Almost daily I find myself in conversation with educational leaders, and one topic that routinely surfaces is “How do we help our learning facilitators teach creativity?” Naturally, this has taken me to Twitter to find some answers. It seems the first challenge in teaching creativity is changing the perception that is is purely artistic. Creativity is actually much broader and more universal than what people might consider the ‘artsy’ areas. Creativity is largely about using your imagination to create something different. It seems like creativity comes out most naturally when you create a learning culture either within your organization, but even more so in a classroom. Cultivating the generating of new ideas, problem finding and solving and approaches.

It has not been common for schools to facilitate convergent thinking. Generally, learners are only given the ability to arrive at a single correct answer. Most IQ Tests require convergent thinking, as well as how learners deduce an accurate answer from multiple choice questions.

Divergent thinking is hard. In fact, it can take you all over the map if you let it. Masterful facilitators are able to bring these ideas and thoughts together to develop innovative solutions. The ability to think is not just linear or convergent, but we must be able to see a variety of solutions.

Along this same vein, traditional pedagogies are almost the antithesis of creativity. Thesis was birthed in the 19th and 20th Centuries and mirrored in our industry. In some places, this same pedagogy is still in place today, requiring learners to sit in straight rows, in classrooms, highly regimented environments, and emphasize the absorption of information rather than creating new knowledge.

So, where does that leave us? Children are naturally divergent thinkers  – they’re curious and their minds are sponges. GIve kids information about a new perspective, and they will find a new way or a new perspective. They cannot do anything else.