PLN Reflection 4: Encouraging Students' "Creative" Writing

The Office of Ed Tech (@OfficeofEdTech) tweeted an interesting article this week on utilizing young people’s love of stories and personal expression in our classrooms to make them more creative thinkers. The Plain Dealer article asks a very simple question: “Kids love stories -- we all know that. So why don't we do more to seize the opportunities that presents?”

There is research to suggest that kids resistant to normal critical thinking and writing exercises in the classroom are interested in creative writing of some form: “69 percent of kids who said they don't like school assignments that involve writing nonetheless pursued some creative writing on their own in the previous year.” The idea of creative writing here is expanded beyond writing personal narratives or poems. The writing may happen on paper, but more than likely it takes place on a screen. Creative writing can certainly include something like a short personal narrative, but it also takes the form of facebooking a joke or humorous story to a friend, texting a list of desires to a friend, or any other activity that involves some form of creation of words without prompting that contains or implies some story about a student's experiences.

Any form of creative writing is an effective tool for student learning. The Plain Dealer article goes so far as to suggest “writing is about far more than telling stories…it's the science of expression…it's algebra with words…it's the social studies of one's own life…writing exercises all the mental muscle groups and sharpens vision.”

Highlighting and praising these kinds of everyday creative writing by students (like creating a creative writing club or a most interesting Tweet competition) can make students more excited about creativity they possess. If we can get them to place emphasis on the writing they do, and especially if we can match our curriculum to this kind of everyday creative writing, it may translate to students who associate their creative thinking with their school activities. I think many would agree this is desirable.

http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2011/07/urge_kids_to_write_creatively.html