Creative Intelligence and the Classroom

As the summer winds down and we get ready to return to teaching in the fall I have been reflecting more and more on how I might use the information I learned from Creative Intelligence in my practice this fall. I found myself agreeing with a lot of the ideas Nussbaum shared in his book and I think that if you re-frame his ideas within the context of the classroom it can have some very interesting and powerful implications.

1)      Everyone can be creative. This is probably the biggest take-away from the book. The idea that creativity can be developed in everyone and that we need to challenge what we typically think of as being ‘creative’. When I consider how I will adopt this in my own practice I start thinking about ways in which I can foster the growth of that creativity in my own students. For me this means that I will try and keep learning as open-ended as possible and to try and create opportunities for my students where they can create their own outcomes for the assignments I give.

2)      In today’s world creativity is essential for people to be successful. This relates back to all the work we do in FCPS to develop Portrait of a Graduate skills in our students. Nussbaum asserts that to be truly competitive in today’s world people need to develop the skills that allow them to adapt quickly to a new and changing environment. In my classroom this means that I need to teach children how to fail, reflect on their failure, and to move beyond it. I hope by creating an environment where students feel comfortable to be ‘failures’ I can help them develop those creative skills that will make them successful beyond school.

3)      The competencies of knowledge mining, framing, playing, making and pivoting enable people and companies to be successful while adapting to a changing world. When I think about designing learning experiences in my classroom, I think about ways in which I might start to teach my students these core competencies. I believe that in building these competencies in my students I will be able to help them realize their creative potential. I also see a greater opportunity for engagement as these skills are all highly relevant, especially if I connect their use to having my students solve authentic problems.

Nussbaum’s ideas have very direct connection to the classroom. While the book he wrote was definitely more geared toward professionals it discusses in depth skills that should be taught to students as well as adults. I definitely think that as I begin designing my lessons and units for the fall I will work to integrate this idea of creative intelligence and really start to think about specific ways in which I can build the skills outlined in Nussbaum’s competencies.