Often when I explain that I teach Creative Studies, people think it is about art and music. They also think it is more important to have critical thinking. Those thoughts are based on misinformation.
Creative Studies is about thinking. It includes metacognitive thinking, cognitive thinking skills, affective thinking skills and the ability to both diverge in thought and converge in thought using evaluative tools. My concern is that people have been taught to BE critical and that has been considered critical thinking. Usually the first word children learn and understand the meaning of, outside of possibly mommy and daddy, is "no." If we show students an unusual product, the first instinct is for them to say what is wrong with it. True evaluation is about looking at the positives as well as the negatives - seeing what is right, interesting or possible and what the concerns might be. Creativity also involves looking at the concerns and finding ways to improve the product or ways to deal with it in context.
Critical thinking, it seems to me, looks for one right answer to a problem. Creative thinking looks for the right answer to the problem for the people, the organizations, and the context involved. The right answer is different if those elements are different. And whether the answer is right or wrong is in the eyes of those it affects. There is great joy when people find the "right" answer for themselves. Creativity allows that to happen. There are no judges saying the answer is wrong to them. Ideas are only judged affirmatively - what's good about it, what would you like to change or improve about it, what concerns do you have, and how might you overcome those concerns.
We teach children that there is a right answer. We criticize their mistakes. They lose confidence and feel they will never catch up. I think the confidence, energy and enthusiasm that comes with students solving their own problems is a better learning experience than always being expected to be right.
No comments:
Post a Comment