*Creativity is the ability to make something new* . This might be a picture, or a piece of music—but it might also be a new idea. *Creative thinking, therefore, is the ability to think differently*: to see a problem or issue from a new angle or perspective.Critical thinking is the ability to clearly and logically consider information that is presented to us. Creative thinking is about generating new, novel, or useful ideas.
*High scores do not necessarily equate to effective learning and the onus of education is being defeated in the competitive mad race for marks* writes AK Bakhshi
*Creativity is the most difficult thinking skill to acquire, and also the most sought-after*. We value it in our music, entertainment, technology, and other aspects of our existence. We appreciate and yearn for it because it enriches our understanding and can make life easier.
*Creativity always starts with imagination*, and history shows that *many things we imagine are later actually created*.
*Gene Roddenberry imagined the Star Trek flip communicators in 1966, and Motorola produced them in 1996*
*In the mid-1800s, Augusta Ada King envisioned a language for computing machines that didn’t even exist; today she is honored as the founder of modern programing languages*.
*creating is the highest order of thinking*, it should be in the *forefront of all learning environments* and an end goal. When students create what they imagine, they’re in the driver’s seat.
*Creative thinking involves students learning to generate and apply new ideas in specific contexts*, *seeing existing situations in a new way* , *identifying alternative explanations*, and seeing or *making new links that generate a positive outcome*.
The recently announced National Education Policy *(NEP) 2020* emphasises on the need to *shift focus from examination and rote learning to conceptual clarity*, *critical-thinking*,*problem-solving*,*innovation* and *creativity*
*Creativity is one of the most important human resources which* enable us to look past what exists and discover new ways of thinking*.
Nurturing creativity in our students is, therefore, the need of the hour and hence *our Hasti school* is trying to introduce major reforms* in our teaching learning pedagogy* .
According to a reliable study, *98% of the kids at the time of entering schools think different* but when they go through the education system, at the age of 25 *only 2% think different*. This happens so because from childhood *we provide ready-made answers to the questions* and hence strips the learners of their ability to think on their own* therefore
*at our Hasti school *we do not ask children to* *bring answers from home* as *home work* but instead *to bring questions* which we intend to discuss in class room and make children give answers differently this gives exposure to their-creativity* .
*The passive one sided teaching discourages questioning, discovery, experimentation and application in the classroom and thus draws them to rote learning* .
This situation is further aggravated by the misunderstanding that *good marks equate to effective learning* and the *onus of education is being defeated in this competitive mad race for high marks*.
*Creativity is not an injection which you can give to someone* . *For creativity, you need to create an environment for curiosity and a way to encourage students and get the best out of them* . Teachers can play the most important role in nurturing creativity among students. However, as the teachers themselves are mainly the product of the same old system which focused on rote learning, therefore they need to be massively trained in various ways to nurture creative thinking in students
*Some of the ways to nurture creativity amongst students include*:
1. *New teaching technology* *Students need to be encouraged to ask innumerable whys and why nots* . *Curiosity is the seed of creativity*
*Therefore students ,at our Public school & Jr.colllege are encourage to ask & to make more and more questions & thereby advocates & encourages curiosity and hence creativity*
2. ICT-empowered pedagogies: In this information age the teachers need to be empowered with the new ICT-empowered pedagogies such as blended learning and flipped classroom which can help meet the learning needs of the 21st Century.
3. *Experimental learning and exploration* There is an urgent need to shift focus from passive learning to experiential learning i.e learning by doing. As we have at our school regular students seminars .This approach is extremely effective in helping the students to grasp, explain and retain otherwise difficult concepts.
4. Focus on keen observation: Keen observation of the world around has caused many important breakthroughs in science and medicine and in the social and business worlds. Strong observation skills are found to be greatly linked to greater creativity,
5. Avoid excessive use of the internet: *One of the main reasons behind the lack of creativity in our students is the excessive usage of the Internet*. This has impacted adversely the generation of original ideas and plans.
6. Reforms in Assessment Pattern: Assessment drives learning. Special training needs to be given to the teachers through workshops in setting examination questions which test out of box thinking and hence creativity. Assessment process needs to be made more scientific to encourage multiple skills of the students.
7. Teaching beyond curriculum: *At least one lecture per week should be devoted to “teaching beyond curriculum”. In this lecture, students may be asked to decide what they will like to do* in one year or in one semester. This project may involve anything like *writing poetry, news report, general articles, scientific fantasies etc*.
*Imagination and creativity are the traits that fuel the future*. Both serve to inspire students and should be integrated into every part of learning. In planning and designing learning for students, this we know: Teaching students how to think is more important than teaching students what to think.
*There are various activities and work sheets* that if given to students individually or in groups/ bubble, will encourage them to think independently and creatively .
*Some such activities are given in our next blog*. please do read and record your impression and do share this to your colleagues and teaching community if you like.
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