A 6th Graders Take on Creativity in the Classroom

For this blog I interviewed a student who will be entering 6^th grade this school year. He attends a small, public school district where all 7^th-12^th graders have access to Apple devices in a 1:1 environment. Since he will be just entering 6^th grade, he is drawing on experiences from mostly 5^th grade. What I concluded from our conversation is that he isn’t aware his teachers are coming up short when it comes to integrating technology. He believes his teachers are fostering creativity, though from what he told me, this really isn’t the case. I am trying to take into account, however, that he might not be remembering all that he did in 5^th grade.

The interviewee stated teachers foster creativity because sometimes he is allowed to decide which topics to research; they have leeway in the topic of research. As I dug deeper with my questions, however, I found the teacher(s) relied solely on Google products as a way for students to present their information. I asked if he ever used apps or websites called Prezi, Popplet, Scratch or iMovie, which he stated he had not. It seems the way his teachers allow students to be creative is in choosing their fonts sizes, colors, and pictures for their reports. I also asked if he could think of any websites or apps he wished his teachers would use, for example, Facebook. He said he was fine with the applications he uses and can’t think of one he wishes he could use.

From my conversation with him, I concluded that he doesn’t know he is missing out on opportunities to be creative. There seems to be no choice in applications or sites. It appears the only choice is Google Docs or Google Slides, which allows for a small amount of creativity compared to other products on the market. My interviewee declared his teachers believe creativity important, but I, personally, do not agree. During the interview I struggled with talking about being creative in the classroom with technology because he had little experiences to draw from.

The school district in which the interviewee attends has technology available to students. I am acquaintances with the Technology Integrationist for this district and I know she would be disappointed with the lack of applications being used in the classroom. I’m not sure if his 5^th grade teach(ers) were shy about using technology or if this is a problem prevalent in upper elementary. There is a disconnect between the skills he is gaining in the classroom and what creative skills he will need in the future, according to Sir Ken Robinson’s Ted Talk (2007). I hope that when he enters into 7^th grade and has the opportunity to be in a 1:1 environment, things change for the better.

Robinson, K. (2007, January 6). Do schools kill creativity? [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY