Empowering the future of students through Creativity and Critical thinking

In our efforts to equip students with 21st century skills while preparing them for real world careers and challenges, we often overlook our responsibility as educators to dream and create environments where everyone has the chance to be creative and bring out the best in themselves.

​The new edition of the course “Creativity for the future: promoting Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving in the classroom​” took place in Palermo from 09/03/2025 to 15/03/2025. The participants came from all across Europe, with Anna Idman, Mervi Laakso, Anders Johansson and Teemu Lento from Lohjan kaupunki/Källhagens skola in Finland, Carina Callander from Källvindsskolan, Komvux Norrköping in Sweden, Sandis Bardins from Rigas 6. Vidusskola in Latvia and Krzysztof Dziadek, Danuta Zawadzka, Agnieszka Moskal, Igor Pogonowski and Dariusz Kotarski from Politechnika Koszalińska in Poland.

​Discussing the key competences for thriving in the 21st century, participants explored learning and innovation skills, digital skills, and career and life skills, with a particular focus on the 4Cs: critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration. Most importantly, we experienced through hands-on practice how our brains and thinking skills work differently when we face a problem that needs to be solved.

​Participants were presented with a series of challenges designed to help them reflect on how common barriers to creative thinking can be overcome by applying specific strategies. For instance, by using the 6 Thinking Hats method, participants practiced ‘‘lateral thinking’’ and explored its practical application to the content they are currently teaching. Through individual exercises and feedback from colleagues, it became clear that this method can be used across all subjects, from science to language learning, and also as a formative assessment tool to encourage students to think outside the box.

​Regarding visual strategies, participants got to see new activities which could be a basis for brainstorming or discussing students´ ideas and stimulating their creative expressions in that way. By proposing an innovative and digital perspective, we challenged an “only-art” perception of what “visual thinking” includes.

​A reflection on the importance of fostering students’ critical thinking skills is essential in a world where they are often passively exposed to huge amounts of (dis)information. Participants engaged in activities focused on reasoning, questioning, and debating, all of which can be adapted to various classroom settings to help students become active and conscious agents in their own learning.

​To bring creativity and critical thinking into the classroom, we must not only struggle to find new solutions, but also recognize that innovation often comes from reimagining traditional tools. Our participants enjoyed playing classic games, and had the chance to adapt them to their own subjects, strengthening the learning experience in the process.

​Finishing the course, the participants had the chance to recap the week on posters in a creative way. Finally, they are bringing back new experiences and tools to apply in their own classrooms!

​Discover more about this course here.