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March 28, 2023

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Clearing misconceptions and harnessing creative thinking

Human beings, by nature, are curious creatures. Therefore, we desire to understand how the world works and express these discoveries in new and innovative ways.

In the English language, a common phrase that reinforces this idea is “thinking outside the box.” When coming up with solutions, looking at innovation is one of the foundations of creativity which is paramount to art and design.

Gone is the idea that one solution fits all or that creative thinking is segregated into only individual disciplines without connecting to other fields. On the contrary, art and design are necessary disciplines for humans to be exposed to because it expands our understanding of the world.

In Ken Robinson’s well-known Ted Talk, he provocatively stated that “creativity is now as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.”

One misconception about creative thinking is you either have it or don’t. This is not the case, and research shows innovative thinking is vital in times of unforeseeable constraints.

And guiding students to the place where they understand that because humans have a curious nature, they too have the innate ability to harness creative thinking is a necessity given the way the world is in a flux.

Seeking to develop creative thinking through the arts and design disciplines prepares students for an increasingly globally connected world. Added to that is the need to prepare them to empathize with another person’s ideas or perspectives that arts and design foster.

The arts and design disciplines helped to develop how creative thinking allows for divergent thinking — the ability to come up with multiple solutions to a problem.

Through the arts and design disciplines, developing creative thinking instills in students the ability to make connections where it may not have been obvious at first.




 

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