Teaching Creativity

By: Tatianna Portillo

Learning Targets

Future educators will be able to know what teaching creativity means.
Future educators will be able to understand the importance of teaching creativity.
Future educators will know adequate ways to teach creativity.
Future educators will have a student-centered classroom

Lets talk...

Imagine walking into a classroom where every child is acting, dressed, writing, and talking the exact same way. Every child is acting like a complete robotic machine with no sense of interest or enjoyment of anything. This is the result of zero creativity inside a classroom. Now imagine a classroom filled with children wearing different colors, patterns, designs. Imagine a classroom where there are children laughing, talking, singing, enjoying a space where they feel they can be completely themselves. Creativity should always be encouraged in every subject. Telling a student to draw a shark underwater, and a child draws exactly that but adds a cowboy hat holding onto a stuffed animal? That is the prime example of having a creative mind that should be praised. However, some students might just draw sharks in the water, and that's it... So how, as teachers do you take a child's mind and encourage creativity?

So, how do we as teachers teach creativity?

As teachers it is our job to set an example for all the children we meet. We don't want to go into a classroom boring and plain with one mindset. It first starts with us. We must change our own minds to be creative in every aspect of life. We should not limit ourselves to the "normal" ways of doing something.
"Creativity is NOT the opposite of discipline and control. " Just because you have a creative class, it does not mean that your classroom is out of control or don't follow directions. Creativity requires critical thinking along with high levels of skills.
Examples:

Set aside time for journaling- this could mean having 5 minutes at any time of the day to write/draw their emotions and what they are feeling.

Move around- No one wants to be sitting in a room for 6+ hours straight. It is important to encourage movement . Creativity relies on the stimulation of senses!

Encourage Questions- Let their brains think! Let them ask as many questions as they want. Its important for the students to know that no question is a dumb question!

What is creativity.mp4

QUESTIONS

What is a student-centered classroom?

A. Teacher says what is important

B. Student construct meaning.

C. Student sits and listens quietly in a chair the whole class.

You walk into a classroom and see children in groups collaborating and speaking their thoughts out loud, This is a classroom that demonstrates?

A. Existentialism

B. Creativity

C. Student-centered

D. All of the above

Conclusion

Creativity does not have to be limited to the art room. The world does not need any more boring doctors, scientists, managers, presidents, and yes, teachers. We, as future educators, must remember that we are preparing our future. Why would we prepare our future for the worst? You never know what your students just might become. Never hinder a creative mind. Creativity is allowing freedom and encourages students to be different. We as a society must continue to strive towards creativity and never allow the world to be boring. And no one has more power to change that than the educators of the future themselves! Let us fill the education system with creativity!

answers

B 2.D

References

Bartel. 2014. ‌Teaching Creativity. (n.d.). Www2.Goshen.edu.

https://www2.goshen.edu/ ~marvinpb/arted/tc.html

Gibson, R. (2010). The 'art' of creative teaching: Implications for higher education.

Teaching in Higher Education, 15(5), 607-613.

MindShift. (2015, April 22). Sir Ken Robinson: Creativity is in everything, especially teaching. KQED. Retrieved March 14, 2022, from https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/40217/sir-ken-robinson-creativity-is-in-everything-especially-teaching

YouTube. (2014). Sir Ken Robinson - Can Creativity Be Taught? YouTube. Retrieved February 22, 2022, from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlBpDggX3iE.

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