Creative Fluency

1. Experiment and Invent

1.1. Another strategy is to allow my students freedom to experiment and invent.

1.2. I want to give them the time and confidence to express new ideas and create their own inventions.

1.3. This corresponds with the “Imagine” and “Inspect“ processes of creative fluency (Crockett, Jukes, & Churches, 2011, p.47)

1.4. This is different from the methods I was using in the classroom with the direct instruction approach.

2. What is Creative Fluency?

2.1. The ability to process information and use this knowledge creatively is an important 21st century skill.

2.2. For students to be critical thinkers and problem-solvers, they need to be able to think creatively.

2.3. “In the real world few questions have one right answer, few problems have one right solution; that's why creativity is crucial to success in the real world.” (Gray, 2012)

2.4. Teachers need to include strategies in the classroom that encourage creative thinking in students.

2.5. These strategies need to include the steps of the creative process: Identify, Inspire, Interpolate, Imagine, and Inspect. (Crockett, Jukes, & Churches, 2011, p. 46-47).

3. Pretend Play

3.1. One strategy to “Inspire” is to encourage pretend play.

3.2. Pretend play encourages students to use known information and apply their imagination, and can be a stepping stone in the creative process.

3.3. “... pretend play affords children opportunities to express many different processes—cognitive, affective, and interpersonal—important for creativity... .” (Russ, & Wallace, 2013, p. 136-137).

3.4. I have become concerned after conversations with my students that they do not use their imaginations and pretend when they play.

3.5. I intend to add more of this into my classroom, to encourage imagination and inspire creativity.

4. Information and Creativity

4.1. By encouraging this creativity, I feel that I will better prepare my students for the real world.

4.2. They will be able to process information and utilize it successfully.

4.3. "Creativity, noted as a characteristic of science and engineering work, was definitely the best part of the process... by thinking creatively and using science skills, they were able to learn that their ideas can impact the world.” (Graca, 2012).