“Which students are doing the creative work in your
school? Who has the most opportunities to work on projects, solve problems,
collaborate with classmates, develop ideas, design products, and publish for
authentic audiences? If your school is like most schools, I'm guessing your
strongest learners have the most opportunities.”
It is easy to give the strongest students independent work or
projects that involve creativity. Usually, the strongest students are willing to
be creative and take risks because they have had successful experiences in the
past. The stronger students aren’t as needy as the weaker students, so it gives
the teacher more time to do other things.
But sometimes it isn’t the stronger students who get the
most benefits out of doing creative work. Maybe these weaker students need more
help in order to have more successful experiences so in turn, they can work towards
being the stronger students. Success breeds success but if we only allow the
successful ones the opportunities for more success, the gap between the
stronger and weaker students grows enormously.
It is important to figure out what the weaker students need
in order to complete creative projects. Maybe they don’t know where to begin.
It would be helpful to create a task analysis for the students so they can move
in a sequential order to get started. The creative ideas will come during the steps,
but it will be helpful to know where that step is. Once the students feel
comfortable in the process, they will be able to branch out and become more
creative. After a few successful tries, they will be willing to try more on
their own. Eventually, these students will transform into the stronger students.
It also important to let students know that creativity is fun
to try and the outcome may not be the outcome they expect. If the outcome is
different, it isn’t a failure. It is just something new and if they don’t like
the outcome, they can try again with adjustments. For example, if I want to knit
something new, my finished work might not turn out as I had hoped. I may try
again using different yarn or different techniques to see if I can it to turn
out the way I want. Sometimes it may take several attempts to get what I
envisioned. This is part of the process and it is okay if it takes several
attempts. Or I might actually like the outcome even if it isn’t what I
expected. This is also okay.
It might also be helpful to assign students who have had
successful creative experiences as mentors for the weaker students. They can
remember how they felt going through the process. They might also help their
peers from making the same mistakes that they did. Maybe they need inspiration
or motivation. This mentoring process might also trigger more creative ideas and
enthusiasm.
How do you encourage students to be more creative in the
classroom? Please share.
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