I started my career in skill development and training and then moved on to school education. And now, as a teacher, I constantly think not only about my subject matter (social studies) but also how I can develop skills in my students, both in academics and life in general. I am currently teaching an elective to high school students on Knowledge and Skills and this semester we are looking at the four Cs – communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity. These are all skills. Of course, each has its own set of theories, frameworks, and principles. But in essence, these are things that we do, guided not just by knowledge, but attitudes and dispositions. This makes it challenge to teach these skills. Rather than teach, my objective is to start a conversating on the topic and get students to buy in to the fact that these skills can be developed if one makes a commitment to them.
One of the four Cs, creativity, is a key essence of human functionality. Every single person is creative. Yet unfortunately, many people simply think they are not creative. Perhaps it has to do with society or education systems, as Sir Ken Robinson said in his famous TED talk “Do Schools Kill Creativity?”. Ken Robinson defines creativity as the process of having original ideas that have value. Creativity is applied imagination. It is a process and a way of thinking and acting rather than an inherent trait. When I speak to my students about creativity, I set up the conversation in this way. Students often focus more so on the result than the process, and in the context of creativity, it can be counterproductive. Worrying about whether the final product is good or not hinders creativity.
Last week I had a class on creativity with my students. The structure of the lesson was quite simple. Frist, we had a conversation about creativity after which we do a series of different activities that stimulate and promote creativity. Then, we have a debrief, concluding that all people are creative, and we must believe in our own creative processes and, more importantly, make a commitment to it. Here is the lesson:
1. A short lead-in
2. Establishing objectives
3. Cloze activity on importance of creativity in different aspects of life
4. Discussion: Creativity is an in-demand skill
5. Discussion: Who is the most creative person you know? Are you creative?
6. Discussion: What is creativity?
7. Activity: Uses of a Paper Clip
8. Disucssion: Divergent Thinking (Fluency, Originality, Fluency, Flexibility)
9. Discussion: What is divergent thinking?
10. Activity: Uses of a Brick
11. Debrief: A commitment to creativity
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