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Encouraging Creativity in Teaching
Why is it important and how to do it
Each of us once met a talented, creative, ingenious person who is completely unaware of their skills and capabilities and has a bad image of themselves because of poor grades in school.
When you ask children if they are creative or what creativity is, their answers will mainly relate to their abilities and skillfulness in the arts, primarily drawing and music. Those who do not know how to draw very well or do not sing in a choir will often say they are not creative.
Imagine the amount of laughter and looks on peoples’ faces if you dare to mention creativity and, for example, language studies, mathematics or history in the same sentence.
Creativity is much more than sheer talent in arts
Creativity is a mental process that involves the creation of new ideas, concepts or solutions to problems. Creative thinking implies fluency, flexibility and originality in thinking, openness to new experiences and ideas, spontaneity, and focus on the process more than on its result.
The characteristics of creative people relate to the creation and deepening of ideas, openness, and courage to explore concepts and listen to their inner voices.
