Making a Better World

Did you know that there are several roadblocks to creativity which diminish applications and effectiveness of using creativity in educational settings? Harris (2012) lists some of these roadblocks as follows: 

Making a Better World is about the roadblocks to creativity. We designed this activity using two extracts from the film ‘Pay it forward’. The film deals with the theme of making the world a better place and a young boy’s attempt to do so. This activity can be used to introduce creative thinking into the classroom, or as a follow-up to What is Being Creative?
 

Procedure: 

1. Tell students to watch the first clip and answer the following check questions: What class is this? What comment does the teacher make about students’ lives? What assignment does he set them? How do the students react to it?

2. Then show the second clip (a follow-up clip) which has Trevor explaining his idea to the class. Tell the students to watch the clip and answer the following questions: What is Trevor’s idea to change the world? What comments do Trevor’s classmates make about his idea? Focus on the fact that the type of roadblocks that Trevor faces (e.g ‘It’s overly utopian’) can often impede creative and innovative processes and discuss the merits of Trevor’s idea with your students.

3. This can be usefully followed up by asking the students to come up with their own ideas for making the world a better place. Open up a free discussion of the ideas students come up with and how they might be developed. Encourage a genuine exchange of ideas and make sure students do not present roadblocks to promising ideas but rather develop and build on other people’s suggestions.

Teach creativity and/or creatively & enjoy being creative!