- Students should be provided with a learning environment that is safe for experimentation.
- The learning environment must encourage engagement of all in the learning process, not only students but also teachers who should be seen as learners and as facilitators of learning rather than mere providers of knowledge.
- Students should be encouraged to develop real solutions to real needs in real time.
- Time slots for creative learning should be provided in the daily school timetable but not as rigid boxes of time may become constraints.
- Pedagogical approaches that encourage choice and diversity in learning should be implemented.
- Students should be set free to take risks with their learning. They should be motivated to celebrate wrong answers, to work on finding the correct ones with their experience.
- Open-ended projects should be encouraged so that students are able to pursue their passions.
- Learning Music should be promoted as it is considered as an outlet for creativity.
- Use creativity tools like playful games and visual exercises that can be easily used in the classroom to stimulate creativity and innovation.
- Teach concepts and ideas to foster deep understanding and to overcome the fact-based and rote-oriented nature of standardized curriculum.
- Reward discovery as innovation is highly discouraged by the system of assessment, which rewards the mastery of known information.
Students should be taught to tap into their creative potentials. Every student has inborn creativity but is creative in different ways and different domains. Helping students discover their unique creativities and learning, and how to apply that creative diversity to solve real-world problems should be the key goal.
Watch out for the next article of this series that will discuss about the second of the 4Cs, that is Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving. Share your views about teaching Creativity and Innovation in the 21st Century. The Comment Box awaits you.
