Steven Herman, Ph.D.

There are many definitions of creativity. Some definitions, such as, "the ability to create," and "the quality of being creative" are not immediately, helpful. Here is a very definition from the Cambridge Dictionary, "the ability to produce or use original and unusual ideas." Here is the definition I like best for students, from Human Motivation, 3rd Edition, by Robert E. Franken (page 396), "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." I like this definition because it captures the application of creativity to most all aspects of life: artistic pursuits, practical issues and communication.

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It is commonly thought that young children are very creative, but that most people become less creative as they age and become more aware of limitations, things that they can't do, and the consequences of mistakes. However, many people also believe that those trends can be reversed, and the people, even adults, can learn practices to improve their creativity. How can we foster creativity in the classroom? Here are some ideas adapted from The 8 Best Ways of Teaching Creatively That Will Never Fail. I don't know if I agree with the title, but I liked the ideas.

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1. Ignore Limitations

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As children, we have a confidence and fearlessness in creativity that we can lose over time. Unfortunately, many of us were raised with an awareness of what we couldn't do. As we became more socialized and aware of our limitations, we can become less creative as a result.

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One of the ways awareness of limitations hurts creativity is that we tend to discard new ideas too fast. Even before an idea is formed, we throw it out because we immediately think it probably won't work. One way to combat this is to separate idea generation, or brainstorming, from idea analysis and critique. When groups of students start working on a new project remind them of the rules for brainstorming - all ideas are recorded without criticism, no matter how silly or impossible an idea sounds. Analysis of ideas is done later, after a brainstorming session has generated a list of ideas.

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2. Challenge Assumptions

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Creative people question assumptions about many things. Teachers can model that by frequently saying, "That's a great question," responding thoughtfully to all questions, never making a student embarrassed for asking a question, and establishing a classroom culture where asking questions is encouraged and rewarded.

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3. Define the Problem

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Think deeply about the problem and discuss it with others before thinking about the solution. People can use specific steps to help think deeply about a problem, such as:

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• ​Restating or rephrasing the problem

  • Gets you thinking from different perspectives, leading to more versatile solutions

  • Reveals things about the problem that may not be obvious

  • Can help in creating solutions for multiple problems

  • Leads to hearing unique perspectives from others

• Challenging assumptions

  • Helps learners understand how the problem may have originated

  • Challenges learners to consider an issue in different ways

  • Helps learners question assumptions that limit independent thought

  • Teaches learners to decide for themselves what is right and true

• Researching and gathering facts

  • Provides opportunities for developing useful research and data analysis

  • Allows learners to discover surprising things about a problem they didn’t know before

  • Helps learners avoid making assumptions and forming opinions without ample information

  • Gives learners time to think about why finding a solution to the problem is important

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4. Give Them Time and Allow for Many Failures

 

Creativity takes time to appear and it's a growth process that is different for all of us. Any writer, artist, designer, inventor, or entrepreneur will tell you this. They will also tell you they failed many times before finding the right idea.

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Learners will need plenty of time to let their imaginations soar. In the course of their learning journeys, they'll revise, revisit, and throw out ideas. They'll start over, get stuck, and get unstuck. No matter what, teaching creatively involves encouraging them every step of the way.

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5. Be Human

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It's okay to make mistakes in front of your learners. After all, if it's fine for them it's fine for you. There's no need to maintain an illusion of perfection as a teacher. In fact, showing that things get messy sometimes lets them know it's okay to explore and experiment because that's what creativity is all about.

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6. Assess Creatively

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Give students options and some autonomy for assignments and assessments. The more teachers limit the ways in which students can demonstrate their learning, the more we restrict their creativity.