Creativity can be described as letting go of certainties

Creativity and hands-on practical process to innovate, vision and discover exclusive solutions to problems while bolstering divergent thinking. 21st century expects children to think critically and creatively, communicate their ideas and be risk takers. Our curriculum prevents children from taking the plunge into the uncertainty therefore Learning has ended up as a journey of unmindful memorisation, regurgitation and forgetting the information. Unfortunately, our system depends on memory and recall as a predominant method of learning, which stunts creative learning process.

Different ways of looking into the world issues and solving it is the need of the hour, and this can be achieved through innovative education. Our education should have a real life connect, focus on key problem-solving skills.

Why innovation is required?

It has been found out that 40% employers find it difficult to recruit employees with difficulty in communications and critical thinking skills. It’s required to cultivate these skills to meet 21st century needs. Moreover, our assessments are more into testing knowledge than knowledge development. This not only affects student’s confidence but also hinders logical and creative abilities from discovering new horizons.

To strengthen the education workforce, teachers are required to be facilitators rather than transmitters of content. They must be trained to make learning interesting and application oriented simultaneously Put students in the driver seat, since teacher is no longer the only source of information. There has to be innovation in teaching which Gives students a real-life world problem to tackle, fail try again.

A pedagogy based on discovery and inquiry is far more interesting than remembering dates and information integrated with Open ended questions which guide in honing leadership skills. Lesson plans must incorporate critical thinking and communication skills.

Moreover, classrooms are required to be fluid and provide flexibility to support one to one learning, collaboration and group discussions. A flipped classroom is also an innovative method where students view lectures, read texts or do research as their home assignment, the time spent in class should be reserved for activities, that can include peer to peer learning or collaborative work.

Talking to a 10 year old first time ted talker, Mehel ,
and I was like “ Mehel are you aware of the two guest speakers invited for the ted talk”.?
she replied very sportively “ ma’am they will be joining me shortly. “
I was quite taken aback by the confidence of a 12-year-old but felt happy that she has the direction of her self-worth defined clearly.

Listening to a great story by Sir Ken Robinson on the 19th century roots of our early 20th century schools – of a little girl who was in a drawing lesson. She was six, and she was at the back, drawing, and the teacher said this girl hardly ever paid attention, and in this drawing lesson, she did. The teacher was fascinated. She went over to her, and she said, “What are you drawing?” And the girl said, “I’m drawing a picture of God.” And the teacher said, “But nobody knows what God looks like.” And the girl said, “They will in a minute.”  Intelligence is distinct, diverse and dynamic.

This is the kind of confidence our children of this generation possess we as stake holders must make great use of this talent.

Children as Kids will always take a chance and if they are wrong, they will not be frightened. We all know if we are not prepared to be wrong, we will not come out with anything original moreover by the time they are adults most children lose this capacity and they become frightened of being wrong and even if they go wrong, they will learn to hide. It’s so much important today that we have to nurture the critical thinking skills, creativity, imagination skills which can cultivated by adopting proper practices in an interdisciplinary platform.

Since, we stigmatise mistakes at home and at school.

Picasso once said all children are born artists. Our education system and the parents must support children grow into creativity not out of it.

If we notice the pandemic witnessed a steep increase in the use of digital devices and the internet. Schools, universities have taken to technology there is a humongous Increase in online teaching. The possibilities of learning beyond classroom has expanded and how. There has been a seen the narrowing down of digital divide, the crisis has equipped us with the required support to administer digital online education in a much convenient way.

In recent years government has also spent heavily on ICT in schools. This has increased the quality of educational resources. However international survey has found that digital technologies have not yet been fully integrated into teaching and learning. Teachers are not sufficiently skilled to use ICT effectively. The potential of technology has saved us to an extent in this crisis, but We have to innovate effective pedagogical goals and learning goals to be blended unto technology meaningfully.

“The uncreative mind can spot a wrong answer, but it takes a very creative mind to spot a wrong question” follow your intuition to feel a sense of self.

Dr. Mona Lisa Bal  

Chairperson, KiiT International School