by admiller

Created on: April 29, 2009

Encourage creativity in the classroom by modeling creative problem solving. Teachers are faced with countless mini-crises throughout the day and can use these opportunities to model creative thinking. If students see a teacher thinking creatively, they are more likely to engage in creative problem solving in their personal lives.

One common class interruption, a hiccupping student, can be turned into an excellent mini-lesson on creative problem solving. As soon as you hear a hiccupping student, take notice but do not say anything. Let the hiccups continue for a little while. Quietly walk over to the student, lean over, and calmly state, "I will give you this shiny quarter if you hiccup just ONE more time."

The scenario could take several routes at this point, but all lead to cured hiccups. The student could say, "Hey. That worked" and class continues as normal. The student could fake ONE more hiccup. In this case hand over the quarter and say something like, "Well, I tried" and continue instruction. You will find that the "one more hiccup" was the last one. The student could engage in conversation and ask, "Really!?" and you begin a back and forth discussion and realize at some point that the hiccups are gone.

The class will be amazed and the hiccupping student will be grateful. Now, use this mental trick as a teaching opportunity. Have students analyze the creative solution: Why did it work? Would other items besides a quarter have achieved the same result? Will this trick only work when someone else has the hiccups or can you use it on yourself? What are some non-creative solutions to hiccups? What makes this solution creative?

Next, brainstorm several common everyday problems or interruptions as a class and write them on the board. Have students select a problem they want to tackle and generate a list of potential creative solutions. Provide the students with an opportunity to share their ideas with the class. In the course of the discussion, point out what makes a solution creative.

Finally, have students pick one problem and a creative solution to try in the real world. Their homework assignment is to try it out and report back what they learned. Their report should include why they think it worked or did not work and suggestions for future applications.

You have successfully turned a minor interruption into an opportunity to practice higher order thinking and model creative problem solving. This hiccup cure and mini-lesson works every time.

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