The world is changing rapidly due to new technologies and shifts toward the SDGs in the work environment. At Fronteer Education, we believe in the importance of training resilient students, as they are the core of our future economic landscape.
Creative thinking plays a vital role in driving innovation and progress in our society, enabling the invention of new ideas, perspectives, concepts, principles, and products that can improve our lives and shape the world around us. It is important to foster creative thinking within young adults, to encourage them to know how to communicate and express their ideas later in life [1]. However, to express creative behaviour, one must first have the confidence that they can execute a creative task [2]. This is known as creative confidence. Developing creative confidence is not something that happens overnight; it requires continuous training, building confidence through a series of small successes over time.
This process cannot succeed without the right attitude of both teachers and students. Both need to adopt a creativity-conscious mindset; one that is open, receptive and supportive of new ideas. Teachers need to create space for this mindset, by providing a positive climate for experimentation, encouraging curiosity and modeling flexibility.
The biggest barrier towards creative confidence within our current education system is the fear of failure. Teachers often lack the flexibility to experiment with new forms of education, feeling pressured to complete the qualification dossier. Meanwhile, students are taught that there is often only one correct answer, leading them to focus on perfection. Yet within creativity, there is no such thing as one right answer, and they hesitate to take risks or experiment with challenges.
To improve risk-taking behaviour and build creative confidence in both teachers and students, several guidelines were developed, as shown in the figure below. By taking these guidelines into account whilst developing up-to-date, innovative education, both students and teachers become more resilient towards the rapid changes in our economic landscape.
Fronteer Academy
At Fronteer Academy, we teach educators how to become resilient coaches capable of innovating and creating modern, relevant education. Through lessons in co-creation, educators gain the confidence to experiment with new forms of education and acquire tools to translate their ideas into actionable and successful results. Various schools, including Summa College and ROC van Amsterdam, have already participated in the program, with enthusiastic feedback and valuable outcomes.
Are you interested in implementing creative confidence in your organization, or would you like to learn more? Send a message to irheen@fronteer.com or ninatouw@fronteer.com.
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[1] Mossing, 2013
[2] Kelley & Kelley, 2014