The Importance Of Creative Thinking In Education

Are we underestimating the importance of creativity? Many times children are not encouraged at home to be creative, either because their parents restrict their ideas, fill their decisions with pessimism, or simply do not pay attention to this matter. However, creativity is a skill that makes the human being flexible and resourceful as well as helping them see problems differently and identify solutions more easily. Many times education will directly contradict creativity. It destroys the innovation of ideas, and stifles the imagination, while claiming it is “teaching.” Sometimes entering a classroom becomes the closest thing to entering a time machine since our teaching methods differ very little from those of ancient Rome over 2000 years ago. In Ted Talk “How Schools Kills Creativity” by Ken Robinson and the article “Let Teenagers Try Adulthood” by Leon Botstein, two different opinions about the current educational system are presented. While Robinson believes that the schooling system should work to promote creativity, Botstein says that the concept of a high and middle school is useless and should be abolished. However they both agree on reform. As a parent, I have always been concerned about my daughters’ education, and have always believed, like Robinson and Botstein, that our educational system needs a change.

Creativity is an abstract concept that is crucial as part of our advancements of mankind whether that be in the scientific fields with new inventions and research or in the artistic fields with new paintings and amazing portraits, but most people do not understand that the gift of creativity can be a crucial source of innovative ideas. As a result of the need of creativity, schools must include creativity as part of the daily curriculum that students learn. Students already spent seven hours a day at school, exposing them to a class that helps them efficiently and correctly use creativity would be beneficial to not only students but to all members of society. Places of education such as high schools must include classes in creativity in order to create

Education always plays an important role in enabling people to enter society knowledgably and with good skills. People keep learning from cradle to grave in order to horn their skills of thinking creatively as one of the key factors for success. They are conventionally trained by their school professors even from preschool period. However, the most reasonable time to learn is the high school stage when students' brains are significantly developing ('Thinking skills' 2003). This essay, therefore, will argue the idea that schools should be active in teaching students creative thinking skills because of the good educational background itself and the skills acquired will be

Creativity is defined as the ability to produce new and unique ideas that diverge from established customs and norms. Over the years, however, it has diminished greatly in today’s society. From a young age, schools as well as some business force people to learn certain skills in order to please others. For quite some time, colleges based a student’s intelligence on their GPA rather than creative abilities. Those who are creative are restricted in their abilities; it is acceptable for a mathematically inclined person to lack artistic skills, but heaven forbid a creative student find a science based class challenging. Currently, Academy School District 20 has not implemented a creative thinking class in Liberty High School. I believe we should include such a program, seeing that creativity in students continues to weaken nationwide. By requiring students to think creatively, we can encourage students to innovate, grow, and learn.

The beauty of creativity is that it is abstract, yet ubiquitous: in art, music or how one decides to compose an essay. However, creativity has recently been declining among the human population. According to an article, named, “The Creativity Crisis,” by Newsweek.com in July 2010, authors, Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman, state, “the Torrance Test … indicates that the public’s “creativity quotient” has steadily crept downward since 1990” (Prompt 1). Bronson and Merryman report that the test, which evaluates one’s creativity, had been dispensed to myriads of people across the globe, and have concluded that creativity has been slowly diminishing. Kyung Hee Kim, professor at the College of William and Mary, also comments that this is most prevalent and grave among students from kindergarten through sixth grade (Prompt 1). Consequently, society, or in this case, the world fears that current students and future generations will not be nourished with the creativity required to thrive as individuals, affecting the world as a whole. Ultimately, this poses the question whether a creative thinking class, which solely focuses on the education of creativity, should be taught in the school. This school should impose a creative thinking class, due to the fact creativity is a vital element for the future and is the solution to the creative crisis.

“ Students do become behaviorally, emotionally, and cognitively involved in the learning activities their teachers provide (e.g., write an essay, solve a math problem), and their extent of effort, enjoyment, and strategic thinking does predict important outcomes, such as achievement. But students also do more than this. Students also, more or less, proactively contribute into the flow of instruction they receive as they attempt not only to learn but also to create a more motivationally supportive learning environment for themselves ( Bandura,

In this age of high-stakes standardized testing the idea of creativity in the classroom has become less and less popular. Susan W. Cress and Daniel T. Holm present a compelling case study for keeping creativity in the classroom in “Creative Endeavors: Inspiring Creativity in a First Grade Classroom” published online April 1, 2015 in the Early Childhood Education Journal.

Educators throughout the nation have become frustrated with the demand of how to encourage and motivate their students especially those that are not prepared academically and socially. In this case a student will generally display disruptive behavior, a lack of interest, and unrealistic ambitions. Once an educator is able to identify the different factors that affect a student’s motivation along with a few helpful strategies he or she will be able to create the educational motivation needed for effective student learning.

Current research on young adolescent student motivation shows that the teacher must; make the lesson connect to the outside world as much as possible, let the students decide where they sit or what project to work on, guide the student rather than tell them the way, and be someone the student can trust and depend on. Teachers must motivate their students to become better and more engaged within the classroom by using techniques that allow the student to develop their own sense of motivation.

A smart man said “Creativity is as important as literacy and we should treat it with the same standing.” (Ken Robinson-“Do schools kill creativity?”). There are multiple studies on how creativity helps improve a student’s mind. Project based learning is a huge creative booster for students. A math teacher from California uses projects to do math instead of using the text book. From doing this, she’s had more students pass her class then from when she was teaching straight from the text books. Instead of having standardized tests, using more creative techniques for students to enjoy the learning they’ve done and for them to show the higher officials what the students are learning. Creativity is the process of turning real world problems into an understanding by extending the minds cognitive processes. In Alabama, kindergartners are studying different ways to be creative.

Although creativity is not seen as salient in America, it is critical to the stability of progress and resolution of problems; therefore, adults must provide children with more opportunities to innovate.

I enjoyed reading your post and learning more about how you conduct language assessments on the students. I am doing a research paper on the Creative Curriculum in another class and have found it very interesting. The Creative Curriculum “is an early childhood curriculum that focuses on project-based investigations as a means for children to apply skills and addresses four areas of development: social/emotional, physical, cognitive, and language” (“What Works,” 2013).

I chose “Sparking Student Creativity” by Patti Drapeau as my choice book. I was unsure about what book I really wanted to read because if I am not completely interested and involved in the book it is hard for me to read. I was searching for an hour online until I found this interactive visual book about ways to promote innovative thinking and problem solving in the classroom. I really loved every aspect of this book she used many of her own skills and experiences to craft a novel that was realistic for modern teachers. Throughout the first chapter and the entire book she focuses on the fact that teachers are more interested in scores and common core than motivating their students. Ever since I wanted to become a teacher I told myself I would make learning enjoyable and exciting while motivating and helping my students. When I first took this class I thought I was not creative but Ken Robinsons quote form his book “Out of Our Minds” really stuck with me throughout this semester “there is a lot you can do to help people become more creative…when people say to me they are not creative, I assume they just have not yet learned what is involved". Correspondingly Drapeau states in the first chapter that “…classrooms seem to be missing creativity: creatively questioning to spark student inquiry and hooking the students interest…” (Drapeau 2014). Throughout the whole book she touches upon topics such as creative problem solving, imagination, and creativity and the common

This Ted Talk lays out an argument that creativity is not only severely lacking in modern education but that it has been systematically marginalized by society during and after the industrial revolution. The speaker also contends that encouraging creativity in contemporary learning will enhance society in yet unknown ways. He reinforces his ideas with very poignant stories that show the inconsistencies with thinking on creativity versus reason and logic.

Change, creativity and innovation are essential elements for survival and growth of an organization. Creativity is vital for the birth of fresh and beneficial ideas. Creative thinking allows groups and individuals to solve problems or stimulate to think differently in order to bring forth fruitful ideas. The above mentioned creative thinking enabled our team of six different personalities to come together and implement a plan to solve a complex problem in a hospital. Our assigned task was to recommend a plan in order to alleviate hospital readmission among elderly population within thirty days of discharge. In this paper the author is narrating the team dynamics, functionalities and personal competencies in the process of recommending a change in the system. As a member in the innovation leadership team the author is also reflecting on the assessment, capacity for innovation in the organization which is the hospital where the team is assigned.