ASCD Article on Creative Skills

ASCD's Education Update had a great article in their December issue on developing the creative skills in our students in order to prepare them for the 21st century. I was glad to see them recognize that creativity is interconnected with inventive thinking. The article talks about how many of the jobs our current students will hold in their future do not exist yet. Many of these jobs will require them to think creatively in order to solve problems that we haven't even identified yet. To do this, we must teach our students to be inventive, imaginative, and risk-taking. The article mentions three main ways to get started.

1. Model Creativity - Create cross-curricular units, give kids opportunities to use creative tools to solve problems and communicate learning.

2. Use Mistakes as an Opportunity to Learn- We need to encourage students to take risks. We need to send a clear message that mistakes are not a bad thing. Mistakes lead to new learning.

3. It doesn't have to take a lot of time- The article suggests you can do it in 5 minutes a day.

So, start thinking about your own classroom. Are you developing creative thinkers? What can you do to increase your students' opportunities to think imaginatively and problem solve creatively? I'd love to hear your ideas!

http://www.ascd.org/publications/newsletters/education_update/dec08/vol50/num12/Developing_Students%27_Creative_Skills_for_21st_Century_Success.aspx

Image Credit: http://www.brainboxx.co.uk/a3_aspects/images2/thinkskill.gif

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