Encouraging Creativity in Lesson Plans

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Originally published in TEACH Magazine, July/August 2020 Issue

By Adam Stone

As a Grade 7 language arts teacher at Dexter McCarty Middle School in Gresham, OR, Kayleigh Wright has a clear vision of where any given lesson plan ought to lead. “I don’t just want a kid who can quote Shakespeare’s sonnets,” she says. “I want someone who can solve problems, who can be a strong contributing member of society, and who can also make connections between their lives and a story or a sonnet they have read.”

What she wants, in short, is a K–12 lesson plan that fosters creativity, self-expression, and self-discovery.

This is not easily achieved, says Cassie Tabrizi, CEO of educational consultancy, Create-abilities. “It can be incredibly easy to treat lesson planning like a checklist. Objective: check. Standards: check. Activity: check,” she says.

Education experts say there is a better way. A thoughtful lesson plan can encourage exploration, freeing kids to speak in their own voices and infusing creativity into the learning process. Parents and teachers see the value in this: Gallup research found 87 percent of teachers and 77 percent of parents say teaching that incorporates creativity in the learning process has a bigger payoff for students.

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Adam Stone is a seasoned journalist with 20+ years’ experience. He covers education, technology, government, and the military, along with diverse other topics.

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Adam Stone
Adam Stone
Adam Stone is a seasoned journalist with 20+ years’ experience. He covers education, technology, government, and the military, along with diverse other topics.

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