Is it possible to teach “thinking outside the box?” (Pun intended! Our RobotsLab Box is an invaluable tool for inspiring innovative and creative thinking!)

According to an Adobe Systems survey the answer is yes.

Why isn’t it happening then?

According to an Adobe survey of 4000 parents and educators in the US, Germany, the UK and Australia, creativity in the classroom and in the students themselves is being hampered by the following problems:

1: Lack of Resources

  (New technology exists and should be used more in innovative ways)

2: An education system that does not value creativity

  (More specifically it seems many educators feel that the present emphasis on      standardized testing strangles creative teaching in the pursuit of “teaching to the test.”)

 3: Other priorities (discipline, protection and any number of other worthy items)

 4: Lack of time (A result of the first three, no doubt)

  5: Teaching Creativity is the job of other educators (This is the one that bothers us the most! Could this be because as Tacy Trowbridge, worldwide manager of education programs at Adobe said, “Currently, as students move from K-5 to grades 6-12 and on to higher education, creativity is increasingly treated as a specialized skill.” )

Accordingly, the following changes were considered by the survey’s respondents as the most important actions necessary to provide for necessary change.

• Provide tools and training to teach creativity

• Make creativity integral to the curriculum

• Reduce mandates that hinder creativity

Let’s  hope the educational establishment gets the message!