If you ask a random number of students if they are creative, most will probably tell you that they are not. If you asked them who are the creative students they will tell you those that like art and music etc.
Drapeau, quoting Csikszentmihalyi, says there are two types of creative people. The first kind are the ones who come up with the big ideas and whose work leads to change. He calls them Big C people, the second kind are those that use creativity in their daily lives which he refers to a little C people.
Drape says that when students realize that creativity donate mean coming up with those big one of kind ideas they are more open to the fact that they can be creative and are willing to try creative type activities.
This requires the ability to take risks and to learn from your mistakes. Therefore as I have mentioned before creativity requires a growth mindset and those students with a growth mindset will be more engaged in creative projects.
Drapeau ( page 6) offers the following checklist to describe students who think creatively:
- " Express ideas other students don't think of
- Like to choose their own way for demonstrating understanding
- Ask questions that may seem off topic or silly
- Enjoy open ended assignments
- Prefer to discuss ideas rather than facts
- Prefer to try new ways of approaching a problem rather than the accepted way"
I would add
- Willing to take risks
- Sees failure as an opportunity for growth
- Sees the big picture when it comes to learning
- Is interested in knowing the how and why
Often by introducing creativity into our lessons and engaging the creative student we motivate and engage not only the students who are naturally academically motivated but often creativity sparks motivation and engagement in students who don't excel in the traditional academic classroom.
Drapeau make the following point:
"Scripted lessons are not motivating our students... Through creativity we can reach more of the learners more of the time. Creative thinking can be integrated into any content area - Sparking Student Creativity - P Drapeau
Creativity is what activates & inspires us to be our best...
ReplyDeleteI think we allow many barriers to get in our way when it comes to tapping in to our creative outlets... we blame time, energy, lack of inspiration, among a plethora of things that stop us from engaging and being innovative.
I have shared many times that for TOO long I disliked writing... it was such a painful process for me. I would avoid it at all costs. Fast forward to now... I blog multiple times a week and would be lost without this creative process to help me synthesize and process my thoughts. Blogging and writing is something that completes me.
Being creative requires us to be brave and bold... to be willing to venture off the beaten path and try things that can be scary and new. The best place to be adventurous is in a safe and caring environment. We need to cultivate this mindset in our schools.