As we close our Spotlight submission period in the search for innovative solutions that help foster creativity in K12 education, we would like to share some valuable resources created by our partners at the LEGO Foundation.
At HundrED, we believe that creativity is crucial to solving problems, both small and large. Whether personal challenges or those that impact billions, creative solutions can solve multitudes of challenges faced by people around the world. Creativity is also a mindset - the ability to adapt, no matter what happens. We believe that every child has the ability to be creative, and that ability can be improved as they grow.
At the LEGO Foundation, creativity is seen as an iterative process of connecting, exploring, and transforming the world in both new and meaningful ways. Everyday practice of creativity, through play, is the best way to help children develop strong creative skills. Everyday creativity empowers children and nurtures their creative skills so that they can become more capable of responding to situations with the kind of creativity that may change the world.
This aligned vision and mission is what has brought us together.
Creativity Matters is a series of LEGO Foundation publications that convenes a broad spectrum of viewpoints and opinions focused on creativity in education systems. The aim is to stimulate discussion about this by engaging key people who exert influence and mold results in the field of education.
Their first report Creating Creators convenes and presents expert opinions from right across the educational spectrum – academics, assessors, enablers, governments, learners and teachers – on the importance of creativity in education systems.
In the following video, you can hear from Dr. Vicki Phillips, CEO in Residence at Educurious and former Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Education, who addresses why creativity matters and what we can do to close the gap between the desire for creativity and education systems’ ability to develop and nurture this pivotal skill.
Their most recent publication Creating Systems presents a collection of interviews with policy-makers from five pioneering education systems on how they have attempted to reform their public education systems to enhance learners’ creativity skills.
"We hope that in some small way – as an advocacy tool, resource or in stimulating debate – this report supports and enables much of the amazing work that is already being done in education systems across the world. We also hope that it inspires others to build, and share, their own creativity reform stories." - John Goodwin, CEO of the LEGO Foundation
Key Lessons From the Creating Systems Report
#1 Learning through play is often an important factor in supporting creativity
#2 Effective advocacy is critical in generating and maintaining buy-in for reform
#3 Partnerships across and outside government will strengthen and support reform
#4 A shared understanding, language and definitions of creativity will assist large-scale adoption
#5 International organisations can support reform
#6 Teachers and local leaders play a key role in any reform
#7 A clearly articulated curriculum will guide students and teachers
#8 Governments have a strong rationale to focus on creativity
#9 A whole-school approach is important
#10 Assessment is crucial, but can be a challenge
DOWNLOAD THEIR REPORT ON CREATING SYSTEMS HERE
Along with the LEGO Foundation, we aim to provide convincing examples of education solutions from around the world that help foster creativity skills in classrooms. To stay up to date with our ongoing HundrED Spotlight on Creativity, follow our work here. To explore LEGO Foundation's Creativity Matters report series, click here.