This summer 66 countries - not England sadly - took part in the first ever global assessment of young people’s creativity, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 Creative Thinking Assessment. Like the other PISA tests in mathematics, science, and reading, this one provides a snapshot of how creative a selection of 15 year olds are, as measured by a one-hour online assessment. The tests are individually anonymous but give an overall sense of how creative young people are in different educational jurisdictions.
The PISA assessment examines students’ capacities to generate diverse and original ideas, and to evaluate and improve ideas, across a range of contexts or ‘domains’. The assessment includes four domains: written expression, visual expression, social problem solving and scientific problem solving. In each of these domains, students engage with open tasks that have no single correct response. Students are either asked to provide multiple, distinct responses, or to generate a response that is not conventional. These responses can take the form of a solution to a problem, of a creative text or of a visual artefact.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) which coordinates PISA has recently published this fascinating overview, helpfully reminding us that creativity is essentially Thinking outside the Box. While a publication about an assessment might not seem of relevance to busy teachers, this one most definitely is with succinct advocacy of creative thinking, subtle descriptions of what students actually need to learn and well-evidenced descriptions of the kinds of creative learning environments which cultivate creativity.
Powerful arguments for the value of creative thinking in schools
For any teacher who finds it challenging to articulate the importance of creativity, page 9 offers some useful pointers. A fundamental role of education, it is argued, is to equip students with the competences they need to succeed in life and society. Being able to think creatively is a critical competence that young people need to develop for several reasons:
- Creative thinking helps prepare young people to adapt to a rapidly changing world that demands flexible workers. Children today will be employed in jobs that do not yet exist, using new technologies to solve novel problems and emerging challenges. Developing creative thinking will help prepare young people to adapt, undertake work that cannot easily be replicated by machines, and address increasingly complex challenges with innovative solutions.
- Creative thinking helps students to discover and develop their potential. Schools play an important role in students’ development beyond preparing them for success in the labour market. Schools must also help young people to discover and develop their talents, including their creative talents.
- Creative thinking supports learning by helping students to interpret experiences and information in novel and personally meaningful ways, even in the context of formal learning goals. Student-centred pedagogies that engage with students’ creative potential and encourage exploration and discovery can also increase students’ motivation and interest in learning, particularly for those who struggle with rote learning and other teacher-centred schooling methods.
- Creative thinking is important in a range of subjects, from languages and the arts to the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines. Creative thinking helps students to be imaginative, develop original ideas, think outside the box, and solve problems.
Takeaway idea:
School leaders and could start with the four ideas above and develop them into a school manifesto for the power of creative thinking.
Read the publication Thinking outside the box.
Find out more about Pisa Creative Thinking 2022