Foster Creativity

I'm an innovator...I didn't learn "innovation" or "creativity" in school.  I had to rely on self-guided problem solving to foster my innovation and creativity.  Schools often don't foster skills like this, and yes creativity is a skill, one that many employers are begging for.  How do we create an atmosphere that fosters innovation and creativity?  We have to design activities, lessons, projects, etc. that ask/beg for it.  We have to expect it.  We have to design our classrooms to accept it.  Outlined below is a list of ways to get students to think creatively, and all it takes is a little shift in how you approach your classroom.

1. Allow movement in your classroom: This one requires a few things to begin with, 1) throw away your seating charts, 2) be receptive to a little chaos, 3) understand that some students actually learn better when they move around.  We need to stop restraining kids in rows of desks while requiring them to sit still for hours on end and start allowing students to move around.  Provide standing room, create hands on activities, provide breaks where students can stretch out and move, etc.  I still think it's important for students to learn how to control their bodies, but that doesn't mean they have to do it for 6 hours a day.  We often associate sitting still and being quiet with focus and concentration and that is all too often not the case.  Here's a great article on movement in the classroom: Movement In the Classroom.
2. Allow talking (collaboration) in your classroom: Along the same lines as movement this one takes being receptive to change.  Students love socializing and anymore collaboration is a must in most career paths.  We need to allow students to talk, discuss, and collaborate on completing tasks.  Notice I didn't say "group work".  Group work often turns into freeloading and an easy out for grading.  All you need to do is accept that students can work independently and collaboratively to complete something.  I don't like forcing collaboration, but it is usually always an option.
3. Throw tradition out the window: Tradition is great when we're talking birthday cakes, Christmas dinners, and summer barbecues, but tradition should typically be linked to food and family, not classroom learning.  It's time to throw out tradition and focus on new strategies.  I am an English teacher and I don't believe every person needs to read To Kill a Mockingbird before they graduate high school, college, or pass on.  Why do I believe this?  Because my class is more about skills than it is about content.  If I am a great teacher, I can replace content over and over again.  Teachers that rely too heavily on content, fear change.  Drop your textbooks and create engaging lessons.  Scrap your rows and create a fun environment.  Invite technology.  Focus on skills not content.  Focus on quality over quantity.
4. Allow student centered learning, and self-guided learning: Independence is a hard skill to teach.  Everyone learns in a different way, so why not embrace this by allowing students to learn in the way they feel most comfortable.  I learned to water-ski by being tossed out of boat, tossed a pair of skis, tossed a tow rope and then the boat went.  It took me some tries, but eventually through trial and error I was up and skiing.  At first I was scared and wanted to give up, but today it's a hobby I love and cherish, all because my grandparents allowed me to learn on my own.  Classrooms should have the same approach to learning, let your students dive in.  It won't be easy, but it will be worth it.  Allow them to explore technology, even if you don't know how to use it.