Creativity is the "purposeful creation of ideas or products that are novel or unique and have value or significance" (Gini-Newman & Case, 2015, p. 51).  

  "Teaching creativity is not an option; it's an absolute necessity." (Robinson, 2016, 2:54)

"Creativity is the greatest gift of human intelligence." 

(Robinson, 2011, xiii)

Creative thinking + Critical thinking + Collaborative thinking = MAGIC

• "Effective or quality thinking as a composite achievement" (Gini-Newman & Case, 2015, p. 46)

• All three of these kinds of thinking are "profoundly related" (Gini-Newman & Case, 2015, p. 59)

• This is '3C Thinking'...

(Averill, 2021, p. 36).

Would you rather be an ant or a bee? How many ways can you use a paper clip? How many items can you create from this 0? What is the worst story idea you can think of? What is the greatest grade 8 book of all time? Did the Vikings live a good life? If aliens invaded, would they decide that humans are worth saving? What are all the things you love?

We can probably all imagine the student sitting at a desk during Writer's Workshop who stares blankly at a laptop screen or a piece of paper. This pupil wants to start writing, but often says, 'I don't know what to write about.' In my role as a grade 8 Art, English, Socials, and Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies (ADST) teacher for the past 26 years, I have had quite a while to think about creativity, most often the 'little c' kind used to generate ideas, solve problems, and communicate (Gini-Newman & Case, 2015; Starko, 2015). What I have realized is that grade 8 students can accomplish almost anything, as long as they trust their ideas enough to share them. I have realized that creativity in the classroom is connected intrinsically with motivation, joy, and learning itself (Wearing, 2015; Starko, 2015; Gini-Newman & Case, 2015). The student described above has not yet learned these things. In a nutshell, that is my job.

To be clear, in schools educators can't just wait patiently for the perfect conditions for creativity to arise "entirely spontaneous[ly] and involuntary" (Ghiselin, 1985, p. 6); we need to intentionally create those conditions and then light the spark. In speaking of creativity, the definition that resonates with me most is one that explicitly relates to the classroom and to students. Gini-Newman & Case (2015) describe "quality thinking" or "C3 thinking" as a "composite achievement" that is critical, creative, and collaborative thinking synergistically combined; it is "rigorous thinking that is both productive and responsive, done alone or in concert with others" (pp. 46-48). They go on to elaborate that "creativity involve[s] purposeful creation of ideas or products that are novel or unique and have value or significance" (Gini-Newman & Case, 2015, p. 51). Further verification is my agreement with their assertion that critical thinking requires creativity and creativity requires critical thinking (Gini-Newman & Case, 2015). An excellent case in point is the kind of design thinking that is taught in B.C.'s ADST curriculum (see image below). Nearly all of the thinking strategies and skills that I teach - creative, critical, or collaborative - can be related back to a model similar to the one shown at the top of this page.

Creativity can be uncomfortable (Ghiselin, 1985); in the classroom it requires patience, trust, and time to nurture (Gini-Newman & Case, 2015; FNESC, 2007). My own creative process, long-polished and crafted over many years, yet also still evolving, is much the same as that of my students. The difference is that I have already learned to trust it; they have not. I need to make that process explicitly visible to my 13-year olds, and in a friendly-enough way that they aren't scared to practice and mimic my own self-talk, habits of mind, and actions. So, here goes: when I am creative…

I have a lot of thoughts in my head. Some are important, like 'Cross the street now so I don't get run over', and some aren't ('Ziploc bags are useful.') But I am thinking those thoughts ALL. THE. TIME. When I observe the world around me, and pay attention to all the random, weird, and wonderful thoughts in my brain, it makes sense to notice those thoughts, especially when creative thinking is required, and to make them visible in some way. That doesn’t mean blurting out everything that passes through my mind, but it does mean acknowledging it, and recording those thoughts in some way. As a result, I brainstorm on paper: a web, a T-chart, a Venn diagram, a list, a messy train-of-thought scribbled draft, thought cards (or stickies), a sketch note. I try not to judge these ideas, but simply observe and record them.

Once my purpose is clear and I have had a bit more time to think, talk, walk, and question (which I often do with students also), I decide what to pursue. Sometimes a few of my collected ideas seem to connect and jump out at me. These I circle or highlight or connect with arrows. Other times I hate my list and start again. Sometimes part of an idea leads to another, or one idea flops and it makes me think of something new. Sometimes I don't know why I choose the idea I pick; it just feels right.

And then I get to work, planning, writing, painting, building, creating whatever the task requires. I will need to switch directions if that idea fails, or at least persevere to an end product. I judge myself, sometimes harshly, but soldier on. Sometimes the idea is transformed utterly before completion. I ask myself questions about what works and what doesn't, what is worth saving and what is garbage. And I ask other people to chime in all the time.

That is a big part of trusting my ideas, being willing to share them in some way, even when they are first germinating, with the world. I try to know my audience, and that is where building relationships comes to the forefront yet again. Once I have feedback, I rework and revisit and revise. I take pride in what I have done and share it again. And then, often, it is back to the 'drawing board' for one more iteration, or perhaps a new one every year.

Am I creative? Perhaps. It is interesting to me, however, that all of the steps I have just described relate to me in my role as teacher. Currently, it is in this area of my life, the professional one, that almost all of my creative energies are focused. It is this exact kind of process I try to model for my students, so that they can create new neural connections and "build the capacity for more flexible thought" (Starko, 2015, p. 7).  I am somewhat fearful of a time after retirement when I no longer have my classroom as a creative outlet, the place where my own creativity and a disciplined mind meet and overlap. In order to keep those neural connections strong, I guess I will need to take up oil painting or learn to play the piano? In the meantime, I will head back to class and start ideating all over again.

References

Averill, S. (2021). 8 ADST Design Thinking and Mindset. K-12 ADST. Weebly. https://k12adst.weebly.com/uploads/1/0/6/7/10674596/averill_8_adst_poster.pdf

FNESC. (2007). First peoples principles of learning. First Nations Education Steering Committee FNESC. http://www.fnesc.ca/first-peoples-principles-of-learning/

Ghiselin, B. (1985/1952) “Introduction.” In: The creative Process : a symposium. Ghiselin, B. (Ed.).
pp. 1-38. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Gini Newman, G. & Case, R. (2015). “Critical, creative, and collaborative dimensions of thinking, pp. 45-60, Creating Thinking Classrooms: Leading Educational Change for a 21st Century World. Vancouver, BC: The Critical Thinking Consortium.

Robinson, K. (2011). Out of our minds: Learning to be creative. (Chapter 1.) Capstone.

Robinson, K. (2016, May 18). Why creativity is important in education. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee5A5NSbMN4 

Starko, A. J. (2015). “What is Creativity,” pp. 1-24. Creativity in the classroom: Schools of curious delight (5 ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Wearing, J. M.  (June, 2015). Creativity and learning in four metaphors. Paper presented at the International Conference on Thinking, Bilbao, Spain.