Fostering Creativity: Research, Teaching & Professional DevelopmentFostering Creativity : ResearchFostering Creativity: Understanding the 'flash of insight' Fostering Creativity : TeachingCreativity and critical/evaluative thinking Igniting those flashes of insight This article, published in The Age Education section, March 1, 2004, describes our approach of teaching creativity. It outlines current research on teaching creative thinking. It found that creativity is not accidental but can be nurtured in the classroom, by using imagery strategies that stimulate students to link ideas in new and unexpected ways, and by giving them time to think intuitively and to engage in 'probabilistic thinking'. Confidence in their creative thinking makes students more likely to think creatively in a spontaneous way, but self-doubt needs to be addressed as it will limit students' responsiveness to creative thinking activities. Teachers should not see the range of knowledge and learning styles of students as a difficulty, but as an opportunity to present the class with various contrasting perspectives on an issue. Teaching higher order thinking skills does not necessarily help students. Students need to experience open ended problem solving, critical questioning and evaluation, shifts between imagery and other forms of thinking, and time for reflection and review. Fostering creativity: professional development programUnderstanding and Teaching for Creativity
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