Theoretical and pedagogical perspectives on orchestrating creativity and collaborative learning

The role of teacher is increasingly related to designing and arranging collaborative learning situations in which fruitful and creative group work may occur. This thematic review presents recent studies on creativity and collaborative learning from the perspective of the teacher as conductor of learning processes. The precondition for the design and orchestration of these kinds of learning situations is analysing and understanding of creative and collaborative processes and their contextual adaption. Thus, the first section of this review focuses on the theoretical vantage points of creativity and collaborative learning mainly from socio-cultural perspective. Based on this theoretical grounding, the second section describes principles for orchestrating productive collaborative learning and supporting creativity from the teacher’s perspective. We discuss three dimensions related to how teachers can bring about collaborative learning and creativity: (1) general pedagogical bases, (2) teachers’ pre- and real-time activities and (3) opportunities and challenges for teacher activities. The review is concluded with theoretical and practical implications regarding collaborative learning and creativity.

► Collaborative learning and creativity involve novelty, but not in the same way.
► The difference relates to novelty of the process for the group or the community.
► Orchestrating learning has potential for enhancing collaboration and creativity.
► The main idea of the orchestration is to combine the design and the improvisation.
► Lies in the crossroad of the research on disciplined improvisation and structuring.