Creative Thinking..... We say we foster it.... but what is it exactly?
" Creative Thinking, in its simplest form, is the ability to make something new....."
"The mental process of thinking creatively requires students to draw on their imagination, using their skills to combine, change, and reshape, refine, or improve ideas and solutions"
The Thinking Classroom by Alice Vigors
Creative thinking is a way of thinking that leads to the generation of valuable and original ideas. It is the ability to problem-solve.
Creative thinking students ( and adults) use a variety of approaches to solve problems, analyze multiple viewpoints, adapt ideas, and arrive at innovative solutions.
People who can think creatively can generate and apply new ideas to specific contexts, see existing situations in a new way, identify alternative explanations, and see or make new links that generate positive results.
Creative Teaching and Teaching Creatively: How to Foster Creativity in the Classroom ( linked)
offers some good examples of creative thinking for students and teachers.
My questions to you....
How do you think creatively? What are some examples of when you thought creatively and what were those outcomes? Who benefited from those thoughts?
Write your thoughts on this blog post. Remember to identify yourself and to respond to at least one other person. We will discuss this in Elementary and Team Meetings over the next two weeks.
I look forward to reading your thoughts are we dive into creative thinking together!
Rebecca Minerd
Me? Think creatively? I actually asked my daughter "How am I creative?" She began listing things like: creative with the dogs to get them to do something, creative with us(my kids) when you come up with a way to help us remember something academically, creative to fix something around the house when we don't have the right materials. So, I guess trickery, humorous/silly mnemonic devices, and being frugal are a part of being creative. My family benefits from my crazy thoughts and ideas. The more I think about it--I adapt, improvise, and imagine outside of the norm.
ReplyDeleteCreative thinking is key to survival. I don't think my small contributions to my household would save us on a desert island or a zombie apocalypse, but if I need to survive another day of chaos in my house--I'm armed with ideas!
I love how you came around to thinking yourself creative! And you're a math person, so I think you're probably creative in that regard, too! How many ways can you make 10? or 100? :)
DeleteI agree that creativity is key to survival...anywhere! Another way I know have to be creative is to SURVIVE teaching! and at Empower! We constantly have to tweak other teaching ideas to apply to our presentation and student-base. KUDOS!! :)
That's interesting, I bet my kids would say the same thing about me!!! I can come up with several ways to help us adapt out home, but I wouldn't personally think that's being creative (maybe it is)!
DeleteI do think of myself as creative, but I'm a HUGE piggy-backer. I take other (or others'!) ideas and adapt them to my needs...maybe more innovative than creative? I love graphic design. In the past, I've loved decor and creating floor plans, especially those with fundamental flaws or needs to work around and/or address. In the right mood, I also enjoy writing and drawing prompts to create from, as well.
ReplyDeleteREACH students are currently working on Real World Word Problems (RWWP), where creativity abounds! I actually "cheated" and used Chat GPT to create the plans, and as I stated in my introduction, I have adapted them to my needs. I never before thought of math as being creative but I'm enjoying those avenues with my students in activities like the RWWP, Albert's Insomnia, and Kristin's "Open Middle Virtual Problems"... who'd a thought you could create so many different equivalences with the same number but with different operations? I'm okay with math as a subject, but these new creative AND critical thinking activities are really resonating with me! The creativity has brought it to a whole new level. I hope my students will embrace the creative aspects, too. :)
I laughed when you wrote that you "cheated" by using Chat GPT....but you adapted what Chat GPT gave you showing that your creative self was going to shine through no matter what!!
DeleteI like the term "piggy-backer;" I have to remember to use that... someone took offense when I used the term "steal" in regards to reusing and revising things others have made before me. I'll have to see how "piggy-backer" goes over! Lol.
DeleteI also adapt other ideas to my own needs and circumstances. I personally learn so much more by listening and watching. One person's idea or creative thought can be expanded on and multiplied through various ways of creative thinking.
DeleteI always think about a box of crayons when it comes to a classroom or a group of teachers. I am never going to be the most creative crayon in the box, but I love to celebrate creativity when I see it and hear it in the classroom. As I read, "Creative Teaching and Teaching Creatively: How to Foster Creativity in the Classroom", I wrote down two thoughts that really resonated with me. The first was "tolerating ambiguity" because we need to embrace open ended questions and make sure our students realize that there is gray in the world, not every question has one answer nor is there one way to solve or answer a question. I also loved the statement, "Be present with student ideas" because when they show a spark of interest I am happy to let them embrace it. I love when I am asked things like "can I" or "what if" because to me this often means that they are creating and are going to head in a direction that I had not envisioned. And that makes me happy.
ReplyDeleteAs a math teacher, I sometimes see myself having difficulty with "tolerating ambiguity." When I co-taught ELA, that was one of the hardest parts for me. There isn't always one right answer and there is so much gray. Also in math, there may be only one right answer but almost never only one right method to arrive at that solution.
DeleteLisa, I love the crayons, I love the "grey" areas, perhaps we are the grey crayons in the box or numerous crayons in the box? :)
DeleteI think creativity is something that everyone encompasses within them, it just is shown in different ways. When I was face-to-face vs. Empower (where I have creativity at my fingertips), I always had to come up with creative ways to carry out a lesson. For example, with the war of 1812, the students built a replica of the white house being burned down, with the French and Indian War, I had my students perform a skit where they had to dress up as Indians and British soldiers & design their own scene to go along with the narrative. For phases of the moon, we carved icing from Oreo cookies to replicate the different phases that occur as the moon faces toward/away from the sun. Who do I feel benefited from this? My students most definitely! They got a better understanding of what was going on and building background knowledge through creativity helped! Not only did they score well, but it something that they will remember for a lifetime.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of any class was the projects and experiments. These allowed every student to reach for the learning regardless of their skill level. That's what I like about creative thinking in the classroom - it makes learning more accessible for every student.
DeleteI absolutely believe that everyone can be creative in different areas and ways. I feel that the biggest reason why we are sometimes not seen as creative or think of ourselves as creative, is because creativity has been given its own box too. As much as we say that being creative is "thinking outside of the box," we have still assigned it its own box. Growing up, I was not the "creative" one. My sister could sing, play instruments, draw and paint beautifully, etc. She was always referred to as the "creative one." It used to bother me that I wasn't seen as creative because I was more math-oriented, involved in sports, and immersed in my friendships. It wasn't until I got older that I realized I AM creative. It's just not in the more obvious way. I think creatively in my problem solving, I have learned to use words creatively when speaking to students, and like Beth, I have to use creativity to coerce my 4 year old to do the things expected of him. I think the biggest service we can do each other (and our students) in terms of creative thinking is to encourage, recognize, and celebrate creative thinking no matter what that looks like for them. I try to always explain to students how I arrived at a solution, but honor their ways too. Sometimes students may not get it my way, but seeing it multiple ways allows them to find strategies that work for them. This also opens the world for future creative thinking and gives them a safe space to do so.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who also didn't feel very creative growing up, I related to what you wrote so much! I totally believe that I thought I was not creative because I put my own limitations onto what creativity could be or look like. I'm so glad to have discovered that creativity can look different from person to person and I hope to share with our students that everyone is creative, even if it is in different ways from others, and to give students a chance to share their own creativity and problem solving.
DeleteGrowing up, I never really thought of myself as creative because even though I did enjoy drawing, building with Legos, making things out of playdoh, and making up stories when playing with dolls or stuffed animals, I felt like I wasn't as good at them as my friends. I didn't think that I was "thinking outside the box" enough to be truly considered creative. I enjoyed reading "Creative Teaching and Teaching Creativity: How to Foster Creativity in the Classroom" because it said something that I have discovered as I have gotten older - to be aware of our own limiting misconceptions about creativity and it is not something that only a few people possess! Creativity can look like many different things and varies from person to person. I think I am creative in the way I get my four and five year olds at church to do things, in how I present content or introduce an assignment, as well as using problem solving to get around the daily struggles of things never going exactly how they are expected or planned. I also try to make sure I give students a chance to explain how they solved a math problem, share a sentence or story they wrote, or show a drawing or other creation as a way to celebrate their own thinking and creativity, while also sharing it with others. Recently, our 3rd graders did a narrative writing about someone receiving a special gift. They were so proud of their writings that I let them share with the class and it was a win-win! They proudly read their own writings, they were able to congratulate their classmates on their writing, and they gave feedback to their classmates on what they liked about their story (who the characters were, what the gift was, who gave and received the gift,etc).
ReplyDeleteWe always think artistic people are the creative ones, but like you mentioned problem solving in a different way is creative or being innovative in your tactics to get little ones to do something is creative.
DeleteAlso, celebrating even the smallest creative ways encourages more along the way.
Anna;
DeleteI also think you are creative with your approach and response to people. You have such a fun and creative way of dealing with students! That's why you are the "best teacher in the world"! :)
Anna, your creativity comes out so much in our Parent Involvement Team! You always have some way of taking the out of the box ideas and complex planning then adding the necessary components to it to make it fit in our . . . dare I say . . . oddly shaped box?!
DeleteI second so many of the things that have already been stated. I love graphic design, I love to write. I don't know that I naturally think of myself as creative, but the more I read, maybe I should. I think the most important way to foster creativity in the classroom is to create an environment where students feel safe to fail. This can be really difficult in today's classroom with standardized testing, report cards, and other high stakes elements. But I certainly model it! lol. We try many new tech tools in my room, and the kids are use to things getting blocked by the county, me not knowing exactly how to use it, and otherwise sometimes being a hot mess. And that was a growing point for me. I've always loved integrating technology, but I use to think I had to know exactly how to do everything before I ever showed it to the Ss. I don't. It works better when I don't. They teach me, we learn together, and they see that I mess up too. Another really great thing I've implemented this year... it's tiny, but has made a huge impact. I don't just move to the next person when someone is unable to answer a verbal question. After I cue them if they are still struggling, we move to, okay, what can you tell me? This has definitely led me to discover many, many new things. Everyone knows something!
ReplyDeleteI agree that using technology and using it in different ways that works of our students at Empower is definitely being creative! We have to act and adjust daily! We have transitioned into a program that benefits our students. We have Empowered ourselves and assisted our students to Empower themselves with creativity!
DeleteHeather South
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the article, I believe creativity has to do with lots more than being musically inclined or artistic ( both of which I am lacking) One of the greatest ways I think I have been creative in education is buidling relationships with students. Creativity is derived from problem solving and thinking outside the box , and both of these skills are needed to build relationships with students and teachers. We are met with multiple personlaities and situations that can happen quickly and suddenly during a day or even an hour. Having the ability to foster flexibility and positivity even during stressful time can take some amount of personal creativity . The article referenced that creativity enhances learning by increasing motivation, deepending understanding, and promoting joy. I think when we build positive relationships with our students in creative ways, this will allow them to be more creative and intentional with their own learning and academics.
I too believe creativity is much more than having artistic or musical talents which I am also lacking! I loved how you tied being creative into building relationships with students. I agree that as teachers we do use our creativity to best reach our students and to develop those relationships. It is even more important since we are virtual to think of ways that are not traditional to grow and foster those relationships.
DeleteI think creatively throughout the day in my teaching . I often change materials and resources so that they are better adapted to the virtual learning environment. This year I have been doing it especially with the materials from GADOE with math. Many of the materials and resources have to be modified so that it is useful and meaningful to my students.
ReplyDeleteOops! This is me. I hit post before I changed it to my name.
DeleteCreativity really does come in so many forms! My first thought, like some of the others, was that I am not creative. Wrong answer! I am absolutely creative! My creativity may not be like others and that's okay. Creativity is a lot the same, but is also individualized. I think some creativity just might seem to stand out more than others. In everyday life we have to come up with new ways and strategies to make things flow the way we need them to. For example, running a household, working a job, taking care of two teens requires so much creative thinking. It wouldn't all "come together" so to speak without it. I feel this way when it comes to teaching our little ones. Being creative when teaching and making learning fun proves so beneficial. For example, during math one day with the first graders, we played a game where I would answer a math problem and they would be the teacher and tell me if my answer to the equation was right or wrong. They had a blast! They would think it was hilarious when I "purposefully" answered incorrectly. And they were quick to correct the answer! It was a different and creative way to engage them. This game had their full attention, and at this young age, that is not always easily accomplished.
ReplyDeleteCreativity is the very heart of our job as educators and especially at Empower! Creativity needs a positive and safe environment to flourish. We have that in our school. We have constant communication where we bounce ideas off of each other and end up creating outrageously innovative ideas that are not just talked about, but implemented to benefit our students. Everyone has a role in fostering this professional climate. I am so blessed to be a part of it!
ReplyDeleteUsing the qualifiers positive and safe are key. Creativity can look like chaos from the outside, but we strive to make sure each of our students (and each other) can be creative in a positive and safe environment. This will build confidence and the understanding that even when our first attempt falls short- we can reevaluate and try again!
DeleteMy creativity has more to do with problem solving and a lot of trial and error. I will attack a problem twenty ways before I find the solution that works for me. I tend to treat my students the same way. I want them to have ideas, test them out. I will give the basic knowledge then absolutely adore when they take it the extra step further. Collaboration is the heart of creativity. I try to foster collaboration in my classroom by allowing students to use their voice how they feel most comfortable.
ReplyDelete