Why Schools Need To Do More To Foster Creativity

They’re constantly on phones and devices. They text instead of calling. They tweet. They snap. They design their own apps. Technology is engrained into almost every aspect of their day to day lives. Generation Z – that’s 11 to 17 year olds to you and me – are growing up in a world that looks completely different from the one their parents and teachers grew up in.

To better understand this generation of students, Adobe launched a study of over 500 Gen Z students and 200 teachers in the UK to find out how Gen Z view creativity, technology and their futures beyond the classroom. The findings, while shocking, give a good indication into how educators can foster creativity in their students, and prepare them for the world of work.

Future Imperfect

The first thing that struck me about the findings was that just 52% of Gen Z-ers have a dream job in mind. In an era where the world is our oyster, surely more should have a career they aspire to, whether that’s to be a doctor, fashion designer, architect or a professor, the possibilities are endless.

In addition, Gen Z students – who define themselves as smart, creative and hard-working – admit they are nervous about their future careers. Over half (51 percent) of those Adobe spoke to for this study admit they feel unprepared for the future, and over one third (37 percent) consider what they learn outside the classroom to be more important to their future careers than what they learn inside.

Perhaps this lack of imagination and inspiration is down to a lack of creativity in the classroom. Adobe’s results back this up; a staggering 70 percent of students and 75 percent of Gen Z teachers have a mutual desire to see an increased focus on creativity in their studies. Whilst the overwhelming majority (77 percent of students and 87 percent of teachers) see creativity as essential to students’ future careers.

Harnessing Creativity

So how can educators foster a teaching environment that sparks creativity? Nearly all of the young people surveyed (92 percent) think understanding technology is key to being prepared when they start their careers. Both students and teachers also agreed that Gen Z-ers learn best through doing and creating things, experiencing the world hands-on and connecting their classroom experience to the wider world around them.

But what can educators do to put these insights into practice? One way is to give students projects that involve them presenting their work back in imaginative ways – whether that’s designing unique apps, creating engaging presentations or videos about their research or building online portfolios of their work. This helps encourage creativity while developing the kind of thinking that builds science and tech skills – allowing students to flex their creative muscles in real-world scenarios that are still relevant to what they are learning at school.

This might be as simple as students creating assignment responses using Adobe Spark Video or creating interactive PDFs that contain video, slideshows and are hosted on the cloud with one click by using Adobe InDesign. During my time teaching at The Chalfonts Community College and Aspire AP, I have seen students aged as young as 11 develop a fascinating set of content creation skills allowing them to work seamlessly with video, web, print, animation, imaging and even gaming apps. Jumping from one tool to the next. It took me a while to realise that the only way forward was to work collaboratively with the students in order to guide them creatively and technically but also encourage them to explore and experiment with digital tools to develop their digital literacies as well as their ability to learn independently.

Equipping Students For Future Success

The students in Adobe’s study said they are excited and nervous about the future. And it’s no wonder they feel this way – 95 percent of teachers believe Gen Z will work in careers that haven’t even been imagined yet. While we can’t prepare students for the exact work they’ll do, we can teach them to dream big, whatever their chosen career path; to be creators, to solve problems and express themselves.

Imagine a young person coming to a job interview with an app they built in class. When they show it to a potential employer, they’re demonstrating a specific technology skill, but also showing their ability to communicate and solve a problem in a creative way. These are the skills employers are looking for, both now and in the future.

Get all the details about the methodology and findings of Adobe’s study, “Generation Z in the Classroom: Creating the Future” here.