About

What do you think of when you see or hear the words “Being creative” or “creativity”?

Perhaps images of children doing art or people who express themselves through their work or even in their daily life experiences. Some may associate creativity with people who are ingeniousness, resourceful or think outside the box.

Some of us may particularly associate creativity to designers, artists, dancers, writers or even actors.  But come to think of it even entrepreneurs, inventors, scientists and architects come up with original, progressive ideas or technologies. Creativity can even be seen in daily pursuits like cooking, gardening or even interacting with children. Creativity can also be characterised by the ability to perceive the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to make connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena, and to generate new possible solutions. Keep the above discussion as a backdrop, would you consider yourself or people you know of to be creative?

What about people who think or feel they are not creative? Have you observed how they justify or explain their lack of creativeness? Could it be possible they are already engaging in creative thinking or endeavours, but they are not realizing that their actions are creative?

A 2012 Adobe study on creativity shows 8 in 10 people feel that unlocking creativity is critical to economic growth and nearly two-thirds of respondents feel creativity is valuable to society, yet a striking minority – only 1 in 4 people
believe they are living up to their own creative potential.

What words or phrases stand out to you as you read the following quotes? How do you define creativity or creative individuals?

Creativity is intelligence having fun! – Albert Einstein

The process of having original ideas that have value – Sir Ken Robinson

Creativeness is the ability to see relationships where none exist. – Thomas Disch

Creativity must represent something different, new, innovative, appropriate to the task at hand, useful, and relevant. (Kaufman, 2009, p. 19)

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. (Adams,
1996 in Kauffman, p. 20)

This resource is a part of the course on ‘Creativity in the Early Years Classroom’ It will help you understand what creativity is, the significance of creative expression for children’s learning and how can we create environments that
foster creativity, creative thinking and expression.

You will also have an opportunity to explore and reflect on your views on your own creativity and how that can have an impact on what you do with children and families, in your early childhood facilities.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120423005601/en/Study-Reveals-Global-Creativity-Gap

https://www.creativityatwork.com/2012/03/23/can-creativity-be-taught/

Skills You Gain From Creativity- An Introduction

1. Skill 1 : What does creativity mean?
2. Skill 2 : Exploring the definition of creativity
3. Skill 3 : Linking creativity and the Early Years
4. Skill 4 : exploring who can be creative