which, as the
starting figure shows, is necessary to recompose the square.
22 C. VALENTI AND A. ANTONIETTI

Fig. 2.3 Materials of the task requiring to compose a square

ACTIVITY 2
The children are asked the following questions: “If you wanted to
change the ‘place’ like the numbers in the story, who, what and where
would you like to be?” Children make a drawing about it [Involved
operation: PRO].
ACTIVITY 3
The teacher recalls the moment in the story when the quarrel of
numbers creates a great deal of confusion. He/She asks the children to
think of other situations where a change in order or position produces
inconvenience [Involved operation: SIM ].
ACTIVITY 4
Insisting again on the importance of a certain order of elements, the
teacher offers children simple anagrams, whose solutions are perhaps
given by words drawn from history. It can also be interesting to propose
anagrams with multiple solutions (for example, “malb”; solutions: balm,
lamb) [Involved operation: COM ].
ACTIVITY 5
The teacher presents some cartoons and he/she says they are pages
of a book that a mischievous wind has scattered. It is now necessary to
reorder them. Each child can sequence the cartoons as he wishes and
invent a story about it. An example of usable cartoons is given in Fig. 2.4
[Involved operation: COM ].
2 SHORT STORIES FOR HIGH GOALS … 23

Fig. 2.4 Examples of the cartoon recombination task

The original sequence of the first series of cartoons (B-C-D-A)


describes an oral test with negative results. The original sequence of the
second series (B-C-A-D) tells an oriental legend relating to the chrysan-
themum, a flower which, unlike in some cultures, is a symbol of life. A
little girl was very sad because her mom was seriously ill. One day she
heard a voice telling her that mom would live as many days as the petals
of a flower that was in a vase nearby. Then the girl began to divide the
four large petals of that flower in hundreds of very thin petals. Mom
healed and lived for many years. In both cases, children will be able to
find different narratives by freely combining the various cartoons.
ACTIVITY 6
Here is a problem centred on creating the right sequence of elements
whose solution requires overcoming the constraints and automatisms
triggered by the explanation of exercise. Children made a necklace by
Another random document with
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"Serpinaa varata ei nji piä, täs seisov", sanoi outo mies, joka juuri
oli Serpina itse.

Serpinalla oli tiedustelijoita ja oppaita monessa pitäjässä. Kerran


tuli hän Kuikan kylään Ruskealassa tiedustelemaan Kuikan Jehkiltä
Hautalammin rikasta "suomalaista" Kiteellä. Kuikan miehet olivat
petojen tappajia, jotka laajalti hiihtelivät Sisä-Suomessa. Jehki ei
kuitenkaan suostunut rupeamaan oppaaksi ja pyysi Serpinaakin
luopumaan koko hankkeesta, koska tämä talo juuri oli yksi hänen
majatalojaan eräretkiltä. Jehki eli vielä joitakuita vuosia sitten
vanhana miehenä Kuikassa ja on itse asiasta kertonut.

Muualla Suomessa olisi sellainen aije ilmoitettu vallesmannille,


mutta Raja-Karjalassa olivat rahvas ja vallanpitäjät kaksi niin peräti
toisistaan eroitettua ihmisluokkaa, ett'ei sellainen tuuma Jehkin
mieleen juolahtanutkaan, vaikka Serpina rosvojoukkoineen oli koko
seudun vitsauksena.

Serpinasta olisi vielä monta kertomusta mainittava, hänen


tavattomista ruumiinvoimistaan y.m. Hän oli monta kertaa
vankeudessa, monta kertaa karussa. Wiimeisen kerran hän lienee
päässyt vapaaksi sen yleisen anteeksiannon kautta, joka julistettiin
keisari-suuriruhtinas Aleksanteri II kruunauksen johdosta.

Tämän jälkeen hän ei enää tehnyt pahaa kellenkään ihmiselle,


vaan eli vanhoilla päivillään siivosti ja rauhallisesti. Samoin tekivät
hänen rikostoverinsakin. Heidän lapsiaan elää vielä Suistamolla.

Ennen Serpinaa eli samoilla mailla mainio rosvo Tiitta Kauppinen.


Hänen kerrotaan olleen niin väkevän, että kun hän vaan sai kiinni
lehmän säkään, niin kuljetti hän sen kotiinsa ja teurasti. Hänet ja
hänen vaimonsa surmasi Koiton kylässä Suistamossa eräs Pedjukki
niminen mies.

Kuuluisia rosvoja ottivat myös ennen vanhaan "biegloit" Suloi ja


Makoi Aunuksesta. Impilahden Ruogarven kylän "proazniekassa"
ryöstivät he kerran Teromoaaran Artoin Miitreiltä kaikki vaatteet,
vaikka tällä oli 15 miestä seurassaan. Saran kylässä ottivat he
Pekon Jyrrin pojan kiinni, kun tämä isonsa kera oli metsään
menemässä, ja veivät majaansa salolle. Isältä vaativat he 200 ruplaa
pojan lunnaiksi, jos tämä mieli häntä elävänä nähdä. Isän täytyi
maksaa rahat.

*****

Wenäjän vallan aikana ennen Wanhan Suomen yhdistämistä


Suomen emämaahan näkyy oikeuden käyttö Raja-Karjalassa olleen
peräti alkuperäisellä kannalla. Kansa käsitti kruunun virkamiehiä
kiusaajinaan ja rasittajinaan eikä yhteiskunnallisen järjestyksen
ylläpitäjinä. Ja virkamiehillä oli rikosasioissa omat tapansa.

Sortavalassa kerrotaan monta kaskua eräästä virkamiehestä, joka


ennen vuotia 1811 oli ollut ruununvoutina siellä ja sittemmin eli
eläkkeen nauttijana. Ukko ei voinut kärsiä Suomen lakia ja oikeutta.
Se oli niin joutavan monimutkainen. Toista oli Wenäjän vallan aikaan.
Kun joku varkaus tai muu pienempi rikos tapahtui, niin saatiin
melkein aina syyllinen kiinni. Järjestyksen valvojat tunsivat tarkoin
kaikki piirinsä heittiöt ja junkkarit. Ne otettiin aina ensin tutkinnon
alaisiksi. Pantiin vaan mies penkille ja kasakan pampulla selkään,
kukin vuoroonsa. Ja ennen kun oli päästy rivi loppuun, niin oli
syyllinen milt'ei aina tunnustanut.
Niin sitä silloin elettiin. Rikoksellinen tuli rangaistuksi ja turvallisuus
palasi jälleen tuohon isällisesti johdettuun yhteiskuntaan. Eikä sitä
silloin miehen papinkirjaa pilattu rikosta mainitsemalla. — Sellainen
se oli ukon arvostelu Suomen laista ja oikeudesta.

On luonnollista, että kansa sellaisissa oloissa harvoin vaivasi


virkamiehiä valituksillaan, vaan ratkaisi oikeuskysymyksensä
omassa keskuudessaan. Jätteitä tästä oman käden oikeudesta
tavataan vielä Raja-Karjalan kansassa.

Toistakymmentä vuotta sitten tapahtui sellainen tapaus Salmin


pitäjän Orusjärven kylässä. Siellä eleli rosvo, joka saattoi koko kylän
rauhattomaksi. Teurasti kyläläisten lehmiä, varasteli ja teki muuta
ilkivaltaa. Uhkaili vielä kostolla, jos hänet ilmiannettaisiin. Sanoi
polttamansa tuvat ja heinäpielekset.

Viimein loppui kyläläisten kärsivällisyys. He lyöttäytyivät kaikki


yhteen ja surmasivat pahantekijän. Niin ainakin luullaan, sillä eräänä
aamuna tavattiin rosvon ruumis pahasti raadeltuna keskellä kylää,
kädet ja jalat katkottuina. Asia on kulkenut kihlakunnan-oikeudet ja
hovioikeudet tulematta sen selvemmäksi. Ei kukaan kyläläisistä sano
siinä mitään tietävänsä. Kaikki asianhaarat kuitenkin viittaavat siihen,
että orusjärveläiset amerikkalaisella lynch-tuomiolla omat
rangaisseet kiusaajaansa.

Tämän kertoja on itse käynyt Orusjärvellä. Ihmiset siellä ovat


herttaisia ja vieraanvaraisia. Ei suinkaan voisi aavistaa, että he ovat
tehneet itsensä syypäiksi moiseen julmaan tekoon.

Surullisen kuuluisassa muistossa on Salmissa vielä Neiglick'in


murha.
Leikattiin vuosi 1831. Salmiin oli idästä päin tullut kamala vieras,
kolerarutto. Ihmisiä kuoli joukottain, semminkin rantakylissä. Hallitus
ryhtyi ponteviin toimiin, estääkseen ruttoa leviämästä. Sen alueen
ympäri, missä kolera oli ilmaantunut, asetettiin karanteenivartio ja
asianomaisille virkamiehille lähetettiin rohtoja käskyllä jakaa niitä
kansalle, vieläpä pakoittaakin talonpoikia niitä käyttämään.

Salmin pitäjässä oli siihen aikaan Neiglick niminen nimismies.


Kansa katseli karsain silmin hänen toimipiteitään. Ei aikaakaan, niin
oli Salmissa se huhu yleinen, ett'eivät ne oudot juomat, joita hän
jakeli, muuta tarkoittaneetkaan kuin ihmisten myrkyttämistä. Oudolta
ja epäiltävältä näytti kansasta sekin seikka, että pitäjän ympäri oli
asetettu vartijajoukko (karanteeni-vartio), joka esti kanssakäymisen
muun maailman kanssa.

Ymmärtämätöin ja taikauskoinen rahvas joutui raivoon ja tämän


raivon uhriksi nimismies Neiglick. Eräänä päivänä tultiin suurella
miesjoukolla Neiglickin kartanolle, koston tuimat tuumat mielessä.
Neiglickin kartano sytytettiin tuleen, hän itse otettiin kiinni, sidottiin
lautaan ja heitettiin palavaan rovioon, sittenkun häntä sitä ennen oli
rääkätty ja pahoin pidelty.

Mutta pian saivat salmilaiset katua taikauskonsa verityötä.


Sanoma saapui hallitukselle, että kansa Salmissa oli noussut
kapinaan, surmannut nimismiehensä. Juurta jaksain oli "kapina"
kukistettava. Pieni sotavoima komennettiin Salmiin. Rahvas ei tehnyt
aseellista vastarintaa. Kaikki Neiglickin murhassa osalliset otettiin
kiinni; mikä lähetettiin Siperiaan, mikä taas sai elinkautisena
Wiaporin linnassa katua tekoaan.

Murhaajia tuvallisessa merkityksessä eivät salmilaiset kuitenkaan


olleet, vaikka laki heidät semmoisina tuomitsi. He olivat sokean
taikauskon uhreja ja siltä kannalta on koko tuo kamala tapaus
arvosteltava.

*****

Salmissa ja Suojärvellä oli ennen aikaan naisen ryöstö yleisenä


tapana. Samoin Aunuksen Karjalassa. Nuoret miehet kumpaisellakin
puolen rajaa ryöstivät lemmittynsä. Suostuttiin vaan "neidjizen
tshomahizen" kanssa ajasta ja muista seikoista; neitonen rekeen ja
täyttä laukkaa yli rajan. Täällä, sulhasen kotipitäjässä vihittiin nuori
pariskunta aviomieheksi ja -vaimoksi. Asia oli silloin
auttamattomissa. Minkä kirkko kerran oli yhteen liittänyt, sitä ei
sopinut enää ihmisten purkaa.

Niin omituiselta kuin tuo kuuluukin, tapahtuu näitä naisen ryöstöjä


vieläkin Salmissa. — Salmin Mantshinsaarelta eli noin kymmenisen
vuotta sitten pohatta talonpoika. Häntä kutsuttiin "Mantshinsoaren
gubernyörikse." Hänellä oli tytär soma ja kaunis, jota vanhemmat
vastoin hänen tahtoaan aikoivat naittaa eräälle rikkaalle sen puolen
kauppiaalle. Tyttö itse oli rakastunut nuoreen aunukselaiseen. Tämä
olikin pyytänyt neitoa vanhemmilta, mutta turhaan. Tahtoivat väkisin
naittaa tytärtään tuolle rikkaalle kauppiaalle, joka päälle päätteeksi jo
oli vanhanpuoleinen. Kyllähän se rakkaus itsestään tulee rikkaassa
kodissa, arvelivat vanhemmat. Siis tuo ikivanha ja aina uusi tarina,
josta löytyy niin lukemattomia toisintoja.

Jo vietettiin eräänä talvisena päivänä kihlajaisia "Mantshinsoaren


gubernyörin" talossa. Juuri ennen juhlamenojen alkamista pujahti
morsian pihalle. Täällä oli armas vuottamassa, koppoi nei'en
korjahansa, vei matkoihinsa.
Wuotetaan, vuotetaan morsianta, "a ei kuulu." Wiimein selveni
asia. Nähtiin lumessa hevosen ja reen jäljet Mantshiusaaresta
mantereelle päin.

Pakolaisia ajettiin takaa, mutta hekin olivat siltä varalta


varustautuneet. Olivat määrä taipaleille sijoittaneet vereksiä hevosia.
Yli rajan, Aunukseen, pääsivät kuin pääsivätkin pakolaiset, menivät
papin luo ja vihittiin. Wanhemmilla ei muuta neuvoa kuin antaa
rakastuneille anteeksi, kun nämä jonkun ajan perästä laillisesti
vihittynä aviopariskuntana tulivat "adivoih", s.o. heitä tervehtimään.

*****

Puhuessani niistä menoista, joilla karja keväällä lasketaan


talvimajoistaan, mainitsin myös "virpavitsoja." Wirpominen tapahtuu
palmusunnuntain aamulla seuraavalla tavalla: Otetaan
monihaarainen pajun oksa, joka koristetaan erivärisillä vaate- ja
paperitilkuilla. Tämä on virpavitsa.

Tällainen vitsa kädessä kuljetaan varhain mainitun pyhäpäivän


aamulla naapuritaloissa onnea toivottamassa. Wuoteellaan vielä
viruvaa talonväkeä raksutellaan vuoroonsa virpavitsoilla, jolloin
virpoja lukee seuraavan runon:

Wirpoi, varpoi
Tuoreeks, terveeks',
Netäliks velkapiäks,
Wuueks vapaaks;
Siulle vitsa,
Miulle kakkara.
"Nedjälin" eli viikon perästä tulevat näet onnentoivottajat
virpomispalkkaansa saamaan. Heitä silloin kestitään piirailla y.m.
Wirpavitsat jätetään taloon, jossa niitä onnentuojina säilytetään.
Löytyy toinenkin virpaluku, näin kuuluma:

Mie en virvo viinan eestä,


Rahan eestä raksuttele,
Ottele oluen eestä;
Riiheltä rikkaaks.
Kujalta kuulusaks.
Hepo oroja tehköön,
Lammas kaksi kantakohon;
Lehmosesta voilusikka,
Kanasta jäitsä [muna].

Jos virpojat myöhästyvät, niin että talonväki heidän tullessaan jo


on ennättänyt nousta levolta ja panna pirtin lämpiämään, nostetaan
heidät "savuun" s.o. kohotetaan ylös katonrajaan. Tämä tapa on
niiltä ajoilta, jolloin savupirtit vielä olivat yleisiä. Wirpominen on
monissa paikoin nykyjään muuttunut kerjäämiseksi. Näin on laita
esim. Sortavalan kaupungissa. Lähikylien köyhät ja arvottomat
lapset käyttävät sitä "puistamisen" keinona. Olkoon se heille
mielellään sallittu. Wähissähän ne muuten ovat armottoman lystit.

Wanha Raja-Karjalan asuinrakennuksen muoto, joka vielä on


yleinen
Salmin kihlakunnan salokylissä ja Aunuksen puolella, on seuraava.

Asuinrakennus on kaksikerroksinen, veistämättömistä hirsistä


tehty, jyrkällä pystykatollä varustettu. Ikkunat ovat tavallisesti
toisessa päätypuolessa. Yläkerrassa on "perttji" eli tupa, sen alla
alakerrassa "karzin" eli "luandal", joka jotenkin vastaa kellaria. Siinä
näet säilytetään perunat, nauriit "voassat" eli kaljat y.m. Talvella
käytetään sitä myös maitokamarina. Yhtä nurkkaa karsinassa
sanokaan "jauhinkiven tshupuksi"; siinä ovat käsikivet, joilla
pienemmät, joka päivä käytettävät jauhovarat jauhetaan.

Asuinrakennuksen keskeytymättömänä jatkona ovat ulkosuojat.


Katto niissä tavallisesti ei ole niin jyrkällä harjanteella.
Ulkohuoneusto, vaikkapa rakennettukin kiinni asuinrakennukseen,
on sitä kuitenkin hieman leveämpi, joten sen kattokin muodostuu
loivemmaksi.

Ulkohuoneustokin on kaksikerroksinen. Suurimman osan sen


yläkerrasta muodostaa "sarai", jota voisimme tallinparveksi nimittää.
Siinä säilytetään talon työkapineet, reet y.m., kuten tallinparvella
ainakin. Peräpuoli sarasta, n.s. "heinien pandav", on tavallisesti
aidattu jokapäiväisen heinävaraston säilytyspaikaksi. Wastapäätä
pirttiä on sarailla "aitta." Aitan ja pirtin välillä on "sentshoi" eli
tuvanporstua; siitä viepi "pertin uksi" tupaan.

Perttiin voipi päästä kahta porrasta myöten. Toiset niistä ovat


"sarain pordahat", joita myöten noustaan "saroille." Ne ovat sillan
tapaan rakennetut, aivan niinkuin muualla Suomessa tallin- ja
navetanparvelle vievät ajosillat. Talvella kun tullaan taloon, ajaa
matkustaja tavallisesti täysissä tamineissa hevosineen, rekineen
saroin portaita myöten saroille, jättäen sinne hevosensa ja astuen
itse pirttiin.

Sitä suurta ovea, jota myöten täten tullaan saraille, sanotaan


"sarain veräjäksi". "Sarain mendävästä" astuu matkamies sitten
sentshoihin, josta viimein pirttiin. Pirttiin johtaa toinenkin, niin
sanoaksemme paraadikäytävä, n.s. "sentshoin pordahat", Ne ovat
tavallisia, jyrkänlaisia rappusia.
Ulkosuojaston alakerrassa sijaitsee "tanhut" ja "liävy." Edellistä
käytetään tallina, jälkimmäistä navettana. Erinäisen osan läävästä
muodostaa tavallisesti "lammasliävy." Tanhuaan johtaa alhaalta
kaksi suurta, vastakkain sijaitsevaa ovea, n.s. "tanhutveräjät." Yksi
nurkka tanhutta on erilleen aidattu. Se on "pottshiloin tshuppu" eli
sikopahna. Läävään ja lammasläävään johtavat sekä tanhuasta että
ulkoa eri ovet.

Yläkerrasta päästään kahta porrastietä myöten alakertaan.


Sentshoista johtavat "tanhut pordahat" tanhuaan; pirtistä taas
päästään karsinaan "karsinpordahia" myöten. Wiimeksi mainitut
alkavat n.s. "kolpitshasta." Kolpitsha on uunin eli "pätshin" vieressä
oleva kannellinen laatikko. Sen kantta kun kohotetaan, tulevat
"karsinpordahat" näkyviin. Kolpitshaa käytetään yöllä makuusijana.
Sen kannella onkin lämmin ja hyvä unta ottaa.

Nyt olemmekin jo astuneet pirtin sisään. Se on n.s. savupirtti. Ilma


savupirtissä on aina puhdas ja raitis, syystä että siellä on niin hyvä
ilmanvaihto. Samu asuu katon orsissa eikä ole haitaksi muuta kuin
aamulla, pirttiä lämmittäissä. Toisessa ovensuun puoleisessa
sopessa kohoaa "pätshi", harmaasta paasikivestä, harvemmin
tiileista kokoon kyhätty. Vastapäätä pätsinä, toisella puolen ovea
riippuu vaarnassaan seinässä "käsashtie", savesta valettu
patakeikotin, jossa aina on vettä käsien ja silmien pesemistä varten.
Käsiastian alla löytyy matala, puinen amme, johon vesi valuu, kun
ihmiset pesevät käsiään tai kasvojaan.

Vastapäätä pätsiä, lävistäjän suuntaan, on pirtin peränurkka eli


"suur tshuppu." Tässä riippuu "obraz" eli pyhimyksen kuva. Pirttiin
tulija kääntyy aina kaikkein ensimmäiseksi tätä nurkkaa kohden ja
tekee ristinmerkin, lausuen samalla "rauhan rahvahal." Tähän
tapaan on kreikanuskoinen rajalainen niin tottunut, että hän
luterinuskoiseen taloonkin tullessaan aina kääntyy huoneen
perimmäistä nurkkaa kohden ja ristii silmänsä.

Pätsin ja kolpitsan kulmanteesta kohoaa puinen "patshas" noin


pari kyynärää lähelle kattoa. Patsaasta lähtee kaksi leveätä ortta
seiniin kiinni, toinen pitkittäin, toinen poikittain pirttiä. Poikittain
kulkevasta orresta lähtee pirtin seinään useampia lautoja,
muodostaen leveähkön lavan. Tämä on "palattji" eli makuulaveri.
Etelä-Aunuksessa on joka pirtissä sellainen palatti; Suomen
puoleisessa Raja-Karjalassa ja Pohjois-Aunuksessa on se
harvinaisempi.

Keskellä pirttiä seisoo "shtola" eli pöytä. Se on pyhä, papin


siunaama esine, jota ei saa joutamasta ryvettää eikä pilata. Katossa
riippuu, "vitmi" pitkässä, koivuisessa viputangossaan. Lasta
liekutellaan siinä niinkuin keinussa. Pitkin pirtinseiniä kulkevat
"lautshat" eli penkit. Ovensuussa tai muualla seinässä riippuu
"rundugu" eli "astieloin piettäv." Katossa riippuu lasten huvituksena
toisissa taloissa "juzro" eli "olgehinen" s.o. olenkorsista tehty kruunu.

Pirttiä lämmittäissä nousee savu kattoon ja hakeiksen ulos


savureijästä. Tämä savureikä suljetaan illalla n.s. "trubalaudalla."
Savupiippuna käytetään ontoksi koverrettua puuta. Se on nimeltään
"truba." Tuosta puupiipusta tuntee jo kaukaa savupirtin.

*****

Talonväen kotityöt rajoittuvat välttämättömimpiin askareihin.


Kotiteollisuus on Itä-Karjalassa hyvin alhaisella kannalla, semminkin
mitä miehiin tulee. Työ- ja ajokaluja y.m. sellaisia ei tehdä kotona,
vaan ne ostetaan enimmäkseen valmiina "Suomen puolelta." Miehet
eivät juuri välitä muusta kuin ulkotöistä. Tuvassa kuluu heidän
aikansa parhaastaan toimettomuudessa, ell'emme ota lukuun verkon
ja nuotan kutomista, saappaiden rakentamista ja senkin sellaista
pientä askaretta.

Naiset omat kätevämpiä. He kehräävät ja ompelevat sekä kutovat


vähin sarkaa ja aivinaa. Päällyspaidoiksi ja hameiksi käyttävät sekä
miehet että naiset enimmäkseen venäläisiä ostokankaita,
heleänväristä ja loistavaa karttuunia. Punainen eli "kumakka" väri on
se, josta enimmän pidetään.

Muutamat naiset osaavat kutoa kauniita kirjoja "käspaikkoihin" eli


pyyhinliinoihin. Näissä pyyhinliinoissa tapaa usein sangen aistikkaita,
vanhoja suomalaisia koristekaavoja. Ne ovat aina suoraviivaisia.
Milloin eläin- ja kasvikunnan muotoja on käytetty, ovat mallit vieraita,
venäläisiä. Sortavala lienee se Itä-Karjalan seutu, jossa tämä taito
on korkeimmilleen kehittynyt.

Pellavasrihmaa kehrätään salokylissä vielä yleiseen kehrävarrella


ja värttinällä. Sortavalassa ja Ruskealassa alkaa "keträpuu" jo olla
hyvin harvinainen esine. Rukki on siellä jo syrjäyttänyt sen tieltään.
Korpiselässä ja Suojärvellä on asianlaita päinvastainen.

Naisten kotitöihin kuuluu tietysti myös ruuan valmistaminen. Raja-


karjalainen syöpi hyvin vaihtelevia ruokia, milloin vaan rahaa liikenee
aineksien ostoon. Sieniä ja nauriita käytetään yleisesti särpineenä,
myöskin kaalia ja lanttuja. Sekin seikka, että eri sienilajeilla
kansankielessä on ovat nimensä, osoittaa niiden yleistä käytäntöä,
Sortavalassa ja Ruskealassa esim. syödään vahveroisia ja rouskuja
suolakalan asemasta, maiteroisia, pilpperoisia, lepperoisia y.m.
keittona.
Piiraita leivotaan monenlaisia. Piirastahdas "ajellaan" eli kaulataan
"pualikalla" hyvin ohueksi. Tästä tehdään piiraan kuori; "sydän"
tehdään potatti- tai ryynipuurosta. Ryynejä nimitetään Raja-Karjalan
kielimurteella "zuurumoiksi". Tavallisimmat omat "ozran zuurumot."
Hersryyniä saadaan kauppiaalta. Ne omat "grosshan zuurumoi" s.o.
ostoryyneja.

Tavallisimmat piiraslajit omat "tshipaniekat", "sultshinat", "pyöröt"


ja "keitinpiiraat." Wiimeksi mainituita pidetään parhaimpina. Tahdas
niissä on ohutta kuin paperi ja voissa paistettu. Niitä valmistetaan
suurina juhlina ja kun sulhasia tulee taloon. Hyvin tavallinen on n.s.
"kurniekka" eli kukko. Sisuksena käytetään siinä joko läskiä, kalaa tai
lanttua aina varoja ja tilaisuutta myöten.

Paastoa noudattaa kreikanuskoinen raja-karjalainen kotoisissa


oloisin hyvin tarkasti. Silloin pannaan pöytään leipää, "vuasaa" eli
sahtia, sieniä ja "siemenvoita" [pellavasöljyä]. Köyhä rahvas elää
paaston aikana melkein vedellä ja leivällä. Matkoilla ei yleensä
paastota ja vaikeaksi se kävisikin lännempänä, luterilaisen väestön
keskuudessa.

Kun paasto on päättynyt, syödään sitä runsaammin ja


ylellisemmin. Raja-karjalainen ei yleensä osaa säästää. Hän elää
iloisesti päivän tultuaan ja näkee puutetta, kun varat ovat lopussa.
Katkera kokemus osoittaa hänelle hyvinkin usein tällaisen
elämäntavan turmiollisuutta, mutta hän ei ota tuosta opista
ojentuakseen.

*****

Ulkotyöt ovat miesten huostassa, paitsi kasken viertäminen ja


heinän teko, johon naisetkin ottavat osaa. Kaskea poltetaan
vahvasti. Wuonna 1893 Itä-Karjalaa kohdannut kato syntyikin
suureksi osaksi siitä syystä, että edellinen kesä oli ollut niin sateinen,
joten kasket jäivät polttamatta.

Pellot hoidetaan huonosti. Wuoroviljelys on, niinkuin arvatakin


sopii, yleensä tuntematoin, niinikään suoviljelys. Wiime vuosina on
kuitenkin Jaakkimassa ja Sortavalassa vieläpä Suistamollakin
alkanut näkyä oireita parempaan suuntaan. Yksi ja toinen
yrittelijäämpi talollinen on alkanut heiniä viljellä. Jaakkimassa on jo
perustettu useampia kylämeijereitä, joiden osakkaat ovat talonpoikia.
Samanlaisia yhtiömeijereitä on Sortavalassakin syntynyt. Tämä on
tietysti luettava Karjalan radan ansioksi. Ja suuren muutoksen tulee
tämä rata epäilemättä ennen pitkää aikaansaamaan Itä-Karjalan
taloudellisissa oloissa.

Syksyllä kasataan leikattu vilja aumoihin ja puidaan sitten


tarvittaissa talven kuluessa. Tämä on tietysti suurta viljan
haaskausta, sillä siten karisee paljon siementä hukkaan. Hiiret
tekevät myös aumoissa suurta vahinkoa. Jos talossa vielä kesällä
löytyy puimattomia kekoja, niin pidetään sitä suurena rikkauden
merkkinä. Täsmällisesti on kuitenkin kotikasvuinen vilja jo
kevättalvesta lopussa ja loput vuotta eletään Wenäjän jauholla. Näin
on enimmäkseen laita Laatokan rantamaillakin, vaikka siellä, esim.
Sortavalan pitäjässä, on erittäin lihavat savimaat.

Salolaisten paras tulolähde talvella on "parrenajo." Keväällä


saavat loisetkin työnansiota "parrenuitossa." Silloin on vilkas elämä
jokivarsilla. Miehet lepäävät yönsä salolla. Laitetaan kaksi matalaa
katosta vastakkain ja ne peitetään kuusenkuorella ja havuilla.
Katosten väliin varustetaan kelohongan pölkyistä nuotiotuli, joka
palaa vähällä liekillä koko yön, jos pölkyt ovat tarpeeksi paksuja.
Tämä on "parsimiesten" ja metsämiesten "maja."

Suurella salolla löytyy myös siellä täällä n.s. "metshipertteja",


joissa voipi levätä yönsä varsin mukavasti. "Metshipertti" on niin
matala, ett'ei mies mahdu siinä pystyssä seisomaan. Muuta aukkoa
ei löydy kuin ovi vaan. Nurkassa on tulensija. "Metshiperttiä"
lämmittäissä tulee savu tosin sisään, mutta asuu kuitenkin siksi
korkealla, ett'ei se laattialla makaajalle ole minään vastuksena. Ovi
on tietysti tulen palaessa pidettynä auki.

*****

Karjalainen on hilpeä luonteeltaan ja rakastaa huvitusta.


Kreikanuskoinen raja-karjalainen liiatenkin. Ainakin kerran viikossa
kokoontuu siellä kylän nuoriso johonkin taloon "bessodaa" eli tanssi-
iltamaa viettämään. Silloin tanssitaan "brishakkaa" ja muita sen
puolen tansseja. Nämä tanssit ovat nähtävästi venäläistä alkujuurta
tai ainakin sieltäpäin aiheutuneet. Säestys tapahtuu tavallisesti
"sharmankalla" eli harmoonikalla. Salokylissä saapi vielä kuulla
kanteleensoittoakin. Mutta kansanlauluja kanteleella harvoin enää
soitetaan, enimmäkseen vaan tanssisäveleitä.

Hauskaa on nähdä nuorten tyttöjen "illatshua", kun he kokoontuvat


johonkin taloon morsiusapua kehrämään. Talosta saapi jokainen
kehräpuun ja pellavia. Koko illan ja yön viettävät tytöt yhdessä. Aika
kuluu hupaisesti kehrätessä ja tarinoidessa. Joku tytöistä, jolla on
kaunis ääni, alkaa laulaa ja muut siihen yhtyvät. Sellaisissa
tilaisuuksissa saapi usein kuulla kauniita kansanlauluja ja lyyrillisiä
runoja.
Pitkinä talvi-iltoina kokoontuu talonväki toisinaan jonkun taitavan
sadunkertojan ympäri "soakkunaa" kuulemaan. Silloin siirrytään
kerrassaan ihmeitten maailmaan, jonka luomisessa Raja-Karjalan
kansalla on niin rajatoin mielikuvitus.

*****

Tapa, jolla Raja-Karjalassa vierasta tervehditään, on vilkas ja


sydämmellinen. Salokylissä, missä "loittolaisia" harvoin liikkuu, onkin
vieras tervetullut. Pirttiin tulija, jos hän on kreikanuskoinen, kääntyy
aina ensin "suureen tshuppuun" päin "jumalojen" puoleen ja tekee
heille ristinmerkin. Vasta tämän tehtyään tervehtii hän talonväkeä.

"Terve rahvahal", kuuluu tulijan suusta.

"Terve vierahal", vastaa siihen talonväki.

"A midäbö kuuluv vierahal. Ishtu velli lautshal, pagishe min tiiät."

"Ei midäi rauhu vai."

"A sehäi hyvä", vastataan taas talonväen puolelta.

"Se hyvä, se hyvä", toistaa vielä moneen kertaan ruotimummo


vaikeroivalla äänellä "pätshiltä."

Löytyy monta muutakin tervehdystapaa. Jos kohtaa työssä olevan


ihmisen, niin tervehditään häntä sanoilla: "terve sinul, Jumal abuh
roadajal." Jos tapaa naisen, joka pesee pyykkiä, niin kuuluu
tervehdys: "terve sinul, joutshenii", s.o, tulkoon sinun pyykkisi niin
valkeaksi kuin joutsen. "Joutshenii pidän", vastaa siihen toinen, s.o.
pitää koettaa.
Kun vieras lähtee pois talosta, niin on hyvästijättö talonväen
puolelta yhtä sydämmellinen. "Tervehen mängeä! Jumal abuh!
Toitsh', tulgoa! Elgeä ossotikko! Elgeä pahaks pango!"
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KUVIA RAJA-
KARJALASTA ***

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