Creativity
Being able take opportunities, creating new ideas or products, leading others.
What is creativity?
Creativity is a complex concept which can be defined as the tendency or ability to generate multiple original and innovative ideas, alternatives, or possibilities rapidly and elaborate on them. The ideas, alternatives, or possibilities are viewed as valuable and meaningful by people other than the creator (Mumford, 2003; Restak, 2011; Sigelman & Rider, 2012). Some of the attributes of creative thinking include divergent thinking, imagination, cognitive flexibility, tolerance for ambiguity or unpredictability, intrinsic motivation, and enjoyment of things previously unknown (Restak, 2011; Sigelman & Rider, 2012).
Creativity can manifest in many different ways The literature on creativity generally distinguishes between ‘big C’ creativity and ‘little c’ creativity (Craft, 2001; Kaufman and Beghetto, 2009). ‘Big C’ creativity refers to intellectual or technological breakthroughs or artistic or literacy masterpieces, requiring significant expertise, dedication, and recognition from society that the product has value. Conversely, all people are capable of demonstrating ‘little c’ creativity by engaging in creative thinking. This type of everyday creativity might include arranging photos in an unusual way, combining leftovers to make a tasty meal, or finding a solution to a complex scheduling problem at work. Overall, the literature agrees that ‘little c’ creativity can be developed through practice and honed through education (Kaufman and Beghetto, 2009).
We have identified four key Core Areas within Creative Thinking:
- Economic and Social Entrepreneuralism
- Asking the right enquiry questions
- Considering and persuing novel ideas and solutions
- Leadership for action
Why develop creative thinking?
A fundamental role of education is to equip students with the competences they need to succeed in life and society. Being able to think creatively is a critical competence that young people need to develop – including in school – for several reasons:
Creative thinking helps prepare young people to adapt to a rapidly changing world that demands flexible workers. Children today will be employed in jobs that do not yet exist, using new technologies to solve novel problems and emerging challenges.
Developing creative thinking will help prepare young people to adapt, undertake work that cannot easily be replicated by machines, and address increasingly complex challenges with innovative solutions. Creative thinking helps students to discover and develop their potential. Schools play an important role in students’ development beyond preparing them for success in the labour market. Schools must also help young people to discover and develop their talents, including their creative talents (Lucas and Spencer, 2017).
Creative thinking supports learning by helping students to interpret experiences and information in novel and personally meaningful ways, even in the context of formal learning goals (Beghetto and Kaufman, 2007; Beghetto and Plucker, 2006). Student-centred pedagogies that engage with students’ creative potential and encourage exploration and discovery can also increase students’ motivation and interest in learning, particularly for those who struggle with rote learning and other teacher-centred schooling methods.
Creative thinking is important in a range of subjects, from languages and the arts to the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines. Creative thinking helps students to be imaginative, develop original ideas, think outside the box, and solve problems.
Creative thinking in the Classroom
A quick read on creative thinking in the classroom. Answering questions such as:
What internal resources do students need to think creatively?
What type of social environments support creative thinking?
What does creative thinking look like in the classroom?
Thinking-Outside-the-box.pdfGIoCT-Creative-thinking-report_Final 17 October 2022 (1).pdfCreative thinking in schools across the world:
A Snapshot of Progress in 2022
This progress report is the first of a series to be produced by GIoCT. While interest in creative thinking in schools is clearly growing across the world, detailed understanding of its implementation in educational jursidictions and, most importantly, in schools is hard to come by. Drawing on a range of published materials and on the insights of existing networks of schools and researchers engaged in creative thinking, the report offers a snapshot of where we are today. It is designed to stimulate thinking and encourage teachers, researchers and policy-makers to share their insights with us at GIoCT and more widely.
Daydream Believers Creative Thinking Resources
A brilliant bank of free online resources suitable for anyone looking to introduce creativity, critical thinking and problem solving into their learning space. Access flexible lesson plans, learn about our partner companies and create a link between teaching essential skills in the classroom with stepping onto the path to a successful career in the future.
A field guide to assessing creative thinking in schools_March2022.pdfAssessing Creativity
This short field guide has been written to help teachers develop their confidence in evidencing the development of creativity in the young people they teach. Their are practical tools on pages 44-75 of the guide to support teachers to teach creative thinking and develop learners who generate ideas and think critically.
