Igniting Creativity in Education

Author: Dr Shen-Li Lee  

What Is Creativity?

• Creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity is characterized by the ability to perceive the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to make connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena, and to generate solutions. –Creativity at Work
• Creativity is defined as the tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others. – California State University
• Creativity is defined as the process of having original ideas that have value. – Ken Robinson
• Creativity is in everything – not JUST Arts but also Math, Science, English, etc.
• Creativity is a process that often involves trial & error. It is evolving. It is the determination to try again and again.

Why Do We Want to Nurture Creativity?

“According to a recent Adobe creativity study, 88% of U.S. professionals believe that creativity should be built into standard curricula. Companies are looking for more than graduates who can do specific tasks, they want employees who can also think differently and innovate. To be successful, students need an education that emphasizes creative thinking, communication and teamwork. And as Sir Ken Robinson says, ‘Creativity is not an option, it’s an absolute necessity’.” – Adobe

• Creativity & Problem-Solving are at the top of the list of skills that universities and employers seek
• A 2010 survey of over 1,500 executives found that creativity is valued as the most important business skill in the modern world – Edudemic
• Creativity will help to make change and make the world better

Nurturing Creativity

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison

How can we nurture creativity in education?

• Make mistakes and embrace failure.
• Promote divergent thinking.
• Encourage risk taking.
• No “right” or “wrong” answers.
• Instead of “direct instruction”, provide encouragement, opportunity, and coaching.
• Offer group work as the sharing ideas can spark more ideas.
• Engage in project-based learning.
• Provide clear explanations of the focus or need.
• Don’t always give grades as this can lead to a “right” or “wrong” approach mindset.
• Create choices for students to tailor their learning.
• Add constraints – e.g. you can only use these materials and nothing else.
• Offer students real world problems to solve.
• Provide opportunities to watch creativity in action.
• Encourage dedicated improvement reflection time.

How Can Parents Help?

• Encourage children to talk about their work. Ask ‘Why’? questions without aggression.
• Change routines – drive a different way to school, try different foods, introduce novelty.
• Try things out – scuba diving, music, making things. Creativity can come in different forms.
• Encourage sleep – dreams help us solve problems we’re stuck on.
• Embrace failure – if children are too afraid to fail, they will never try anything new. Being creative is about trying new things

This article originally appeared on Figur8.net here