Creativity in the classroom coda: Twenty key points and other insights

As you have seen, chapter authors approached the assignment in several different ways. Some of them (such as Baldwin; Hennessey; Piirto; and Richards) talked about their personal journey in discovering creativity in the classrooms. Others used specific, concrete examples of creativity-nurturing curriculum and activities (such as Craft; Fairweather & Cramond; Niu & Zhou; Skiba; Tan, Sternberg, & Grigorenko; and Stokes). Some discussed actually teaching courses on creativity or developing programs to encourage creativity (such as Halpern; Piirto; Plucker & Dow; and Renzulli & de Wet).One recurring theme in the book is the list of numerous (often unintentional) ways in which creativity can be (and has been) discouraged in the classroom. Nickerson offers a marvelously engaging tongue-in-cheek recipe for how the classroom can be a creativity stifling experience – in a way, his chapter serves as a synthesis of key points from the past literature. Our authors proposed a series of specific ideas and practices that can be used to increase student creativity. These range from tips for good practice to cautions to advice on how to use available resources for your advantage. We now offer our own synthesis of twenty key points that personally resonated with us as educators. We then highlight some other important themes and ideas that recur in these chapters.