JOIN USWhy are schools are not producing more creative persons? The prominent question of our time seems to be how to develop and nurture creativity in educational environment. What is the role of teachers, school curriculum and the parents in improving creative learning?
In answering these questions, one must know that creativity is an integral part of the whole of intelligence. Most people think of creativity as a set of special individual characteristics, including aspects of personality, thinking abilities, motivation, and diverse thinking skills. But it’s good to realize the importance of environmental factors, such as family environment, schools and classroom atmosphere, as resources to facilitate a student’s creativity. Creativity may be classified performance wise as divergent and convergent in nature.
There is variety of methods in the creativity literature to develop creativity of the students in classroom environment. School curriculum and classroom teaching should be organised flexibly to foster explorative thinking. Teaching techniques that stimulate both convergent and divergent thinking are significant for awakening creativity in students. Classroom assignments should focus on insight learning. Teachers who are amenable to change and welcome divergent thinking themselves seem more effective in stimulating creativity in students.
Characteristics of creative students
Creative students are curious and in constant search of finding answers to questions and show interest in new things.
Creative students have extraordinary responses to ordinary situations.
Creative students focus on divergent thinking, that is seeking multiple and unusual answers and ideas for any problem.
They do something different about breaking through their habits and challenging their assumptions.
They are open and spontaneous in expressing of opinions. Often, their responses are unique and productive.
They are quick in generating ideas and thought process. Most of the time, their ideas and insights are correct solution to the problems.
Creative students have high intrinsic motivation and self-discipline; they are persistent and devoted to work.
They have high risk taking capacity and involve in adventurous tasks.n They are good at elaborating, adapting, modifying the original idea and exhibit good deal of imagination, daydreaming and fantasying. These students can alternate between imagination and fantasy and a rooted sense of reality.
They usually dream high and work towards achieving the goal, but their sequence of working towards the goal may not be systematic.
Creative students always stop the teacher with their unusual question, what if...questions are a need for their mastery.
They enjoy the friendship of creative peers, but when in need to complete the task they prefer to work alone.
Creative students seldom pay attention to the grade or rank; academic achievements may not act like motivators to them.
Fostering creativity
Everyone is creative, but not all get opportunities to develop or taught how to be creative. Helping them to develop creativity does not mean avoiding regular teaching or providing library membership and making them book worms. Every teacher and parent needs to understand the unique nature of each student. Opportunity for creativity can unfold unusual and novel ideas from students. Fluency can be improved by practicing constantly, like learning to cycle.
Investigation is one of the hallmarks of creative thinking. Exploring new avenue will surely cultivate research mentality in students rather than the bookish knowledge. Teachers and parents can use several methods to foster student creativity because creative potential is a vital aspect in admission procedures of many professions as well as in personal life where creative thinking and creation is the most required aspect of problem solving. But very often our teaching method emphasises the development of intelligence and neglects fostering creativity in students.
Teachers and parents need to model creative ways of thinking and different solution to one problem. Profile of creative people and innovators may serve as motivator to creativity. This will foster student-thinking and improve their creativity.
Support new and novel ways of thinking, and reward them for the creativity. Reinforcement method can significantly improve and encourage students’ creativity.
Accommodate students’ ideas and thoughts in classroom and decision making process. Consider their opinion and interest in helping them select their career oriented studies.
Allow them to be explorers when they are working on their assignments. Individual assignments based on problem solving would stimulate creativity. Successful solutions will always lead to new ways of solving problems.
Teachers should facilitate and allow students to be spontaneous in their response. Contribute information sources for students’ questions and just be available.
Encouraging interactive and dialogue method such as discussion and role play, apart from stimulating instruction, can enhance creativity.
Supply materials that will ignite student experimentation and thinking. Provide positive comment and increase acceptable solution. An encouraging atmosphere will generate the best results.
Allow trial and error method, many mistakes will provide right path to solutions. Tolerate mistakes and provide space for error learning.
Provide autonomy to energize student’s potential for creative production. Autonomy has a propensity to foster more individual freedom and expression of individuality. Democratic and supportive classroom atmosphere are contributors of student creativity.
Promoting diverse extracurricular activities such as college preparation, abstract concept development, depicting theories through painting can also develop creativity of students.
Teachers can provide complicated problems to creative students; they not only solve the problems but also pose the right solutions. In this regard, students will be more responsible for the problems they choose to solve.
Supply declarative and practical knowledge to students. Declarative knowledge can enhance creative thinking by simply providing factual information. Practical information can make available directions for strategic thinking.
Better understanding of creativity would increase creativity consciousness, throw light on creativity, and increase creative ideas and products. Parents, teachers and schools can nurture students’ creative expression and select manifestations of creativity. Today’s creative students can influence tomorrow’s societies to such a degree that societies may in time recognize and benefit in various ways.
Parents and teachers need to be aware of the traditional teaching method at the expense of creative thinking. Enormous change and development in art, science and technology have always been contributed by individuals who are adherent in analytical proficiency and creativity. Hence, parents and teachers need to unfold and foster students’ creativity.