Some the of the phrases we can use as Teachers to encourage creative thinking are:
Imagine if …..?
Why not ………?
What would you do if ………?
What can we do?
There are some great tools out there to spark creativity in students. One of these is:
School Retool http://schoolretool.org/
Share your ideas and resources here including any valuable links to resources.
thanks to covid MS Teams, Kahoot, menti meter, padlet and even facebook!
I would like to try some online delivery with Kahoot or Zoom as nearly every student owns a mobile phone. and these are more user friendly. thats what I Can do
Why not try Teams in a face to face classroom with a shared whiteboard that they can use to collaborate with.
Looking at the four questions, we have created blended classrooms, created video content for students to use outside of class, we put together on online tutorial class and have created blended face to face and online classes
Creativity keeps the learning space interesting and allows students to come up with all sorts of ideas, helps with problems solving, team building, teamwork and collaboration
absolutely – sometimes this can be challenging but thats why i love teaching!
Our way to help learning throughout the covid pandemic was to move our classes to online to try the continuation of learning
Mark – as much as Covid has been a curse, it has also been a blessing in creating new ways to deliver
COVID was a great way for everyone to gain new skills that can be valuable to take into future employment, not just the classroom. Our students and teachers gained from the experience.
the best thing to come out of covid – yes it was full on! but we did it and now have some many new skills!
I foster peer-to-peer learning in my classrooms. I encourage students who are at different levels to work together at different times as this assists both sides to benefit, as the proficient student reinforces what they know and the student who is trying to learn or catch up has a personal coach. Every student has something to teach: they could be tech savvy; up-to-date with the latest information on certain topics; have a great sense of humour etc.
Great idea Suzanne but can be problematic if one student has language difficulty and not keen to work with other student
I like that idea of peer to peer learning – and we learn more when we teach
Suzanne, in my ESOL classes I pair up students from different First languages to complete a task together. This way both of them try. and it works. Some times students at different proficiency levels are paired together to complete a task
Great resource that needs exploring and thinking about
Being creative during Covid and delivering classes online to adults has been challenging but pushing the students to engage with the learning activities using things like Whiteboard, Padlet, Forms embedding Youtubes into factsheets and other bits of tech has been a great mindwidening experience for all of us. Adding more of the ‘image if, why not etc’ will add a whole new dimension. I can’t wait to try it!
Agreed, this will be an interesting experiment
Jan, not only students but as teachers we had to adapt to the new modes of delivery during Covid 19 lockdowns
With Covid, we had to move our classes to online learning. This was especially difficult for students with low levels of English who didn’t have the technological ability to navigate the systems, or the internet at home or even a computer. We had to ask ourselves “what can we do”, and we were able to engage those who either did have the know how or the physical equipment to do classes on line, and for those who couldn’t, we replicated the lessons in paper form and posted packages to the students. We also asked students how they would like to… Read more »
I prefer hard copies to online versions personally. I spend up to 16+ hours per day with a computer screen and given the opportunity to read a paper based document is like heaven. Hard copy documents can be taken anywhere, and read over and over and no access to the internet is required. There are many benefits that will be lost when hard copies are not around any more.
What if students could listen to their English texts read by a current “star” in the era of the students? That way the students could connect with the reader and then hear their book – great for students who struggle to read.
yes it would
Really good idea, we use that and encourage students to listen to the content in immersive reader
Creativity in re-designing the classroom can result in ‘for and against decisions’ which can be a good learning tool and the need to accept choices which aren’t always plausible and wont work in this situation.
And allowing the students and opportunity to participate in creating their learning space is valuable too.
Why not remove all the desks in the classroom and ask students to re-design the room? It energises creativity with lots of discussion.
What if students were able to download text books and listen to them. Instead of using social media on the way home on the school bus they could listen to their books and so are able to leap ahead when asked to do homework.
Hi Maureen, great idea! I agree 100%. This would help them to remember information also. It could be similar to virtual reality learning that is now starting to become a new trend.
I love the idea of using the creativity starters in the classroom to generate discussion.
Me too. Really think it will engage my adult learners, and help them take risks with their learning.
These questions are very powerful – I will incorporate them into my classes and see where it goes.
I am going to do the same. Very powerful
Some interesting ideas on the School Retool site. I particularly like the idea of students teaching students. Students are a valuable resource; the creative challenge is working out how to combine two groups in a way that improves learning outcomes for students in both groups.
Great resource. Need to explore further and try some of the ideas.
I too love this idea. It would not only improve learning outcomes for both groups but would foster respect and tolerance and enable them to safely engage without fear of judgement or recrimination. They may even enjoy it!
that is a great idea. It’s said that the best way to learn something is to teach it. I’ve found that when I use this approach with my students, they feel very empowered.
To spark creativity, it is imperative to use open ended questions to encourage discussion.
Yes – watching and listening learners engage with each other constructively, discussing ideas and problem solving is a joy.
Not only do these questions encourage creative thinking, they also open up the communication and engagement with students
I feel that many staff were/are or in the dilema of “Use it or lose it” with creative thinking.
creativity is and must be exploited to make learning fun and also giving students the sense of achievement, why not? is so powerful , exploring other ways of reaching your goals
“Failure is the mother of Success. ” –It is also one of the core topics of Creativity.
If we accept students’ failures and encourage learners to learn from their failures, make sure it’s not “Life and death failure.” ——It is an important learning process.
Agree – failure can be our motivational driver and an important process to resilience.
I agree, failure can be a great motivator for students to strive for better outcomes.
I agree – fear of failure limits risk taking and ultimately learning.
I agree. I think we have all felt the fear this past year. I know that I have tried and failed a few times when grappling with online tech and trying to engage my students through the screen both with myself and the others in the class. But we have all gained.
THis year with covid we have been able to provide courses to students who live far away from the campus.
I agree with Ariane. Online learning is the “Blessing” from Covid -19 in 2020.
Most students on earth are forced to stay home and keep learning.
Even adult learners with limited IT skills are able to enjoy learning and chatting via Zoom or MS Teams.
It has shown that most students have choosen to become resilient and encouraged during COVID 19 lockdown.
When Covid require teaching and learning to move online, many teachers felt that students with low literacy levels would not be able to cope with the amount of reading, use of digital tools and absence of teacher support. Interestingly students fared much better than anticipated – with higher levels of participation and completion than previously experienced in face to face teaching. A more creative environment would have asked: What if students had to study online? Until we actually tried this we would not have known how well both students and teachers could manage this. Creativity is not just about ideas… Read more »
Learning online s allowed some students to explore their creativity in a less confrontational way and with less peer distractions.
We had this same dilemma – how would we reach the students who couldn’t access online classes? We were very surprised at how many did manage to get into the online classes, and were equally surprised by those who chose to receive physical packages instead, even if they could have accessed the online forums.
As I work and teach in the early childhood field, the question to spark creativity is I wonder where can we find that or I wonder what can we do about it… depending on the topic but I wonder is a good start for meaningful discussion.
We were lucky to have an alternate thinking Principal at our school in recent years (she’s moved on to running learning centres in Asia) and her efforts have started to become tangible – play equipment in the yard, painted and resurfaced sports courts and the acquisition of a house adjoining our small school yard. She said “what if …” and surveyed the students/staff and submitted proposals to the “governing education organisation” who said those proposals were the best they’d ever seen. It’s essential to encourage change or else staff will get stuck in the treadmill and perhaps leave the profession.… Read more »
One of my favourite sayings as a teacher is, “Mistakes are not failures, they are growth points.” If (when) you make a mistake it is important to model to your students how you will learn from it, rise above it or say ‘sorry’ and make amends if it has caused harm.
Good point Joanne. Modelling learning from mistakes and rewarding those who try to be innovative or creative is really helpful.
I’ve noticed that students are ok about teachers’ mistakes, as long as we own it. Unpacking why we made the mistake and what we learned from it encourages students to have a go.
I agree teaching programming I always start by saying you have to make heaps of mistakes that’s how you learn.
“Failure is the mother of Success. ” –It is also one of the core topics of Creativity.
If we accept students’ failures and encourage learners to learn from their failures, make sure it’s not “Life and death failure.” ——It is an important learning process.
for sure learning comes from making mistakes, as the saying goes failure is mother of invention
Great statement, I too, model mistakes, it is important to own any mistakes you have made and it is good for students to see that we are all human, as long as we learn from our mistakes.
Imagine If is great to encourage students to start thinking of ideas and rolling with these ideas which encourages creativity.
I think “Imagine if..” is a great starter too, especially when backed with music and images and perhaps a mediation prior to launching the “Imagine if…” statement.
encouraging creativity in education is very important to open up areas in the creative space that people never ventured because of sacred cow rituals, this taboo has to be broken especially with the newer generations where technology plays such a pivotal role
the question why not? really sticks with me. many students feel like they aren’t confident enough to take risks and tell you what their real ideas are. by posing the question why not? it helps students to break down that barrier and give them the opportunity to have a go. This question can be quite powerful in my opinion.
The question that resonates with me is What can we do? we often get stuck in what we have always done. what can we do with what we have invites creatively approaching problems/situations
exactly, giving that opportunity to think about something different rather than just relying on what we know.
Yes there can often be so much negativity we don’t focus on what we can do.
Sometimes just changing up the venue really sparks creativity. Taking the class outside, or to the library, or on an “inter-campus” excursion seems to really lift spirits and bolster creativity. Also, tying in specialised interests such as history or current news also sometimes prompts quieter members of the class to share opinions or show interest where often there is none or mimimal.
yes i believe this, being stuck in the same classroom can really kill creativity. changing up the scenery or working in a more authentic environment allows for students to be more open to new ideas.
I believe the same, changing the venue or changing the position of the tables/desks is enough to make classroom more inviting.
One of the best teachers my children had changed the classroom (year 5) into a news office – students became journalists, editors, photographers, marketers, bloggers etc, they had team meetings to plan stories, review progress and come up with new ideas. The furniture was moved around to replicate a workplace and walls became planning and display areas. All subjects were run in this new environment and the students thrived.
In the hospitality patisserie curriculum we teach in the higher levels, the students have to come up with their own ideas for cake ans also for artistic showpieces in both sugar and chocolate. In this scenario we always have these types of questions to challenge the status quo. As teachers we also take risks with new ideas and we problem solve together to come up with a good outcome. But as person in the VET sector, it is always a challenge to bring about a change because of the rigidity of the training packages. Cooking is creative but we tend… Read more »
Yes agree Mario – the structure of VET is very limiting and prescriptive. Teachers need to work hard to use these creative out of the box thinking examples within their sphere of control
To get learners to be more creative we allow them to work in groups in a flexible learning environment. I think to encourage creativity we need to give students options in how they present their learning and encourage risk.
Yes there is some safety in group work until people build confidence with risk taking
To get the learners to be more creative we have to facilitate their environment and give them the opportunity to think for themselves . in our kitchen environment in the hospitality sector we always encourage the students thinking by answering their query to why not for an example the student would like to change the flavour from Raspberry to passion fruit my answer will be why not and that depends on availability followed by what would you do if we don’t have this ingredient? another typical and frequent question we use is what can we do if we can not… Read more »
Open ended questions allow students to use their knowledge, skills and imagination by not limiting them to one correct answer. Students start to understand there are many possibilities to solving a problem and unlimited solutions.
I agree open ended questions are essential as they allow students to think outside the box and acknowledges there can be more than 1 right answer
I agree that a skilled teacher can use the right questions to lead and guide their students to all sorts of creative outcomes and possibilities.
I agree, I try to use open ended questions as much as I can to allow creative thinking.
I think in the VET sector we can use more of this type of question in our delivery models and assessment tasks.
Yes I agree this is absolutely the perfect educational environment to ask these questions to bring about change.
Our students, once enrolled, have access to Microsoft 365. Many did not have this on their home computers as they couldn’t afford it but on enrolment they get access which has been a great success for many of my students.
Microsoft 365 is a great tool for students and teachers and offers so many applications for modern learning. Loving Forms for creating online feedback forms and polls.
This is a great tool, Google Classroom is also very effective in fostering creativity.
I love these questions and have probably used them more often than I realise. These questions are extremely effective in a kindergarten setting, and I will endeavour to use them more in the upper primary. I feel like these questions can lead to student directed lessons through ‘sparking creativity’.
I think the VET sector can also benefit from asking these creative thinking questions to improve their internal processes not just for student learning and creativity
would love to think there could be an IKEA like moment, or challenge the conventional – DYSON like philosophy. This could bring about huge shift in the VET sector
I love to do question time with my kindergarten class. I ask them a ‘would you rather question’ and they have to answer and give a reason why. We get some really creative responses. I also use a drawing journal in my class. I do not mark this, but rather allow the students to draw and create freely. I think this is a great way for them to channel a world of different emotions and feelings. It encourages them to use art to help explore how they are feeling and what they are thinking.
great idea that sounds like fun i bet they like it too
I love the idea of a drawing journal! Definitely sparking creativity!
The wi-fi on the buses was an inspiration. I am a huge IKEA fan and thank the photographer for their ‘What if?’ question. The IBM culture seems so inspiring however it was obviously not sustained as I don’t hear much about them anymore, so it illustrates that we need to constantly evolve and change. It feels so satisfying to have a great question that the students respond well to and can open up so many avenues. It must be a priority to allow the process of creativity to flourish.
Yes I agree Josh, maybe the demise of IBM speaks more to a departure from creative thinking rather than a testimony to it?
I often use ‘See Think Wonder’ as a visible thinking strategy to get students to think creatively. This strategy is great to use with pobble365.com either before creative writing or as a class discussion activity.
Pobble has been a great tool to engage students in the creativity of the writing process. See think wonder can naturally happen in so many situations. It ensures that students are heard and can take a risk as there are no wrong answers. How do I apply this to more and more areas? I try to show various mathematical images and engage them in See Think Wonder too.
I love pobble365. I also love using picture prompts in general to help inspire the writing process.
I agree pobble365.com is a very simple and effective tool to get creativity and imagination going
Pobble is great! I like that you use the see think wonder visible thinking strategy with it!
I’ve never heard of Pobble! Thanks for giving me something to go look up and think about incorporating into my classes.
I think teachers use these sentence starters and more, more often than they realise. I think all student lead activities promote creativity. A school that was recently featured on BTN, had a group of students design a virtual tour of the school using Minecraft. A huge 10 week project with amazing outcomes for all involved.
I also saw this on BTN it was fantastic.
The excitement from some of my students was amazing to witness. We obviously need to engage with them. Many were saying playing all day on Minecraft how good is that. Why not change things up and give us the technology to experiment with this. This has encouraged me to take a risk and ask for this to happen. I took a risk in my first year of teaching and came up with a design your own iPad app project for a small group of kids and found this to be excellent. I need to embrace my former risk-taking freedom.
Yes. I saw this too. It also taps into the interests of many students.
these sentences are vital to critical thinking, and I agree that we use these sentences more often than we realise.
To promote new ideas, better collaboration and understanding in our industry (culinary Arts) it is very important for educators to ask these question to encourage and spark creativity.
Why Not?
yes, I saw this too and was great
I like the rethink about creativity being more than the “arts” sector. I think the more we use those 4 questions the more people around us will be creative and this is inspiring…what a snowball effect it could have ☺. This is a great example of doing something with “small steps” that could lead to big results.
Yes agree with the snowball affect, it takes a few people to be bold and change their own language and slowly it becomes the norm.
While on a professional learning placement I had a supervisor who would always ask her kindergarten students “what makes you say that?” I found that this was a really excellent (albeit simple) question to ask to get students thinking deeply about their motivation for making certain choices. I love using a range of these sentence starters as a springboard for students to take risks or think creatively in the classroom.
I love this questions to ask students. I’m trying it next week 🙂
I like these questions. Imagine if …..?
Why not ………?
What would you do if ………?
What can we do?
I liked the story about using the buses to help the students. We need to think more about what we have and how we can use it. Get the students to take risks and have a go, we can do things
differently.
I don’t think I’m very creative but maybe I am. I need to get beyond creativity being music, art and drama.
Sharon i think everyone is creative and it takes a little courage and exposure to new ways of thinking to maybe light that spark!
creativity is not just within the predictable realms, everybody is creative. It just manifests itself in different ways.
I am a creative person, have a penchant for innovation and love these questions … Imagine if …..?’, ‘Why not ………?’, ‘What would you do if ………?’ and ‘What can we do?’ I think, these are very important questions that educators need to ask themselves before every new year, based on the activities of the year before. Exploring new approaches to teaching, employing new methods of instructions and encouraging students to think for themselves is vital for a growing generation which we expect to succeed in life. Unfortunately, the contemporary educational system, academic management, the teaching community and students themselves… Read more »
I am always inspired by students who are creative and seek to find new and exciting ways. this thinking is very much tolerated in my classroom
I do get inspired by the students who are creative too, it is a wonderful thing to be inspired by a student who is trying to create something new as i would love to see the result and have more discussion on imagine if ? just love it.
All the questions to build creativity can be applied in the classroom –
Imagine if?
Why not?
What would you do if?
What can we do?
Most of these I have applied and have found the focused motivated student respond and contribute. Students lacking self-confidence need assurance that risk and failure will lead to creativity.
As a teacher I remember using a model of questioning called Bloom’s Taxonomy in a 1980s classroom. Its aim was to develop higher-order thinking and creativity in students.
I am one of those adults that say I don’t have a creative bone in my body. After listening to Michael I feel differently now and realise that actually I am quite creative in my ideas and practices. In the past I had often thought of creativity more in terms of art and performance. I associated innovation with science and technology without really thinking of the creativity associated with the innovation. I believe that all four creativity starters would be used regularly in primary classes for oral and written literacy and STEM activities. As adults we need to ask ourselves… Read more »
I agree Liz, I feel many adults feel as though they are not creative. I hear many adults say they feel like children are very creative and imaginative in comparison to adults.