The Creativity Crisis Part I

Researchers say creativity should be taken out of the art room and put into homeroom. The argument that we can’t teach creativity because kids already have too much to learn is a false tradeoff. Creativity isn’t about freedom from concrete facts. Rather, fact-finding and deep research are vital stages in the creative process. Scholars argue that current curriculum standards can still be met, if taught in a different way.

What’s common about successful programs is they alternate maximum divergent thinking with bouts of intense convergent thinking, through several stages. When applied to the everyday process of work or school, brain function improves.

So what does this mean for America’s standards-obsessed schools? The key is in how kids work though the vast catalog of information and a progression of fact-finding, problem-finding, idea-finding, solution-finding, and plan of action.

Excerpt from “The Creativity Crisis”, by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman,Newsweek. July 19, 2010

For further Goggling: Donald Treffinger and Treffinger’s Creative Problem-Solving model

Question: What do you do to encourage creativity in your classroom?