What students learn in a university degree should go far beyond technical knowledge.
In the times in which we live, any machine or artificial intelligence is capable of replacing us in that sense, so we should focus on everything that makes us unique and unrepeatable.
As, for example, our creativity and way of thinking.
That’s why the famous Power Skills are more relevant than ever and bringing creativity into the classroom is a good way to train them and give our young people all the tools they will need to get their first job after University.
What is creativity and why is important at University
Creativity is the ability to generate new ideas or offer different solutions to the same problem.
Experts say that it is a combination of intellect, imagination and the inputs each of us has received. That is why it is a competency that makes us unique. Because it is impossible to find the same combination of elements in two different people.
Incorporating creativity in the classroom will not only train this skill and improve the attention and interest level of students, but it will also give them the opportunity to develop many other Power Skills such as critical thinking, problem solving or communication skills.
In educational models that encourage creativity in the classroom, students go from being mere spectators or listeners to occupying a much more active role in which they are invited to explore their limits in a safe way, while they put into practice everything they have learned in the classroom.
This increases their self-knowledge, their self-esteem and their chances of becoming an innovative thinker in the future.
So, in other words, fostering creativity in the classroom not only contributes to the students’ thinking capacity but also their emotional development.
Now then, how can we apply creativity in the classroom?
7 ideas to encourage creativity in the classroom
Introducing creativity in the classroom may seem very complex, but here are some ideas so that you can see that it is simpler than it seems:
1 – Encourage brainstorming:
Set aside time in your classes for students to brainstorm ideas and share them in public. This can help them to lose their fear of innovating and get used to thinking outside the box.
2 – Use open-ended questions:
Change questions with only one correct answer to open-ended questions that allow students to develop their creativity and find their own solutions to each problem.
3 – Promote experimentation:
Empower students to experiment with new ideas and encourage them to implement them in a controlled environment, just as we do in CIS University Clubs.
4 – Encourage collaboration:
Collaborative projects and teamwork are a great opportunity to expose students to different perspectives and increase their creativity.
5 – Facilitate new learning environments:
Taking learning outside the classroom and sharing experiences with people from other cultures or countries can become a highly inspiring exercise. So, if you want to stimulate your creativity, don’t pass up the opportunity to study abroad.
6 – Incorporate creativity into assessments:
There are many ways to incorporate creativity into assessments beyond traditional tests and essays. The key is to ask the students to put into practice the concepts they have learned in the classroom instead of having to list them.
7 – Provide feedback on the process and not just on the end result:
Focusing feedback on the process, rather than on the end result, allows students to see how their creativity and effort are contributing to their learning.
It was not such a big deal, was it?
In fact, more and more universities are committed to fostering creativity in the classroom, and CIS University is one of them.
Would you like to know us better?
Visit our website for more information about our educational model or contact us and we will tell you about it in detail.
