How metacreativity prepares students for the future

Key points:

• ai is changing education and these changes can be beneficial if handled correctly
• Metacreativity (routines that help us fully engage in the most difficult parts of creativity) can help with ai integration.
• See related article: 5 positive ways students can use ai
• For more ai and creativity news, visit eSN’s digital learning page

technology/how-widespread-will-ai-be-in-classrooms-this-year-teachers-offer-some-clues/2023/08″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>almost 40 percent of teachers expect to use ai in their classrooms by the end of the 2023-2024 academic year. This use of ai in school will affect the way students learn and use their creativity as innovation, which will be increasingly necessary in the future as higher order thinking skills become standard. There will be long-term effects if creativity teaching methods are not adjusted, but if educators consciously embrace ai, there will be long-term benefits.

In my experience observing educators and students, I began to see the need for more moments of reflection. The education space and other industries are evolving rapidly thanks to ai, but humans, especially young students, are not yet programmed to adapt at the same pace. In response, educators must take more time and be aided by tools to begin planting the seeds of mindful creativity around ai, which will be a critical skill as young children become the workforce. tomorrow.

In the future, metacreativity (routines that help us fully engage with the more difficult parts of creativity) and even higher-order thinking should be on every educator’s mind when creating an environment conducive to both creativity and learning. use of ai.

The relationship between ai and creativity

When most people think of creativity, they relate it to the ability to come up with and express original ideas. However, the ai ​​era we live in suggests that we should change this definition, as ai can be trained with more information and has demonstrated the ability to ai-creativity-23585/%23:~:text=The%2520AI%2520application%2520was%2520in,types%2520and%2520categories%2520of%2520ideas.” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>make creative connections stronger than humans. We must evolve our definitions of creativity to higher levels to remain relevant, including the successful use of ai inside and outside the classroom.

One of the most challenging parts of creativity is resisting the urge to give up when faced with failure or criticism of their ideas, which students commonly face in school when working on group projects or receiving grades. Failure and criticism can cause students to abandon their own ideas and become overly reliant on ai to be their brain, so to speak. If this is done regularly during school, students are likely to continue this habit in their future jobs or other areas of life. To avoid this dependence on ai and other technologies, students need greater self-awareness and reflective routines to engage in the full complexity of creativity.

What is metacreativity?

Staying creatively relevant requires self-awareness, adaptability of thought, and impulse control during the creative process. New routines must be introduced that help humans fully engage in the most challenging parts of creativity. An example of this routine is mindful breathing when a student faces a setback while working on a creative project. This routine will help students calm down and refocus on the task they are working on without losing too much progress.

Routines like this are considered metacognitive functions, which can serve as solutions for students and teachers trying to remain creative and engaged in the classroom using ai.

How to encourage metacreativity

Reflective tools (instructional instruments or techniques that encourage students and educators to reflect on their learning experiences and outcomes) are a great way for educators to foster metacreativity in their students. These tools are designed to stimulate and support higher-order skills, such as critical thinking, self-awareness, and continuous improvement, that are critical to education and life beyond the classroom.

Additionally, reflective tools can help educators adapt to today’s rapidly changing world while fostering greater attention, connection, and intrinsic motivation among their students. By using these tools, educators are taking a step toward eliminating the stigma that schools hinder creativity with their strict rules and routines.

American society is built on innovation: that mindset is what starts and operates businesses, creates new products, and continually sets new standards of excellence around the world. But where does this innovation come from? The contrast between the restrictive creativity of the traditional education system and the challenging, independent culture of normal society can create this innovative thinking, which now translates into higher order skills and metacreativity. Furthermore, the ability to create something from nothing is now the basis of creativity, and higher order thinking will be required to excel at this.

While many believe that schools are one of many factors that diminish basic creativity, I believe that schools impose limitations that can actually develop students’ metacreative abilities in the long term. After years of structured school days, students crave a freedom they’ve never had before. And all the creative and conscious muscles they developed over 12 years are ready to be unleashed when they enter society outside of school. Their eagerness to showcase their unique skills will position them to have a positive impact in any sector they decide to enter.

ai and other technologies have changed the way humans think and live. For the education space, specifically, teachers must create a learning environment where students can reach a new level of creativity that enables collaboration with ai and requires even higher order thinking skills to flourish. This is what will prepare students for the rest of their lives.

While it may be an adjustment at first, implementing metacreativity and engaging in the most challenging parts of the creative process will yield the best results for educators and students as the ai ​​era continues to gain momentum.