Creativity in the Classroom

Creativity in the classroom. We want to see that happen, but sometimes it may feel like curricular benchmarks don’t allow the time for that. Sometimes we may think we need to be creative or that creativity itself needs to be taught. Creativity is one of the 4 C’s, the four skills determined as most important to prepare students for our global society by the Partnership for 21st Century Learning and the NEA. It’s a part of our Vision for Digital Learning. That doesn’t mean that we need to be the creative masterminds; we merely need to allow the opportunity and use of the tools which bring out the creativity in our students.
 
Sir Ken Robinson takes the position that we “teach for creativity.”  He says that “the minute you get people to think visually—to draw pictures or move rather than sit and write bullet points—something different happens in the room. Breaking them up so they aren't sitting at the same desk and getting them to work with people they wouldn't normally sit with creates a different type of dynamic” (Azzam). He proposes that we encourage experimentation and innovation, that we don’t provide the answers, but rather provide our students with the tools to investigate and demonstrate their learning.
 
We have digital tools in our classrooms, in our hands, to help reimagine learning experiences. These tools are the perfect facilitators for encouraging creation, collaboration, innovation and the means for demonstrating understanding.

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Azzam, Amy M. “Why Creativity Now: A Conversation with Sir Ken Robinson.” ASCD, vol. 67,
no. 2, Sept 2009, http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept09/vol67/num01/Why-Creativity-Now%C2%A2-A-Conversation-with-Sir-Ken-Robinson.aspx.

Juliani, A.J. “21st Century Skills Have Always Been ‘Needed’ Skills, But Now We Need Them More Than Ever.” Let’s be intentional about innovation. 5 February 2017. http://ajjuliani.com/are-we-waiting-too-long-to-give-students-a-choice-in-their-learning/.

National Education Association. Preparing 21st Century Students for a Global Society: An
Educator’s Guide to the ‘Four C’s.” http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/A-Guide-to-Four-Cs.pdf.

Office of Educational Technology. “Future Ready Learning: Reimagining the Role of Technology in Education.” Version 1.1, January 2016. https://tech.ed.gov/files/2015/12/NETP16.pdf.