The Importance of Student Creativity

Stopping into the High School Media Center today, I was drawn into a class activity that really highlighted how student creativity can totally transform a class assignment. Students were engaged, working in groups, laughing, and having fun. What's more - they were solving problems together and learning to adapt on-the-fly as problems came up.

Here's how it came to be: Ms. Buckley brought her Public Speaking course to the Media Center. Ms. Haake, our Media Specialist, had come up with the idea of using the Instant Challenge Matrix from Destination Imagination. Students chose an element from each column and tried to create a project that fulfilled those requirements. (For instance, one group wanted to make a shelter that would protect people in Antarctica.) Another group was trying to make a vehicle that would actually move. Yet another was working on a container, that ended up being some kind of a messenger bag... of sorts.

All of this work mattered for their Public Speaking, because, as they went, students had to document their process. They had to make sure that they recorded at least five steps. In the end, they would have to create a 'How-To' presentation explaining how to repeat their work. As Ms. Buckley told me, "It's certainly better than the standard 'how to tie your shoe' presentation." Students had to document their work, including pictures of each step, and work that into their presentation.

It's a great example of how letting students 'play' can lead to engagement, and that engagement can elevate the quality of student work. When students owned the product, they had much more stake in the outcome of their presentations. Rather than doing a 'how-to' that didn't matter, this one did, because it was about something they did.

Thanks to Ms. Buckley for letting me visit!