Inspire Creativity in Learning
There is so much potential in sparking creativity in our classrooms, and any one of us can foster the conditions to inspire the imagination to take flight. If we want our learners to flourish, creating the conditions for creativity is essential. Not limited to the arts, we can inspire creativity within all subject areas to deepen learning through making unique or personal connections. Creativity creates new knowledge that may not have existed. Our learners need to be creating- the process sparks us to synthesize information, bringing joy and meaning to their learning experiences.
5 Simple Strategies to Inspire Creativity:
Read, Ponder, Discuss: To foster a culture of creativity, read books with purposeful strategies to get learners to think and discuss. A few of my favorite books to spark creative thought are What Do You Do With an Idea, Imagine That, If I Built a House, and Made by Maxine. Select a book to read aloud to your class and as you read, have learners jot down their ponderings that they can discuss afterward. Learners can share ideas, thoughts, wonderings, or any connections. Class discussions will likely be richer when learners can process their wonderings before engaging in dialogue.
Yes, and…: When facilitating discussions in the classroom, model the use of ‘yes, and…’ when seeking to get the creativity flowing. Classroom discussions often focus on sharing out or explaining why we agree or disagree. Modeling and inviting others into a ‘yes, and…’ conversation allows ideas to build upon one another- and it’s okay if some seem outrageous. If we want creativity to flow, sometimes humor or out-of-this-world ideas are just the things to spark creativity. You might be interested in using Project Zero’s Thinking Routines, too.
Wonder wall: A wonder wall can be anything that suits you and your learners. In my class, it was a simple whiteboard where students could post sticky notes, sharing their thoughts. Sometimes one wonder created five new wonderings. This simple concept would encourage learners to discuss new topics, explore, and research. My favorite part that stemmed from our wonder wall is that students often wanted to share their findings with peers, turning them into teachers! You can get started using this Wonder Wall created in Canva for Education.
Choice in Demonstrating Learning: My favorite way to encourage creativity in the classroom is through empowering student choice in how they want to demonstrate their understanding or learning. Intrinsic motivation skyrockets when learners have ownership over what they’re creating. Consider a lesson or unit you teach and how students can uniquely demonstrate their understanding. For example, students can show their thinking through a presentation, talking presentation (featuring a recording of themselves), video, infographic, etc. My favorite edtech tool is Canva for Education, as it’s a one-stop shop for both students and teachers when it comes to creation. The best part is that learners have customizable templates at their fingertips along with images, graphics, video, and audio plus, it’s incredibly intuitive. You can explore student projects to inspire ideas in this Wakelet.
Promote Curiosity: We often share problems or scenarios with our learners to find solutions or ideas. In my book, Take the L.E.A.P. Ignite a Culture of Innovation, I share how we can inspire our learners to be curious as problem finders. What problems exist through their eyes? Through the eyes of their family, community, and even the world. From there, we would leverage Design Thinking to formulate questions and take a human-centered approach toward generating ideas and designing prototypes. If seeking to start on a smaller scale, you can always utilize a simple, See, Think, Wonder or Think, Puzzle, Explore shared here in this free resource.
Every child deserves opportunities to nurture creativity and big ideas, and there are countless ways we can incorporate experiences into learning. If you’re interested in digging deeper into this topic, you might want to read about how we can nurture creativity and big ideas in our learners. What will you do this year to inspire creativity, leading to joy in your school and classroom?
