Nurturing Creativity Takes Time

Developing students who think innovatively will mean rethinking time. Guy Claxton's book Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: How Intelligence Increases When You Think Less, discussed in my last post, continues to provide support for that idea.

In the chapter "Having an Idea: The Gentle Art of Mental Gestation," he makes the point that having creative ideas is similar to having a baby. "The progenitor is a host, providing the conditions for growth, but is not the manufacturer." It would seem that a school's role in fostering creativity and developing creative thinkers would be mainly about creating the right conditions—being good incubators for creativity to develop and produce whatever it will.

Schools must begin by providing the environment where ideas, like seeds, have time to germinate. Only in such an environment will students have memorable experiences of creative thinking and problem-solving that will develop greater acceptance of the uncertainty and risk inherent in the creative process.

• Students need time for curiosity to build. How often does an impending test or deadline take them away from questions that are gateways to higher order thinking—both creative and critical?


• Students need time for rich experiences that are connected to the body of knowledge rather than a focus on articulating a body of knowledge that is largely independent of direct experience. Why is language—reading words on a page or listening to an explanation—so often the gateway to knowledge and thought?


• Students need time for trial and error. They need to experience the thrill of a hunch or guess that leads to understanding or even a creative solution. How often do students opt for the safe yet forgettable project?

The challenge is that the need for disciplinary knowledge remains. Finding the right balance, I think, will mean becoming more efficient in building students' base of knowledge and palette of deductive thinking skills so that some less structured, more free form time can be incorporated.