Joining the dots

What happens when you remove restraints from learning, and allow students to discover for themselves? What happens when students are given problems to solve rather than solutions to apply? What happens when students are given blank canvases, digital cameras, an open space? Often, the result is some form of creativity. Time and again I have heard stories from teachers of extraordinary things students have created because they have been given freedom to do so. Give children a camera, and they will show creativity. They will learn to 'see at a higher level'. Ask them to tell their own stories, and they will use their imagination. Give them the chance, and children will astound you with their inventiveness.

I read a wonderful story this morning of a school that created a makerspace in a corridor. A broken computer was placed, in pieces, on a table near to the student lockers. A sign was placed next to it challenging students to put it back together and make it work, and a prize was offered to the successful student. Within a very short time, one of the boys presented the computer, fully operational, to his teachers. He was so thrilled that he had been able to fix it, he almost forgot to claim his prize. Several other students asked if there could be other challenges set, so they could also test their abilities. Some of the girls requested a chance to do the same challenge again, because they wanted to show the boys they were just as capable. There was general excitement in the school, because the students had been offered the chance to show off their skills, and demonstrate their knowledge.

The cartoon at the top of this post says it all. Life is about joining up the dots, connecting things together, making sense of the world. Some environments encourage the transmission and acquisition of knowledge, while others demand that you apply your experience. But there is another level we can all aspire to, where we have freedom to join the dots in any way we wish, ways that are unique to us, in a manner that suits our personal style or personality. To reach that creative level, there needs to be freedom. There might be a challenge of some kind, to demonstrate how well you can do, an opportunity to imagine, to create. The bottom line is that creativity of any kind is best assessed by the individual themselves. If you have painted a picture, or written a song, it will often mean more to you than it will to others. The sense of achievement you can feel once you have created something you can be proud of, is usually reward enough.

So here's hoping that more schools decide to invest in this approach and provide makerspaces for their students, creative opportunities for them to show what they can do, and environments in which they can try out new ideas without risk of penalty.