Creativity is essential in life, and most of the devices you are using around you were thought of and designed through creativity. It is using your imagination to bring forth new and original ideas to normal situations. But creativity can also be a useful tool in learning.
How does creativity help you learn? Many elements of creativity are important in the learning process, including thinking critically, focused attention, and collaboration. Creativity also promotes the use of various parts of the brain, which aid in the learning process.
Many people may see creativity as something reserved for artists and musicians, but everyone should find time to be creative no matter what their passions and aspirations are in life.
Many people don’t know that being creative is actually quite hard. It is not a simple task that just happens to artists, but rather, it is a process that takes time, patience, and nurturing.
To be creative, you need to think both critically and open yourself up in a vulnerable manner to allow new ideas to come forth and, most importantly, you will need to take risks to be creative.
What Is Creativity?
You’ve probably heard the common expression of ‘thinking outside of the box’ and that is a simple way of describing creativity. It is moving away from the common way of thinking to achieve new results.
Creativity happens in four stages and continuously following this process will help your mind make creative thinking a habit so you can use it as a tool to learn and create better solutions for problems in front of you.
The end result of creative thinking is to solve a problem, and by going through the four-stage process and using the tools of creativity such as critical thinking, collaboration, vulnerability, and play, you will learn how to solve problems faster and more productively.
The Four Stages of Creativity
1. Preparation: The first stage is focused on preparing yourself by collecting all the necessary information and data needed for the task at hand. This includes finding sources of inspiration and researching as much as possible.
2. Incubation: The next stage is time for thinking. This is when you allow the information you have acquired in the first stage to develop by leaving your mind to settle. Don’t focus on the information but rather allow your mind to wander, daydream, and ponder.
3. Illumination: This is the fun part of creativity when your brain brings forth the solution when you are distracted by another activity. It is the lightbulb moment that happens when you are not focusing hard on the problem or information. It is the idea that just comes to you, seemingly out of the blue.
4. Verification: This stage is where you need to bring your idea to life. It is when you write down the idea that came to you and develop it into a concrete plan. This stage is where you put your ideas into action.
These stages are the roadmap to thinking creatively.
| Stage | What It Entails | Characterization |
| Preparation | Acquiring knowledge. Finding inspiration. Conducting research. | Learning, understanding, and collecting. |
| Incubation | Allowing your mind to process the new information. | Removing yourself from the information and distracting your mind with other activities. |
| Illumination | The lightbulb moment. When the new idea presents itself. | Accepting the ideas that come to you. Letting them flow rather than trying to find them yourself. |
| Verification | Deciding on the best solution and implementing it. | Putting the idea into action, and working out the practicality of the solution. |
The Role of Creativity in Learning
Utilizing creativity in learning can improve the rate of learning as well as the quality of learning. This is done by implementing the stages of creativity into the learning process and also by using the tools of creativity.
The impact of creativity on learning can be understood through the hippocampus. Studies have shown this to be the part of the brain that both recalls past events as well as imagines possible events in the future.
The more this part is stimulated through imagination and creative thinking—i.e., imagining possibilities in the future—the better your memory will be. This is why creativity is also known to reduce your chances of developing dementia.
Anna Bamford from the University of the Arts London explains creativity as a way of thinking. Using the example of a definite sum such as what is three plus three, the answer has to be six. When you flip this around and ask what is six, the answers are endless.
This speaks to the need to open up the questions to allow for creative responses in the learning process. This doesn’t change the need for structured questions and answers to questions like three plus three. Rather, it opens up the need for creativity to be added to this process.
Allowing students and learners to be exposed to vast possibilities of answers allows them to think critically and learn to solve problems themselves. This gives students the capability to be faced with any new problem and find ways they can solve it creatively.
Instead of asking what three plus three is, asking students what numbers we need to arrive at six opens up the door to a newer way of thinking and learning—one that doesn’t rely on learning in parrot-fashion.
While this is a minor example, the same thinking can be applied to many more avenues of learning and teaching.
Other Benefits of Creativity
Following the creative stages will not only help you learn through creative thinking, but there are so many more benefits to thinking creatively.
Creativity can also relieve stress by letting you enter the state of flow while you are indulging in a creative activity. This state allows you to forget about any stress and pressure you are currently dealing with and focus on what is in front of you instead.
It will increase your confidence at being creative. You may enter your creative journey not being able to write well or draw properly, but through time and practice, you will get better, because creativity develops with practice.
Improving is the key to self-confidence and you will get better when you are enjoying anything creative. You don’t need lessons to achieve this but just to explore and experiment with what you are doing.
Creativity also promotes vulnerability. To be creative, you need to take risks and allow yourself to be vulnerable. Through this vulnerability, you will be able to grow and become your true self.
Creativity will help you enjoy the freedom and develop more self-awareness and expression and, most importantly, it can improve your overall health.
Practical Examples of Creativity
There are many ways to boost your creativity in different settings. Here are some ways in which you can incorporate creativity into your learning:
Play is an essential part of developing creativity and play should never be reserved for only young children. Find ways to let your inner child out while learning. This can be achieved through any sort of game, so find time each day for game time.
Critical thinking is when you, as a student, think for yourself by asking open-ended questions that allow for answers outside of the expected. Have a discussion with your fellow students or colleagues and don’t invalidate any answers as being wrong. The discussions should be open enough for there to be no wrong answers.
Emotional development allows you and/or the other students to express emotions, and no feeling should be seen as being invalid. Feelings are important for creativity and no-one should feel embarrassed for expressing their emotions.
Freedom of thinking/expression allows for new ideas to be brought up and expanded on. You may think or say something that doesn’t seem possible until other students help you refine and develop it.
Collaboration isoften done as a team. One person may have a lightbulb moment and come up with a great idea and no way of developing it into a practical solution. However, someone else may have the knowledge and ideas to refine the idea.
How Creativity Helps You Learn FAQs
1. Can you lose creativity?
Creativity can never be lost, but if you don’t practice it enough, you may struggle to be creative on demand. This could be due to losing faith in your own creativity. Through practice and consistency, your creativity will grow. It can never run out.
2. How do I become a creative thinker?
Practicing creativity each day will help you develop your creative thinking. Be curious, find time to play, daydream, take risks, and read. These are just a few ways you can improve your creative thinking. Most importantly, be vulnerable; this is where most creative ideas stem from.
Lastly, Get Creative
Be careful not to let rigid ways of thinking hinder your creativity. Allow your mind to wander from time to time. Enjoy the moments of thinking out of the ordinary, and let yourself enjoy the freedom of thinking and coming up with new ideas.
Start by going through the stages of creativity whenever you are faced with a problem and soon you will be implementing those stages when faced with everyday problems without even thinking about it.
The more you practice, the more creative you will become. Try out his riddle:
Samuel went out for a walk with no umbrella and no hat on his head when it started to rain. When he arrived home his clothes were soaked, but not a single hair on his head got wet. How is this possible?
After giving this some thought, have a look at the answer.