Mangaluru, Oct 24: Teachers play vital roles in the lives of the students. Teachers are best known for the role of educating the students that are placed in their care. Beyond that, teachers play many other roles in the classroom. Teachers set the tone of their classrooms, build a warm environment, mentor and nurture students, become role models, and listen and look for signs of trouble.

'Creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen, and thinking what no one else has thought.' - Albert Einstein

Creativity is in great demand in today’s workforce. In today’s knowledge economy where intellectual property is valued more than physical resources, we need to prepare a different kind of employee; the kind who is a creative problem solver and develops their own novel ideas to drive the next generation of technological innovations. Higher level skills and abstract thinking such as these, is why it’s important to teach kids to think outside the box.

Can you teach creativity?

Creativity is not a skill you can grasp or even properly define. It is not taught from a manual. We have to practise and follow it.

Developing a ‘skills toolkit’

The more skills, ways of thinking and experiences a student can draw upon from their toolkit, the more creative they are likely to be.

Fostering the right culture

People need permission, confidence and the space to be creative. If your classroom, home or business does this, then you are fostering the right culture to encourage creativity.

That way, you are more likely to have people who are willing to take risks and be more innovative.

The following six strategies help students develop creativity

1 Ask open-ended questions

Asking open-ended questions help students to think outside the box. Many times during the school day, students are responding to closed questions. The thinking involved is quite minimal and there is only one possible correct answer.

2 Establish discussion routines

Teachers that regularly have student-centred classroom discussions give students ample opportunities to think outside the box. Ideally, the teacher would start with an open-ended question to get the ball rolling.

3 Model creativity

It’s easy to ask students to be more creative, but what does that look like? We have the responsibility to model our own creativity to children. Use visible thinking routines

4 Praise out of the box thinking

Acknowledging students when they display creativity is a crucial part in developing a culture where creativity is valued and fostered. Specify end goals not the process.

Rather than over-scaffolding tasks, let students work out how to reach the end goal by thinking creatively. Ultimately, every child can be creative. It all comes down to developing their ‘skills toolkit’ and fostering the right culture for creativity to flourish. As parents and educators, that’s our responsibility.

Following are the points to be noted by teachers:

1 Teaching Knowledge

The most common role a teacher plays in the classroom is to teach knowledge to children. Teachers are given a curriculum they must follow that meets state guidelines. This curriculum is followed by the teacher so that throughout the year, all pertinent knowledge is dispensed to the students. Teachers teach in many ways including lectures, small group activities and hands-on learning activities.

2 Creating Classroom Environment

Teachers also play an important role in the classroom when it comes to the environment. Students often mimic a teacher’s action. If the teacher prepares a warm, happy environment, students are more likely to be happy. An environment set by the teacher can be either positive or negative. If students sense the teacher is angry, students may react negatively to that and therefore learning can be impaired. Teachers are responsible for the social behaviour in their classrooms. This behaviour is primarily a reflection of the teacher’s actions and the environment she sets.

3 Role Modelling

Teachers typically do not think of themselves as role models, however, inadvertently they are. Students spend a great deal of time with their teacher and therefore, the teacher becomes a role model to them. This can be a positive or negative effect depending on the teacher. Teachers are there not only to teach the children, but also to love and care for them. Teachers are typically highly respected by people in the community and therefore become a role model to students and parents.

4 Mentoring

Mentoring is a natural role taken on by teachers, whether it is intentional or not. This again can have positive or negative effects on children. Mentoring is a way a teacher encourages students to strive to be the best they can. This also includes encouraging students to enjoy learning. Part of mentoring consists of listening to students. By taking time to listen to what students say, teachers impart to students a sense of ownership in the classroom. This helps build their confidence and makes them strive for success.

5 Signs of Trouble

Another role played by teachers is a protector’s role. Teachers are taught to look for signs of trouble in the students. When students’ behaviour change or physical signs of abuse are noticed, teachers are required to look into the problem. Teachers must follow faculty procedures when it comes to following up on all signs of trouble.

(Prof.Austin Pais is Assistant Professor in E&C Department, Yenepoya Institute of Technology and CEO & Founder, Trainident)