NAPERVILLE, IL / ACCESSWIRE / ACCESSWIRE / February 10, 2023 / Curiosity and creativity are 21st century skills employers of the future want their workforce to have. They're looking for people who can think and not only regurgitate information. Sadly, 85% of today's youth are less creative than their peers from the 1980s.
Our youth is missing these crucial soft skills because creativity and curiosity aren't nurtured in the classroom. School isn't a safe place to be different and think outside the box. Following the rules and memorizing information is thought of as the only way to get A's.
Students want to avoid the productive struggle of searching for a solution. They tend to lack perseverance and flexibility in the face of obstacles because they would rather give up. They avoid challenges since they're used to receiving instant gratification through online search engines, social media, and more.
Students today have been permanently impacted by Covid-19 and its role in terms of how they receive an education. The infiltration of technology into the classroom distracts them from developing the skills they need and threatens the basic ones they already have. How can teachers get through to students if they are impacted by these diversions that are affecting their learning styles and development?
Current educators are bombarded with meeting the burdensome requirements of the curriculum and can't fix these problems on their own. What will happen to the future generations of America if they're disengaged for the most important part of their upbringing?
Educator Katie Trowbridge has been working as a high school teacher in a suburb of Chicago for 23 years. She has noticed the close relationship between teachers and students disappear. The community atmosphere of school is now gone because technology is not only creating a wedge between teachers and their students, but also causes a lack of communication and connection to their fellow peers.
Determined to change this, Katie has been speaking at conferences like the Innovative School Summit in New York and Florida's Creativity Conference. She talks about why we need creativity in the classroom, explains how to use it, and what impact it would have on students if it was prioritized. One important issue highlighted in Katie's speeches is why curriculums should be teaching more thought-based learning.
Headed by Trowbridge, Curiosity 2 Create is a nonprofit startup that aims to enter classrooms with the CREATE method this fall. Katie developed this by using her expertise as a teacher to help other teachers who face the same struggle she once did. Her organization is focused on helping teachers and students find their joy again.
Curiosity 2 Create's mission is to improve teaching methods through helpful strategies and spark students' interest again. CREATE is taught similarly to a workshop because it involves coaching from education professionals. If a workshop doesn't suit your situation, you can instead opt for one-on-one mentoring or small group sessions to meet your requirements.
CREATE consists of 6 parts that can be done in any order. Teachers can choose which parts suit them best in their classroom. Curiosity 2 Create finds ways to incorporate curiosity and creativity into lessons that are already required, which makes them easier to teach and easier for students to be interested in.
By putting more ownership of the learning journey on the student, CREATE allows them to make choices based on what works for them, which heightens their interest in learning using methods they enjoy.
This happens through the steps below:
- Content Curator: Find small ways to influence your students to use creative and critical thinking skills with your everyday lessons so they think at a higher level.
- Risk Facilitator: Help students exit their comfort zone and enter their creative side. Teach them that failure isn't a disappointment and helps you grow. Make them look at problems in different ways, rather than just looking for just the right answer.
- Experience Navigator: Explain the reasons why kids need to learn this information. Be relatable and create a meaningful learning experience that has a clear purpose for students.
- Attitude Shifter: Teach how to control your individual attitude, regardless of the environment. Ask students to review their attitude towards learning and others. Make them more reflective by asking these questions and always incorporate an open mindset.
- Team Transformer: Create situations for cooperation between teachers and students. Show students how to think with a team mindset. Encourage empathy and explain why cooperation is important and how it's relevant to them.
- Evaluation Designer: Provide options for teachers to create assessments that measure students' learning in a productive way. Branch out from traditional testing formats and take a different approach to grading. Ask the kids how they want their learning to be measured. Encourage them to lead their learning journey and continue growing their knowledge.
Katie knows firsthand how damaged the education system is, but she believes that CREATE can alleviate some pressure on teachers and stimulate students with more engaging lessons.
Those effects would spread into other areas and foster open-mindedness and empathy in the classroom. Accordingly, this causes higher job satisfaction in teachers and molds students' impressionable minds, enabling them to think in a unique way.
Katie Trowbridge concluded:
"Creativity is not just artistic. It's not only for ceramics or band class, it's something that's a need. People think creativity and creative thinking in the classroom is playtime. They don't think about how we need creative thinking to get critical thinking. We use divergent thinking, which is creative, for brainstorming. Afterwards, we look at our ideas and use convergent thinking, which is critical, and say, does this work? You can't expect the solution to your problem to come easily. You need teamwork and creative ideas to find a solution."
About Curiosity 2 Create
Curiosity 2 Create is a nonprofit founded in 2020. They help train teachers to create a classroom environment that encourages creativity and curiosity. Their CREATE method is taught by qualified coaches who enhance current curriculums to impact students in a deeper way. It unpacks the structure of educational systems so that their creativity and curiosity can be properly utilized throughout learning processes. Their method is used for any subject, from kindergarten to twelfth grade (K-12) students. Curiosity 2 Create has headquarters in Naperville, Illinois, United States.
Media Contact
Name: Katie Trowbridge
Email: [email protected]
SOURCE: Curiosity 2 Create