Exploring the best tools to boost Creativity and Critical thinking

In our pursuit of preparing students for real-world careers and challenges, and equipping them with 21st-century skills, we often forget that as educators, we have a duty to dream and create spaces where everyone has the opportunity to be creative and bring out the best in themselves.
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The new edition of the course “Promoting Creativity, Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving in the Classroom” took place in Porto from 21 to 27 September 2025. The participants came from all across Europe, with Helma Lettau and Irena Kiesel from Gymnasium Eickel in Germany, Camilla Ida Saebel from FGU Hovedstaden in Denmark, and Liisi Pabstel and Edith Eskor from the National Archives of Estonia.

Talking about key competences for living in the 21st century, participants explored learning and innovation skills, digital skills, and life and career skills, focusing their attention on the 4Cs: critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration. Most importantly, they experienced firsthand how differently our brains and thinking processes function when faced with a problem to solve.

Participants were presented with a series of challenges designed to help them reflect on how common barriers to out-of-the-box thinking can be easily overcome by applying specific strategies. For example, through the 6 Thinking Hats method, they practiced lateral thinking and devised concrete ways to apply it to their own teaching content. Through individual work and peer review, it became evident that this method can be successfully used across subjects—from science to language learning—and even as a formative assessment tool to encourage students to think creatively and critically.
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Exploring visual strategies, participants engaged in activities aimed at stimulating students’ creative expression, serving as effective tools for brainstorming and idea development.

Recognizing the need to strengthen students’ critical thinking in a world where they are constantly exposed to overwhelming amounts of (dis)information, participants also engaged in reasoning, questioning, and debating exercises. These activities can be easily adapted to different classroom settings to help students become active, reflective, and self-aware learners.

To introduce creativity and critical thinking in the classroom, innovation does not always require new tools—sometimes it simply involves reframing traditional approaches. Participants had fun experimenting with a variety of educational games and explored ways to adapt them to their own subjects, gaining fresh insights into how play and creativity can enhance learning.
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During the week, the group also dedicated a special outdoor session in the beautiful Palácio de Cristal area of Porto, where participants had the opportunity to apply some of the course activities in a natural, open-air environment. This moment outside the classroom highlighted the potential of outdoor learning to boost engagement, collaboration, and creativity, reminding everyone that the best ideas often emerge when we connect with nature and each other in new ways.

​Discover more about this course here.