Creativity in the Classroom: A Student Perspective

Last week I discussed Sir Ken Robinson’s (2006) Ted Talk and answered his question “Do school’s creativity” with a no. I felt that creative expression was everywhere in the school and one just had to walk the halls to see it expressed (McCarty, 2017). After discussing creativity with my students, I am not as confident with my answer. My students helped me to realize they had few opportunities to express their creativity, and lacked confidence to express their creative side. This realization came when they blankly looked back at me, confused by my questions and not sure how to answer. At first they wanted to say that they are never allowed to be creative in school as they felt forced follow the rules and stay within specific guidelines. Eventually, after some careful questions and discussions, they started to realize they did have opportunities. Yet these were limited and restricted, not allowing for much creativity.

We started by discussing what digital media they enjoyed using in school. Both my middle and high school students praised teachers who used Google Classroom. My high school students said they liked the teachers who had them take Google Form quizzes on Google Classroom because they could go back and see their answers and study for tests. My middle school students voiced their opinions of teachers who gave out too many worksheets, and how it just made their notebooks heavier and heavier each day. They wished these teachers would put some of their notes online. They also liked when teachers linked Kahoot!, Quizzizz, or Quizlet to Google Classroom. Both my middle and high school students loved using these applications for study and for fun. They did complain that some teachers use Kahoot! results as a grade. They said it takes the fun out of the game and makes them feel pressure to perform well.

I asked if these programs allowed them to be creative, and the students agreed that the programs were more tools for study than for creativity. We started to explore ways they could be creative with these applications. Creating their own Kahoot! or Quizzizz for their classmates, were ideas generated by my middle school students. My high school students said they felt Quizlet let me be creative as they made more engaging and visual flashcards and diagrams. My high school students shared that they were starting to use EdPuzzle in Science to teach their classmates an assigned topic. Using EdPuzzle teachers can edit videos and add questions for students to answer. This allows teachers to track students understandings. Their science teachers started by having students watch her videos. She then handed over the reins to the students and the students were responsible for finding, editing, and adding questions to the videos. They had to be creative and think about what to ask. Their teacher told them about questions levels and required higher level questions. The students liked that they had to push themselves to think about appropriate questions. They felt this allowed them to be creative and learn at a deeper level.

I asked both groups to share what projects or activities they felt allowed them to be the most creative. My middle school students told me they felt most creative in Wood Shop, Art, and Family Consumer Science. One student excitedly talked about his current wood shop project. He was learning to use the laser engraver to add a picture to his towel holder. He said he loved to work with his hands, but the technology of the laser engraver added creative details to his projects he lacked the artistic skills to produce alone. Others talked about the Snow plow for PennDot’s “Paint the Plow” contest they helped decorate in Art Club. For projects they told me that enjoyed the Ecosystem Circle Book project we recently finished, and the book projects they have completed in Language Arts. For language Arts, they had to choose and read a novel and then design a cereal box about the book. My high school students told me they loved the various projects they made in my 7th grade class including the Ecosystem project and their final Create-A-Country project. One students said she still had hers on her bedroom wall. They were excited to talk about a project they did that day in math with word plexers, or word puzzles that describe a word or phrase in puzzle form. They first solved a few and then had to create their own. They proudly explained that these helped them develop their critical thinking skills.

After these discussions both my middle and high school students kept going back to the point that they did not feel they had many opportunities to be creative. I asked them what teachers could do to help them be creative and how to change their learning environment, to allow them to be creative. I also asked how technology could be used to add to their creativity. My middle school student instantly answered that they wished they had more choice and fewer restrictions when they completed projects. They told me that they loved the Ecosystem Circle Book, but in the end, everyone completed the same thing. Looking to all the projects hanging from the ceiling, we agreed that the projects looked very similar. One suggested that they could have made a Prezi or online poster instead of the paper version. They all agreed that they wanted to do more hands-on activities and fewer notes. A few said they would rather not use computers or technology for every project. These students admitted they were not aware of many apps or programs that would give them a similar experience to a hands-on experiment or activity. They just wished they had a break from technology. Each student talked about the importance of completing group projects. The students liked that they could collaborate and share ideas. They felt they could be creative when they could bounce ideas off their group, rather than come up with the ideas all on their own.

My high school students complained that many teachers expected them to know how to use programs they did not know how to use. For example, they were excited they had the option to complete a book trailer instead of a book report, but they had never used a video maker. Because they didn’t know how to use the technology the felt forced to write the report. I gave them a quick tour of WeVideo and told them to search YouTube for video tutorials for iMovie or Windows Movie Maker. They said teachers should take time to show students the basics of programs they are expected to use and be willing to go back and reteach whenever there are questions. Some students know how to use the technology, but not everyone understands even the basics. They also wished for fewer restrictions when completing projects, they felt less engaged and excited about the projects with lots of restrictions.

It was an eye-opening experience discussing creativity with my students. I was surprised and challenged by my students, and grateful I took the time to listen to their opinions. I still stand by my answer to Sir Ken Robinson (2006), schools are not killing creativity. Still, I have come to realize teachers need to improve and meet the needs of our students. If we are to develop our students disciplined and creative minds, we have to give our students opportunities to express themselves (Gardner, 2008). Even those projects we believe allow for creative thinking could be improved. Student choice is key to creativity, and we must not assume our students know how to use the technology. Keeping this advice in mind as we develop our lessons and projects will ensure our students will develop their creative sides.

Resources:

EdPuzzle (2017). Make any video your lesson. Retrieved from https://edpuzzle.com

Gardner, H. (2008). Five Minds for the Future. Harvard Business School Press: Boston, MA.

Google (2017). Google classroom. Retrieved from https://classroom.google.com/

Kahoot! (2017). Learning games. Retrieved from https://kahoot.it

Lum3n.com. (2017, January 12). Close-up of hand over white background. [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-of-hand-over-white-background-316465/

McCarty, Kristen (2017, November 15). Creativity in the classroom [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://wilkes.discoveryeducation.com/kristenmccarty/2017/11/15/creativity-in-the-classroom/

Prezi Next. (2017). Online presentation software. Retrieved from https://prezi.com.

Robinson, K. (2006). Do schools kill creativity? [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY

Quizlet (2017). Learning tools & flashcards, for free. Retrieved from https://quizlet.com/

Quizzizz (2017). Fun multiplayer classroom quizzes. Retrieved from https://quizizz.com

WeVideo. (2017). Online video editor for web, mobile, windows and OSX. Retrieved from https://www.wevideo.com/

Originally Posted on my Wilkes Blog: http://wilkes.discoveryeducation.com/kristenmccarty/2017/11/22/creativity-in-the-classroom-a-student-perspective/