What is 'Creativity?'

In our first lecture for the module ‘The Enquiring Mind; A Creative Approach’ we looked into the question ‘What is creativity?’ A simple question, which proved difficult to answer. Everyone’s definition or opinion was different; however one of the recurring terms used to define creativity was ‘imagination.’  

          When people think of the types of people who are creative, instantly, many would consider poets, engineers, photographers, software designers, musicians, film directors and so on as people who are highly creative (Loveless, 2009). However if you actually think about what creativity is first, it opens up a whole new view on what type of people are seen as ‘creative’. Being creative is such as invaluable trait to possess. The creative people in the world are people who think outside the box, devise different ways of approaching things, and are willing to try out their ideas. I think that we should recognise that all learners have the ability to become creative and imaginative; some just need to be encouraged.
             Today's education system is very focussed on academic ability, leaving little time for those who feel they are not 'academic' but hold talents in other areas. I was shown this picture by one of my lecturers last year:

This picture shows that even if you are not a high achiever academically, then it doesn’t mean you aren't talented; you just have talents in other areas. This is where many people believe the education system can be improved; by focussing on other areas of development other than academic ability. Being creative isn’t seen as a great achievement in schools, and pupils aren’t given enough credit for the way they think and use their imagination.

       In this blog I am going to look into five key areas in which creativity links to reality and education in the 21st century.

“Creativity means connecting the previously unconnected in ways that are new and meaningful to the individual concerned” (Duffy, 2006)

References

Duffy, B. (2006) Supporting Creativity and Imagination in the Early Years. Berkshire: Open University Press. 

Loveless, A. (2009) ‘Thinking About Creativity: Developing new ideas, Making things happen’, Creativity in Primary Education. 2^nd Edition (pp. 22-35).