8 Ways to Help Children Become Better Problem-Solvers
In this podcast, sociologist Christine Carter discusses how to encourage creativity and help kids become better problem-solvers. To do so, we should foster creativity, which is the number one skill needed for success and creating good problem-solvers.
Some other takeaways from the podcast:
- Creativity is not just in terms of arts.
- Creativity is a skill we can practice and develop.
- Creativity development should focus on the process, not the outcome.
- We should create and problem-solve and limit goal-orientation.
To provide opportunities for creativity, we should:
- Provide resources for creative expression (where it’s not obvious what to do with the resources).
- Provide unstructured time.
- Provide outdoor time.
- Practice brainstorming (idea generation without evaluation), i.e. at dinner time, can brainstorm activities for the coming weekend.
- Encourage risk-taking; generate comfort around not performing.
- Play dress up.
- Encourage reading for pleasure; read out loud expressively.
- Participate in the arts, i.e. drama, music.
Are there other ideas we can use to foster creativity in children?