Creativity In The Classroom
In January 2010, I was asked to teach as an Adjunct Professor at a local community college. My eyes glistened after I learned that I would be interacting with design students teaching them how to effectively design for the web.
My Assumptions
- Students aspiring to reach a creative occupation surely have a heightened sense of creativity.
- Since majority of students require Graphic Design prerequisites they have already been taught brainstorming and other viable creativity techniques.
Reality Check
Creativity is an essential component within the classroom. It is the responsibility of the teacher to motivate and inspire such thought processes. The students simply perform to the expectation of the teacher, and if they are not empowered with the right tools, students will not be able to produce the intended work.
As Educators We Must Not
As educators we cannot kill creativity. To get an idea, here is a list I have compiled from my learning’s as ‘Creativity Inhibitors.’
1. Encouraging students to borrow ideas Vs. owning an idea
It is easy to find inspiration. It is all around us. However, looking at original pieces can also greatly influence how the student will produce his/her work. Look closely, and while they did not intend to mimic the examples, they most certainly did. In fact, I now ask students to find inspiration outside of the medium they are producing. Some students had a great amount of trouble producing original navigation menus. They setout to find other forms of design, and soon enough their projects looked similar to what inspired them. I asked the students to find inspiration outside the norm, as such, inspiration was found in streetlights, windows, and towels (random, but it worked).
2. Assigning Grades
I stopped grading all of my students work. In fact, I allow them to improve their work until they are at a 100%. I provide feedback but never tack on a grade to my critiques. Students are in the classroom to learn and if the student produces ‘A’ level work at the end, then as an educator my job is complete and the student has rightfully earned an A. I stopped assigning grades, and while I went against school policy, I have collected enough data to prove how these measures improved quality of work.
3. Giving Freedom With No Focus
Our day-to-day jobs fill a position that solves a problem. Why should it be any different in the classroom? Keeping assignments loose with no focus can dilute the quality of work and can cause students to feel lost. Direction is always required, with parameters and constraints. Problem solving is the key component to any successful career.
4. Making Suggestions Vs. Asking Questions
As educators it is easy for us to bluntly express our suggestions on improvements. This causes an inherent issue. Students become reliant on answers from the teacher, teaching them to not think for him or herself. I find it more beneficial to break the problem into more simplified forms and ask the right questions to get them to solve it. After all they are the creators and what they think is important.
As I continue my efforts as an educator, I am continuously observing my behavior and how that may affect the quality of work. It is our sole duty to motivate such students to produce work that makes us think ‘why didn’t I think of that.’ It starts with our approach.
Do you know of any creativity inhibitors? Comment on them below!
April 13th, 2010 at 11:21 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Creative Intellects. Creative Intellects said: Creativity In The Classroom – http://bit.ly/b66Nug [...]