Creativity is one of the most significant aspects of the day-to-day learning of students. It boosts up higher order thinking skills and encourages the formation of new ideas and perspectives. To teach creativity, one needs to teach creatively by putting
in efforts to bring out creative thinking in the classroom. Creative instructors need to know about their fields and know how to create an appropriate learning environment in order to instill elements of creativity in it. They should know when it is suitable to offer direct instruction and when the discovery is more important. There are several techniques to teach creatively, some of them are as follows:
Assumption–based reasoning: An assumption is an assumed hypothetical consideration. Assumption-based reasoning is helpful when you’re stuck in a thinking paradigm or have run out of ideas. Seeking out and addressing assumptions boosts creative thinking.
Brainstorming: It is a thinking process in which students develop ideas and thoughts of their own. They can keep on changing and improving them and develop creative solutions to a problem. Creativity is aroused in the initial stages of brainstorming and keeps on developing as the process goes on.
Concept Mapping: Concept maps help generate and communicate ideas and design complex structures. These can be used to resolve issues and it requires creativity by students to assess and develop solutions using them.
Role-playing: By participating in role plays, students can indulge in creative thinking, by working out their roles and can practice what they have learned to make it more interesting.
All these are general techniques which can be easily implemented by a teacher in the classroom. Apart from these, creativity can also be taught with the help of technology in the classroom. Technology should be integrated with creativity, such that the same materials that were earlier used in a classroom for teaching are now combined with technological aids such as sound, projected image and light to create an imagined environment so that children are totally engrossed in the experience. This enhances their understanding and they begin making links. We need to use ICT to create socially rich experiences, right across the curriculum. Teachers should be encouraged to use gadgets in computer science to develop the vision, imagination and creativity of students and need to get better at using electronic resources creatively to make learning and teaching more effective.
The duo of technology and creativity is dynamic and it will help you move forward with the changing times to reflect circumstances in the real world and to prepare students as citizens of the future. Technology and creativity go hand in hand, more than you might imagine. Students have technology at their ready disposal and they are already using it a lot in their daily lives. They are aware of technology’s facility and its creative potential and with gadgets they are at their imaginative best. Teachers can still hold onto their teaching values while embracing technology and promoting creativity in the classroom. They can imbibe new media into their lessons to make them more appealing and engaging and to make their overall teaching creative.
To study with technology, students should become further acquainted with the available technology. They should try to get familiar with the basics, for which they can browse online, or pop in at the store and ask for a full description and a demonstration of the latest in technology gadgets. That in itself will get them thinking and acting creatively. Creative teaching changes the overall learning experience in the classroom. The lessons can become highly effective and creative, once different technologies are incorporated into teaching. Mobile learning and Blended learning are other creative ways of learning with technology.
You can use a variety of media to save time and energy and indulge in a whole new set of creative activities in teaching. Keep yourself aware of the latest trends in technology, because new arrivals hit the market almost daily, which promise to bring in more creativity to teaching. Teachers need to model creativity for their students and should assist them in realizing their true creative potential, for this, teachers themselves need to be taught creativity and how to teach creativity in the classrooms. Teachers should develop their own creativity by fostering creativity consciousness, be involved in creative activities, learn creative thinking techniques and exercise creative abilities. Creativity consciousness involves being able to identify situations when a creative problem-solving approach may be more effective. It also includes an awareness of personality characteristics that enhance creativity such as, risk-taking, independence and curiosity.
Teaching Creativity also includes formative assessments and carefully constructed rubrics. Rather than a final grade, students should get regular feedback and constructive criticism from their teachers to measure specific aspects of their learning. Rubrics geared towards creativity need to be clear and based on learning objectives. Rubric writing with creativity as the learning goal often leads to professional learning.
Technical skills need to be acquired for successful creative teaching and learning. The duo of technology and creativity is necessary to achieve success in teaching and with this you will find that it is easier to approach your students’ present reality and to help them prepare for their future. Share your views, knowledge and leave your comments. The Comment Box is waiting.
