Creative thinking
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) defines creative thinking as ‘the competence to engage productively in the generation, evaluation and improvement of ideas that can result in original and effective solutions, advances in knowledge and impactful expressions of imagination’.
The PISA competency model of creative thinking focuses on 3 ideation processes:
- Generate diverse ideas: the ability to provide multiple ideas or solutions to a given problem or scenario.
- Generate creative ideas: the ability to generate original and useful ideas.
- Evaluate and improve ideas: the capacity to assess the quality of ideas, improve them, and select the most effective or appropriate ones.
Creative thinking is a skill that is particularly important in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) education as students learn to use a variety of approaches to solve problems, analyse multiple viewpoints, adapt ideas, and arrive at new solutions.
When planning and teaching for creative thinking, teachers can use STEAM subjects to provide purposeful opportunities for students to generate, evaluate andimprove ideas. For example:
- articulating ideas and solutions through written components such as design folios, reflective journals, and presentations.
- creating visual representations of solutions such as sketches, models, or digital designs.
- considering diverse perspectives when presented with a problem.
- applying scientific thinking by formulating hypotheses, conducting experiments, and analysing data.
Alongside classroom lessons, competitions can engage students in creative thinking. For example, the NSW Department of Education’s Game Changer Challenge and Maths Olympiad present complex, real-world problems that require innovative and original solutions, and encourage students to apply various creative thinking skills.
Initiatives such as a school Science Fair also provide platforms for creative thinking. Science Fair projects that include fair testing and/or design thinking enable students to generate and experiment with ideas and produce novel and effective responses and solutions.
At Ashfield Public School we provide opportunities for students to develop creative thinking skills in all classrooms. It is expected that creative thinking is goal directed with students learning that generating, evaluating and improving ideas is driven by some purpose, and towards an end. By teaching creative thinking we support students to become innovative problem-solvers who can undertake increasingly complex challenges with confidence and curiosity.