The Future of Education

The World Health Organization characterized COVID-19 as a global pandemic on March 11, 2020, and two days later, declared a national emergency in the US to recommend closing all school buildings for the remainder of the academic year. As difficult as the world-wide lockdowns have been, they may have opened the door to a boom in creative expression. Kapoor and Kauffman (2020) note heightened showcasing of creativity during the pandemic. In this piece, I focus on personal and observed behaviors of increased demonstration of creativity during the COVID-19 pandemic and present examples of such creativity. Henricksen et al. (2021) present a literature review citing the lack of international common ground to infuse creativity in classrooms. Is this the bridge from imagination to creativity to classroom practice (Vygotsky, 1980)? Henricksen et al. (2021) indicate the need for research, policy, and practice. The pandemic has changed the way we teach, learn, interact, and communicate, as educators around the world, learn technology on the fly, to be able to present material to their students, converse with students’ families, and to provide meaningful learning situations that vary greatly from school to school. Kapoor and Kaufmann (2020) suggest that engaging in creative acts provides some sense of control, while Helzer and Kim (2019) also consider the possibility that the practice of engaging in creativity for well-being can lead to long-term changes in stress responses. Beghetto (2021) sees crisis as a catalyst for creative and innovative outcomes. We have all learned from and with one another and this pandemic has sparked creativity in all aspects of life, from medical care to food delivery, mask-making, crafting, to on-line Zoom concerts. Where will schools be on this creativity spectrum in a post-pandemic world? How will we make a paradigm shift to be more interactive, creative, and engaging for our students?

Keywords: post-pandemic, creativity, teaching and learning, stress release.

References: 

• Kapoor, H. and Kaufman, J. C. (2020). Meaning-making through creativity during  COVID-19. Frontiers in Psychology.
• Henricksen, D., Creely, E., Henderson, M., & Mishra, P. (2021). Creativity and technology in teaching and learning: a literature review of the uneasy space of   implementation. Education Tech Research Dev (2021).   
• Vygotsky, L. (1980). Mind in Society: Development of Higher Psychological  Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Helzer, E. G., Kim, S. H., (2019) Creativity for workplace well-being. Academy of   Management Perspectives. 33(2).
• Beghetto, R. A. (2021). How times of crisis serve as a catalyst for creative action: An agentic perspective. Frontiers of Psychology. 11:600685.