The concept of teaching creativity has been around for quite some time.
See also What Is Divergent Thinking?
Much of the blame for a lack of creativity, and therefore innovation, can be traced to our traditional educational systems.
It relies on teaching to the correct answer. An innovative thinking model is needed.
Most of the practice of creative methods is being done outside the traditional educational institutions by consulting firms and by persons in companies who have been trained in creative problem solving methods. In universities not much has changed since 1950, when the distinguished psychologist J. P. Guilford in his inaugural address as president of the American Psychological Association stated that education’s neglect of the subject of creativity was appalling.
Adding to this sequence of events is the fact that textbooks are at least three years out of date when they are published and . . . educational systems were the slowest adopters of innovation. Thus, we see that educational institutions need a strong dose of creative problem solving.
What are some ways then as educators that we foster and promote creativity in the classrooms?
50 (Mostly) Simple Ways To Encourage Creativity In The Classroom
1. Project-Based Learning (PBL)
Let students explore real-world challenges through long-term, open-ended projects.
Example: Design a sustainable city using local data and student-created models.
2. Creative Writing Assignments
Use writing to explore feelings, invent characters, or solve imaginary problems.
Example: Write a story where gravity disappears for a day.
3. Arts Integration
Blend artistic expression into non-art subjects to promote–or even assess–understanding and imagination.
Example: Illustrate the water cycle using watercolor and mixed media.
4. Role-Playing and Simulations
Let students step into character to explore empathy, decision-making, and creative thinking.
Example: Simulate a UN climate summit with student delegates representing different nations.
5. Genius Hour
Give students dedicated time to explore and present on a topic they are passionate about.
Example: A student builds a working cardboard pinball machine as a design challenge.
6. Use Emotion
Design lessons that connect with students’ feelings, values, or lived experiences.
Example: Write a poem about a time you felt misunderstood.
7. Use a Creativity Model
Structure thinking with steps that promote both divergent and convergent processes.
Example: Use the Osborne-Parnes model to reimagine movies, stories, literature, music–what the lesson or activity might benefit from.
8. Celebrate Student Questions
Highlight curiosity by giving space for student-generated inquiries.
Example: Create a ‘Wonder Wall’ where students post weekly questions.
9. Allow for Mistakes
Normalize error as part of growth and creative discovery.
Example: Hold a “Failure Friday” where students share what they learned from a flop.
10. Encourage Curiosity
Invite students to investigate, explore, and stay curious about the world.
Example: Begin each class with an unusual object or mystery photo to provoke questions.
11. Teach Creative Skills Explicitly
Break down creative behaviors like flexibility, originality, and persistence.
Example: Teach students to generate multiple solutions before choosing one.
12. Design Multidisciplinary Lessons
Connect concepts across subjects to fuel novelty and understanding.
Example: Use rap lyrics to analyze literary devices and poetic structure.
13. Use Combination Learning
Students can take an idea from one ‘thing’ and apply it to another
Example: Students can take an idea from a math equation, poem, a video game, a painting or drawing and apply that idea to something else–aa story, a t-shirt, a science project, or any number of ideas.
14. Start Class with a Visual Prompt
Use images to activate prior knowledge, storytelling, and abstract thinking.
Example: Ask, “What’s happening in this painting—and why?”
15. Use Open-Ended Questions
Promote idea expansion with questions that have more than one answer.
Example: “What might be another way to solve this conflict?”
16. Practice Constraints-Based Creativity
Encourage creativity by limiting tools or time.
Example: Design a bridge using only paper and tape.
17. Student-led Lessons
Allow students to research and teach content in engaging ways.
Example: One student uses memes to teach photosynthesis.
18. Flip the Script
Let students reimagine stories, processes, or historical outcomes.
Example: Rewrite the ending of a novel from another character’s perspective.
19. Connect with Nature
Use outdoor learning to refresh perspective and inspire content.
Example: Sketch a science diagram based on natural observations.
20. Use Humor Intentionally
Playful thinking encourages risk-taking and idea fluency.
Example: Create ridiculous inventions like a shoe that cooks eggs.
21. Create Collaborative Murals
Large-scale art fosters teamwork and visual storytelling.
Example: Students contribute to a mural depicting what creativity means to them.
22. Use Time Travel Scenarios
Encourage critical thinking by changing historical or future settings.
Example: How would Shakespeare write in the age of YouTube or TikTok?
23. Hold “What If” Days
Dedicate class time to exploring imaginative scenarios.
Example: “What if school happened underwater?”
24. Use Music to Inspire Thinking
Sound opens doors to abstract thought and mood-setting.
Example: Write a story that matches the tone of an instrumental piece.
25. Play with Analogies
Making connections strengthens conceptual understanding.
Example: How is the circulatory system like a road network? How is a burp like a market correction?
26. Use Non-traditional Materials
Inspire inventiveness with unexpected media.
Example: Build a character sculpture from string, cardboard, and foil.
27. Host a Creativity Challenge
Timed challenges develop flexible and fast thinking.
Example: Create a hat using only paper and staples.
28. Incorporate Improvisation
Improv games build spontaneity and collaboration.
Example: Play a “Yes, and…” storytelling game.
29. Ask for Alternative Endings
Encourage perspective and originality by rethinking outcomes.
Example: Write a new ending for a science experiment that failed.
30. Encourage Storyboarding
Planning through images helps visual and sequential learners. And these don’t have to be limited to telling fictional stories!
Example: Storyboard a science lab process before executing it.
31. Hold a Classroom Exhibition
Showcasing work raises the creative bar.
Example: Display student passion projects at a “Creativity Night.”
32. Use Abstract Art as Writing Prompts
Abstract imagery prompts rich interpretation and metaphor.
Example: Write a poem based on a painting’s shapes and colors.
33. Use Humor to Problem-Solve
Silly ideas often spark serious innovation.
Example: Design a machine that makes homework fun.
34. Celebrate Unfinished Work
Showcase drafts and process to honor experimentation.
Example: Host a “work in progress” showcase.
35. Use Storytelling Tools
Combine tech and creativity for modern narratives.
Example: Make a short film using Book Creator or Canva, or even paper-based storyboarding
36. Start with a Mistake
Flawed examples stimulate editing and innovation. Give students simple ways to learn through mistakes.
Example: Revise a story with a major plot hole.
37. Consider Cultural Creativity
Use global examples of art, invention, and expression.
Example: Study how indigenous symbols are used in contemporary design.
38. Use Mind-Mapping for Ideas
Visual brainstorming helps connect thoughts.
Example: Mind map all the ways to represent a math concept.
39. Let Students Choose Their Medium or Form
Flexible expression honors different strengths.
Example: Explain a science process using a skit, song, or model.
40. Invite Local Creators to Speak
Community artists bring fresh perspective and possibility.
Example: A local animator explains how they storyboard ideas.
41. Host a “Curiosity Fair”
Let students share explorations of their own choosing.
Example: Present a student-made prototype or artistic creation.
42. Celebrate Process Over Product
Reframe success as growth and effort.
Example: Post student reflections alongside finished work.
43. Practice Reversal Thinking
Look at problems backwards to generate new angles.
Example: How would you break this invention on purpose?
44. Gamify Creative Tasks
Games make expression more inviting and dynamic.
Example: Turn vocabulary review into a drawing game.
45. Use Found Objects for Design
Upcycling inspires resourcefulness and originality.
Example: Make a Rube Goldberg machine using only classroom scraps.
46. Hold a Mystery Object Day
Stimulate storytelling with the unknown.
Example: Tell the story of a mysterious antique box.
47. Use Realia in Lessons
Real-world items deepen context and spark questions.
Example: Use a broken compass to launch a geography lesson.
48. Build Class Rituals that Celebrate Ideas
Routines can reinforce the value of creativity.
Example: Start each Monday with a 5-minute “Maker Moment.”
49. Give Students Creative Roles
Assign rotating roles like Illustrator, Connector, or Questioner.
Example: One student draws diagrams while another challenges ideas.
50. End Class with a Reflection Prompt
Reflection strengthens self-awareness and creativity.
Example: “What did you try today that you’ve never done before?”
