All teachers are compelled to adhere to a curriculum exactly like all students must take the same tests and learn the same things. Even if the teacher may have a different approach for each of his students, at the end of the day, the same things are expected from every student. Norms usually damage the creativity of the students, so the purpose of the teacher is to feed the student’s creativity, by different means, in order to keep it alive.
If you stop and think about it, a teacher’s role is pretty difficult. They need to respect the system, and at the same time nurture the creativity of their students. The weird thing is that we don’t realize how important the job of a teacher is. What can be more important than the people who mold the minds of our future generations?
In today’s article we are sharing with you 6 ways in which you can strengthen the creativity of your students:
1. Assign Free Thought Projects
Assigning structured essays to your students may be extremely inefficient if you wish them to develop their creativity. Even if writing structured essays is a skill that must be acquired, the whole point of an essay is to deliver meaningful ideas. So, by allowing your students to write free thought essays, you will give them the chance of improving their creativity.
Or, you could just assign them a topic like mythology and let them write freely. Some of them will write an essay, others will make a PowerPoint presentation, and others will write a short story. There are unlimited possibilities when you let creativity do its thing.
2. Decorate the Classroom in a Creative Way
Very few teachers focus on the influence which the environment has on their student’s mind. Where do your students spend the most of their time? In the classroom, that’s right. So, by changing the environment into something that emanates innovation, your student’s creativity will improve dramatically.
Their creativity is not the only thing boosted by a colorful environment, but their productivity as well. Pick a day and let your students decorate the walls, the furniture, and let them choose the colors they want. You can bring flowers and even a small pet. Turn the classroom into a living organism.
3. Implement the Divergent Thinking Method
There are two ways in which you can solve a problem:
- Convergent thinking – This kind of thinking is used for standardized tests and official answers. There is only one correct answer. This way of thinking doesn’t encourage creativity at all.
- Divergent thinking – This way of thinking lets you explore all the possible answers or solutions. It’s the perfect way to develop your creativity. Asking questions like “How the world would be in 100 years?” Is a question that can be answered in a thousand ways and it’s a question that encourages discussions and contemplation.
4. Watch Ted Talk’s in Classroom
Using Ted Talk’s to arouse the creativity of your students represents a great idea. Assign a certain day every week that is intended for Ted Talks. These talks are performed by innovative people, so your students may even find a role model among these speakers.
The speakers are from different cultures and each of them has its unique way of expressing unusual concepts and ideas. Your students can learn a lot from these people. Therefore, I advise you to implement this activity in your weekly schedule.
5. Let Your Students Work on their Passions
A former teacher from Best Essays told us that by letting the students focus on their passions while being in school, they will start enjoying school instead of hating it, and their creativity will expand considerably. Even if the curriculum won’t allow you to let your students mind wonder, try to find at least one hour/week when they can do exactly that.
Let them create presentations about their passions, and let them present it in front of the class. You can even give them a grade for their work. This is a great way of creating a closer relationship with your students as well.
6. Working in Teams
By letting your students work in teams, you offer them the chance of creating close friendships and learn how depending on each other feels like. Let them have fun and enjoy working together. However, you should always ask for feedback in order to keep them on track.
Just give them a deadline to prepare to present the project and nothing more. After the presentations, you can create a blog and upload all the presentation on it. So, all the students may see the work of all the teams. Working in groups will make your class more united and kinder to each other.
Takeaways
The purpose of a teacher is much more than shoving text books down the student’s necks. Their role is extremely important. Their intellectual and creative capacities should rise together. Both are vital for a healthy development of the student psyche. Use these methods to help your students become worthy human beings with a mind of their own.
Karen is an intuitive and creative thinker who is able to connect various thoughts into a single theme. Karen loves to stay up to date on the latest educational trends. She finds her inspiration in reading and travelling and she cannot imagine her life without writing.
