An Applied Pattern for Developing Children's Creativity through Music by Non-Specialized Teachers in Primary Schools (Based on John Cage's Pedagogical Experiences and Musical Innovations)

Considering the significance of creativity in global development, the emphasis on its development at an early age, and the role of art in its flourishing on the one hand and the concern about “the Creativity Crisis” and lack of understanding concerning creativity in schools on the other hand, necessitate innovative and applied solutions in the present age.
The present study aims to provide an applied pattern for promoting the creativity of elementary school students through music experiences with usability by Iranian non-specialized teachers and its validation.
This research has been conducted in three studies. In order to design the intended pattern with the applicability by non-specialized teachers in elementary schools, first and second surveys include assessing the implementation of the artists’ educational practices in the creativity development with musical concepts and Cage’s pedagogical experiences, the prominent musician, teacher of the 20th century, which were evaluated by two rounds of a self-made Delphi questionnaire with concepts and pedagogical practices used to fostering creativity, and determined by experts in three areas of education, art, and music.
The third Experimental research, with the purpose of validating the discovered pattern, was conducted by a non-specialist teacher on a group of primary girl students, with a pre-post test of Torrance Creative Thinking Test (TTCT; figural version of form A).
The findings indicate acceptance of some dimensions of the artist's educational model and Cage’s pedagogical experiences as a set of strategies for implementing in Iranian schools, according to experts and the third study also showed the significant difference between experimental and control group on creativity dimensions, fluidity, originality, flexibility, and the overall creativity score except expandability.
The analyzes indicate the effectiveness of the intended pattern on the creativity development of primary school children and its use by non-specialized teachers in the educational environment of Iran.