Creativity in the Classroom

Creativity in the classroom can take a variety of different forms. Some have the misconception that this will indicate lots of painting, drawing and art work displayed across the room and a mass of glitter on the ground. However, creativity is so much more than that. The curriculum taught in our school intends to enable pupils to think creatively and critically by solving problems using prior knowledge, in order to create new and innovative ways of answering questions. This can only happen if the students are open to failure, have the confidence to persevere through problems and the independence of higher level thinking to succeed. We, as teachers, strive to promote this type of thinking in the classroom by putting students into a range of situations where they will need to think creatively and critically to find a resolution. Facilitation, not teaching, is keysince children can only learn this skill if they are given the opportunity to do so; not by watching someone else.

Students need to be using their creative skills across the curriculum: finding new ways to approach maths problems, scientific inquiries and even social problems within friendship groups. With a creative mind, children are able to confront their fears of failure and move into the deeper understanding of what it is like to not always know the answer straight away, but instead to seek alternative routes to success. Teaching creativity in the classroom gives the students empowerment over their learning and enables them to easily search for patterns, hypothesise and generalise in their discussions. We promote creativity by encouraging students to read daily, to persist through failure and through growth mind set training. Combined, this will facilitate our students to become more confident, assertive and independent both in school and throughout their lives.

Miss Natasha Lee
Year 5B Class Teacher