How to Help Students Develop it and Why It's Important

Encourage imagination and out of the box thinking in your students. Teach students to visualize. Encourage students to think beyond apparent answers and to ask the question ‘What if…?’

Kids need to play; it is not a mere luxury.Not just games with rules, but kids need long, unstructured blocks of time to play.

Pretend play is one of the best ways for kids to develop their creativity.

Encourage outdoor play. You can even have students make up their own games.

It’s important to let kids struggle and figure it out on their own. Don’t always give kids a set of instructions to figure out. Give them a project and let them figure out a way to complete it on their own.

Give students each a small journal for jotting down their ideas. Creativity strikes at any moment, but sometimes it is fleeting. Writing down, or drawing, thoughts can help retain them and help kids pay attention to their thinking, encouraging further creativity.

Working in groups is another great way to encourage creativity. Students can feed off each other. The concept of synergy, when a group has its own energy, can fuel further creativity.

When they use their creativity, praise it in specific ways.

Creativity isn’t something that students learn overnight, but it is something you can help students develop. Make your classroom a creativity workshop by giving students opportunities to think for themselves and solve problems. They will use this skill for the rest of their lives.