Written by Annie Gumm

Scroll through your preferred social media outlet and chances are you can find pictures of children demonstrating their creative-thinking abilities. Perhaps it is that toddler with chocolate all over his face who somehow reached the cookies on top of the refrigerator. Maybe it is a LEGO build designed by tweens or the random “Coronavirus quotes” that are spoken by a teenager.

Education has shifted from focusing on the “3Rs” of reading, ’riting, and ’rithmetic to now including the “4Cs” of developing communicators, creators, critical thinkers, and collaborators (NEA, 2012). Practicing creative-thinking and problem-solving skills should be an essential part of classroom instruction.

What Part of the Brain Supports Creative Thinking?
A little biology lesson: When faced with a novel problem that requires a creative solution, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) of the brain becomes active. (The ACC is part of the collar under the frontal lobe.) Decision-making, especially the ability to focus on possible solutions and to repress ideas that are irrelevant (Hadani & Jaeger, 2015), is believed to be controlled by the ACC.

When faced with a problem, the brain immediately begins to formulate ideas, from the utterly ridiculous to potential solutions. As ideas are being formed, increased activity in the hippocampus region (a horseshoe-shaped part of the brain located deep inside that is responsible for long-term memory) provides previous knowledge, and the ACC decides what information is relevant (Neurosci, 2015). The brain then deliberates solutions and unconsciously discards potential answers until a viable solution, an “Aha” moment, emerges into consciousness.

What Is Creativity and How Can It Be Increased?
There is no universal definition of creativity, but many definitions show creativity as a skill that involves both idea generation and analysis. Building on definitions by psychologist Edward De Bono (video by Albin05, 2006) and researchers Gursoy and Bag (2018), creativity is a skill that produces novel and useful solutions that are elegant and of value. Creativity is not a trait, but a skill that can be practiced and improved. Researchers Hadani & Jaeger (2015) frame creativity as “A decision to be creative, a decision of how to be creative, and lastly, the implementation of these decisions” (p. 23).

If creativity is a skill, then it can and should be taught to students, much like the skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Research from elementary to college level indicates that implicit instruction in innovative thinking skills not only increases a student’s ability to generate original ideas but also increases curiosity and excitement about learning (Ness, 2015). Studies have also shown that students who are deliberately taught creative thinking skills retain those skills (Hargrove, 2013).

Most studies demonstrate the importance of teaching creativity in a domain-specific manner. People are domain experts; no one expects a mechanic to also be an expert in brain surgery. While it is possible to increase creative output, there does not seem to be one method that will work for all areas of the curriculum. Strategies that increase creative output in mathematics will be different from science, which will be different from music, art, social studies, and the like. Much as bodybuilders have to work each muscle separately, so also “to improve one’s creative thinking skills across many domains, one needs to work on and strengthen those skills in many domains” (Baer, 2016, p. 169).

Do I Have Time?

• Reflect on your teaching style. Are your students completing logical-mathematical and verbal intelligence activities that are designed to assess knowledge at the end of instruction, or are students involved in skills that promote creative thinking, such as planning, monitoring, and evaluating their own learning?
• Are students asked to make connections, synthesize information, and make decisions across a variety of domains in order to increase creative thought in all subject areas? (Think multidisciplinary units that investigate a problem while including math, science, history, and language arts components.)
• Are students given multiple chances throughout the year to review the skills related to creative thinking?

Creativity is not merely coming up with an idea. It is a skill that creates novel and useful solutions in an elegant and valuable way. There is no “one-size-fits-all” program for increasing creativity. However, completing tasks designed to increase idea generation and flexibility, as well as practicing the skills of evaluation and decision-making across a variety of domains, can increase an individual’s ability to be creative in those domains.

Annie Gumm (’03) is currently studying for an MS in Education degree with an emphasis in instruction.

References
Albin05. (2006, Dec. 11) Edward de Bono on creative thinking [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjSjZOjNIJg.

Baer, J. (2015). The importance of domain-specific expertise in creativity. Roeper Review, 37(3), 165-178.

Gursoy, E., & Bag, H. K. (2018). Is It Possible to Enhance the Creative Thinking Skills of EFL Learners through Training? Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 9(6), 172-182.

Hadani, H., & Jaeger, G. (2015). Inspiring a generation to create: Critical components of creativity in children. Sausalito, CA: Center for Childhood Creativity.

Hargrove, R. A. (2013). Assessing the long-term impact of a metacognitive approach to creative skill development. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 23(3), 489-517.

National Education Association. (2012). Preparing 21st century students for a global society: An educator’s guide to the “Four Cs”. Alexandria, VA: National Education Association.

Ness, R. B. (2015). Promoting innovative thinking. American Journal of Public Health, 105(S1), S114-S118.

Neurosci. (2015, September 1). Know your brain: Cingulate cortex. Retrieved from https://www.neuroscientificallychallenged.com/blog//know-your-brain-cingulate-cortex.