The Creative Thinking Process Starts With…
By Judy Ross
1. Listening- to your students and to yourself.
2. Asking “What if…?” and “I wonder…?” questions.
3. Providing open-ended materials for exploration. Invite curiosity, wonder, imagination, collaboration, and creativity.
4. Providing a print-rich environment.
5. Creating areas for whole group and small group interaction, as well as private spaces for individual work.
6. Thinking of PLAY not as a "four-letter word", but as essential to the creative process. Play leads to innovation- with
materials, ideas, or both.
7. Providing time for discussion, evaluation, suggestions, and ideas as a group. Allow kids to share ownership.
8. Being the “guide on the side”, not the “sage on the stage”. Be willing to release some control. Remember you
are a facilitator, and that you are the executive decision maker (to keep kids safe, step in to help solve
problems as needed, etc.)
9. Creating an environment that allows for teachers and students to share roles. Everyone is teaching and learning
together, sharing ideas. Everyone’s ideas are accepted and considered. It’s a process that leads to lifelong learning,
innovating, problem solving, and collaboration as part of a team.
10. Above all else- observation and listening!
By Judy Ross
1. Listening- to your students and to yourself.
2. Asking “What if…?” and “I wonder…?” questions.
3. Providing open-ended materials for exploration. Invite curiosity, wonder, imagination, collaboration, and creativity.
4. Providing a print-rich environment.
5. Creating areas for whole group and small group interaction, as well as private spaces for individual work.
6. Thinking of PLAY not as a "four-letter word", but as essential to the creative process. Play leads to innovation- with
materials, ideas, or both.
7. Providing time for discussion, evaluation, suggestions, and ideas as a group. Allow kids to share ownership.
8. Being the “guide on the side”, not the “sage on the stage”. Be willing to release some control. Remember you
are a facilitator, and that you are the executive decision maker (to keep kids safe, step in to help solve
problems as needed, etc.)
9. Creating an environment that allows for teachers and students to share roles. Everyone is teaching and learning
together, sharing ideas. Everyone’s ideas are accepted and considered. It’s a process that leads to lifelong learning,
innovating, problem solving, and collaboration as part of a team.
10. Above all else- observation and listening!