前言：事实证明，这并不是要“教”孩子们创造力，而是要创造一个肥沃的环境，让他们的创造力生根发芽，茁壮成长。麻省理工学院终身幼稚园小组负责人、研究员米奇·雷斯尼克解释了我们如何做到这一点。
有一种普遍的误解，认为鼓励孩子创造力的最好方法就是让他们发挥创造力。虽然孩子们天生好奇和求知欲强，但他们需要支持来发展他们的创造能力并充分发挥他们的创造潜力。支持儿童发展始终是一个平衡的行为:多少结构，多少自由;何时介入，何时退出;什么时候展示，什么时候说，什么时候问，什么时候听。
在整理这份清单的过程中，我结合了给家长和老师的建议，因为我认为培养创造力的核心问题是一样的，无论你是在家里还是在教室里。关键的挑战不是如何“教”孩子们创造力，而是如何创造一个肥沃的环境，让他们的创造力生根发芽，茁壮成长。
这个列表是围绕我所说的创造性学习螺旋的五个组成部分来组织的，这个过程鼓励孩子们想象他们想做什么，通过玩工具和材料来创造项目，与他人分享想法和创作，并反思他们的经历。
对于这五个部分，我提出了两个建议。然而，这些建议只是你为了培养孩子的创造力而要求和做的所有事情中的一小部分。把他们看作是一个有代表性的例子，然后想出更多你自己的例子。
想象
1. 展示例子来激发灵感
空白页、空白画布和空白屏幕可能令人生畏。一组例子可以帮助激发想象力。当我们运行Scratch研习班时，我们总是从展示样本项目开始——给人一种可能的感觉(鼓舞人心的项目)，并提供如何开始的想法(入门项目)。我们展示了各种各样的项目，希望与研讨会参与者的兴趣和激情相联系。
当然，孩子们只是简单地模仿或复制他们看到的例子是有风险的。这作为一个开始是可以的，但仅仅是一个开始。鼓励他们改变或修改例子。建议他们加入自己的声音或加入自己的个人风格。他们会有什么不同?他们如何添加自己的风格，连接到自己的兴趣?他们怎么能把它变成自己的呢?
2. 鼓励在捣乱
大多数人认为想象是在头脑中进行的，但手也同样重要。为了帮助孩子们对项目产生想法，我们经常鼓励他们开始摆弄材料。当孩子们玩乐高积木或修补手工材料时，新的想法就会出现。一开始是一个漫无目的的活动，现在变成了一个扩展项目的开始。
我们有时会组织一些小型的实践活动来让孩子们开始。例如，我们会让孩子们把一些乐高积木放在一起，然后把这个结构传递给一个朋友，让他再加一些，然后继续前后移动。经过几次迭代之后，孩子们通常会对他们想要构建的东西有新的想法。
创建
3.提供各种各样的材料
孩子们深受周围世界的玩具、工具和材料的影响。为了让孩子们参与到创造性活动中来，确保他们能够接触到广泛多样的绘画、建筑和手工艺材料。新技术，如机器人工具包和3-D打印机，可以扩大儿童创作的范围，但不要忽视传统材料。一位电脑俱乐部的协调人不好意思地向我承认，她的会员们在没有任何先进技术的情况下，用“尼龙、报纸和鸟籽”制作自己的娃娃，但我认为他们的项目很棒。
不同的材料适合不同的东西。乐高积木和冰棒棍可以用来做骨架，毛毡和织物可以用来做皮肤，Scratch可以用来做移动和交互的东西。钢笔和马克笔可以用来画画，胶水枪和胶带可以用来把东西粘在一起。材料越多样化，创意项目的机会就越大。
4. 拥抱所有类型的制作
不同的孩子对不同的制作方式感兴趣。有些人喜欢用乐高积木搭房子和城堡。有些人喜欢用Scratch制作游戏和动画。其他人则喜欢制作珠宝、肥皂盒赛车、甜点或迷你高尔夫球场。
写诗或短篇小说也是一种创作。孩子们可以通过所有这些活动了解创意设计的过程。帮助孩子们找到与他们产生共鸣的制作方式。更好的做法是:鼓励孩子参与多种类型的制作。这样，他们会对创造性的设计过程有更深的理解。
玩
5. 强调过程，而不是成品
许多最好的学习经历都发生在人们积极参与制造的时候，但这并不意味着我们应该把所有的注意力都放在制造的东西上。更重要的是制造东西的过程。
当孩子们在做项目时，强调过程，而不仅仅是最后的产品。询问孩子们的策略和他们的灵感来源。鼓励实验，奖励失败的实验和成功的实验。为孩子们分配时间来分享他们项目的中间阶段，并讨论他们下一步计划做什么以及为什么要做。
6. 延长项目时间
孩子们从事创造性项目是需要时间的，特别是如果他们不断地修修补补、试验和探索新的想法(我们希望他们会这样做)。试图将项目压缩到一个标准的50分钟学习时间的限制中——甚至是在一个星期的课程中有几个50分钟的时间——破坏了项目工作的整个理念。它不鼓励冒险和实验，它优先考虑在规定的时间内有效地得到“正确”的答案。对于增量变更，为项目安排双倍的周期。为了更有戏剧性的变化，当学生在学校只做项目时，可以留出特定的几天或几周(或几个月)。
分享
7. 扮演媒人的角色
许多孩子想要分享想法和在项目中合作，但他们不知道如何去做。你可以扮演媒人的角色，帮助孩子们找到可以一起工作的人。在Scratch在线社区，我们组织了为期一个月的合作训练营，帮助挠痒者找到可以合作的人，并学习有效合作的策略。
8. 以合作者的身份参与进来
父母和导师有时会过多地介入孩子的创意项目，告诉孩子该做什么，或者拿起键盘向他们展示如何解决问题;其他父母和导师则完全不参与其中。在这两者之间有一个最佳的平衡点，成人和儿童在项目中形成真正的合作。当双方致力于共同努力时，每个人都能获益良多。
一个很好的例子是ricrise Roque的家庭创造性学习计划，在这个计划中，父母和孩子们在当地社区中心进行了五次项目合作。在体验结束时，父母和孩子对彼此的能力有了新的尊重，关系也得到了加强。
反馈
9. 问(真实的)问题
让孩子们沉浸在项目中是很好的，但是让他们退后一步思考正在发生的事情也是很重要的。你可以通过问孩子们关于他们的项目的问题来鼓励他们反思。我经常以这样的问题开始:“你是如何想到这个项目的?”这是一个真实的问题:我真的很想知道!这个问题促使他们思考是什么激励了他们。
我最喜欢的另一个问题是:“你最惊讶的是什么?”这个问题促使他们不再只是描述项目，而是反思自己的经验。如果一个项目出了问题，我经常会问:“你想让它做什么?”“在描述他们试图做的事情时，他们往往能意识到自己哪里出了问题，在我没有提供任何进一步的信息的情况下。”
10. 分享你的想法
大多数家长和老师都不愿意和孩子们谈论他们自己的思考过程。也许他们不想暴露他们有时在思考中感到困惑或不确定。但是和孩子们谈论你自己的思考过程是你能给他们最好的礼物。
对孩子们来说，重要的是要知道，思考对每个人来说都是一项艰巨的工作——对大人和孩子都是如此。让孩子们听到你的项目策略和思考问题的方法是很有用的。通过倾听你的想法，孩子们会更开放地思考自己的想法，他们会有一个更好的模式来做这件事。把你生活中的孩子想象成创意思维的学徒;展示和讨论你是如何做到的，帮助他们学习成为有创造力的思考者。
这篇文章最初发表在麻省理工学院出版社的读者网站上。
原文：
10 tips for cultivating creativity in your kids
Turns out, it’s less about “teaching” creativity to children — and more about creating a fertile environment in which their creativity will take root, grow and flourish. Researcher Mitch Resnick, director of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at MIT, explains how we can do this.
There’s a common misconception that the best way to encourage children’s creativity is simply to get out of the way and let them be creative. Although it’s certainly true that children are naturally curious and inquisitive, they need support to develop their creative capacities and reach their full creative potential. Supporting children’s development is always a balancing act: how much structure, how much freedom; when to step in, when to step back; when to show, when to tell, when to ask, when to listen.
In putting together this list, I am combining tips for parents and teachers, because I think the core issues for cultivating creativity are the same, whether you’re in the home or in the classroom. The key challenge is not how to “teach” creativity to children, but rather how to create a fertile environment in which their creativity will take root, grow, and flourish.
The list is organized around the five components of what I call the Creative Learning Spiral, a process that encourages children to imagine what they want to do, create projects through playing with tools and materials, share ideas and creations with others, and reflect on their experiences.
For each of these five components, I’ve suggested two tips. However, these tips are just a very small subset of all of the things you might ask and do to cultivate children’s creativity. View them as a representative sample, and come up with more of your own.
IMAGINE
1. Show examples to spark ideas
A blank page, a blank canvas, and a blank screen can be intimidating. A collection of examples can help spark the imagination. When we run Scratchworkshops, we always start by showing sample projects — to give a sense of what’s possible (inspirational projects) and to provide ideas on how to get started (starter projects). We show a diverse range of projects, in hopes of connecting with the interests and passions of workshop participants.
Of course, there’s a risk that children will simply mimic or copy the examples that they see. That’s OK as a start, but only as a start. Encourage them to change or modify the examples. Suggest that they insert their own voice or add their own personal touch. What might they do differently? How can they add their own style, connect to their own interests? How can they make it their own?
2. Encourage messing around
Most people assume that imagination takes place in the head, but the hands are just as important. To help children generate ideas for projects, we often encourage them to start messing around with materials. As children play with LEGO bricks or tinker with craft materials, new ideas emerge. What started as an aimless activity becomes the beginning of an extended project.
We’ll sometimes organize mini hands-on activities to get children started. For example, we’ll ask children to put a few LEGO bricks together, then pass the structure to a friend to add a few more, then continue back and forth. After a few iterations, children often have new ideas for things they want to build.
CREATE
3. Provide a wide variety of materials
Children are deeply influenced by the toys, tools and materials in the world around them. To engage children in creative activities, make sure they have access to a broad diversity of materials for drawing, building and crafting. New technologies, like robotics kits and 3-D printers, can expand the range of what children create, but don’t overlook traditional materials. A Computer Clubhouse coordinator was embarrassed to admit to me that her members were making their own dolls with “nylons, newspapers, and bird seed,” without any advanced technology, but I thought their projects were great.
Different materials are good for different things. LEGO bricks and popsicle sticks are good for making skeletons, felt and fabric are good for making skins, and Scratch is good for making things that move and interact. Pens and markers are good for drawing, and glue guns and duct tape are good for holding things together. The greater the diversity of materials, the greater the opportunity for creative projects.
4. Embrace all types of making
Different children are interested in different types of making. Some enjoy making houses and castles with LEGO bricks. Some enjoy making games and animations with Scratch. Others enjoy making jewelry or soapbox race cars or desserts—or miniature golf courses.
Writing a poem or a short story is a type of making, too. Children can learn about the creative design process through all of these activities. Help children find the type of making that resonates for them. Even better: Encourage children to engage in multiple types of making. That way, they’ll get an even deeper understanding of the creative design process.
PLAY
5. Emphasize process, not product
Many of the best learning experiences happen when people are actively engaged in making things, but that doesn’t mean we should put all our attention on the things that are made. Even more important is the process through which things are made.
As children work on projects, highlight the process, not just the final product. Ask children about their strategies and their sources of inspiration. Encourage experimentation by honoring failed experiments as much as successful ones. Allocate times for children to share the intermediate stages of their projects and discuss what they plan to do next and why.
6. Extend time for projects
It takes time for children to work on creative projects, especially if they’re constantly tinkering, experimenting and exploring new ideas (as we hope they will). Trying to squeeze projects into the constraints of a standard 50-minute school period — or even a few 50-minute periods over the course of a week — undermines the whole idea of working on projects. It discourages risk taking and experimentation, and it puts a priority on efficiently getting to the “right” answer within the allotted time. For an incremental change, schedule double periods for projects. For a more dramatic change, set aside particular days or weeks (or months) when students work on nothing but projects in school.
SHARE
7. Play the role of matchmaker
Many children want to share ideas and collaborate on projects, but they’re not sure how. You can play the role of matchmaker, helping children find others to work with. In the Scratch online community, we have organized month-long Collab Camps to help Scratchers find others to work with — and also to learn strategies for collaborating effectively.
8. Get involved as a collaborator
Parents and mentors sometimes get too involved in children’s creative projects, telling children what to do or grabbing the keyboard to show them how to fix a problem; other parents and mentors don’t get involved at all. There is a sweet spot in between, where adults and children form true collaborations on projects. When both sides are committed to working together, everyone has a lot to gain.
A great example is Ricarose Roque’s Family Creative Learning initiative, in which parents and children work together on projects at local community centers over five sessions. By the end of the experience, parents and children have new respect for one another’s abilities, and relationships are strengthened.
REFLECT
9. Ask (authentic) questions
It’s great for children to immerse themselves in projects, but it’s also important for them to step back to reflect on what’s happening. You can encourage children to reflect by asking them questions about their projects. I often start by asking: “How did you come up with the idea for this project?” It’s an authentic question: I really want to know! The question prompts them to reflect on what motivated and inspired them.
Another of my favorite questions: “What’s been most surprising to you?” This question pushes them away from just describing the project and toward reflecting on their experience. If something goes wrong with a project, I’ll often ask: “What did you want it to do?” In describing what they were trying to do, they often recognize where they went wrong, without any further input from me.
10. Share your own reflections
Most parents and teachers are reluctant to talk with children about their own thinking processes. Perhaps they don’t want to expose that they’re sometimes confused or unsure in their thinking. But talking with children about your own thinking process is the best gift you could give them.
It’s important for children to know that thinking is hard work for everyone—for adults as well as children. And it’s useful for children to hear your strategies for working on projects and thinking through problems. By hearing your reflections, children will be more open to reflecting on their own thinking, and they’ll have a better model of how to do it. Imagine the children in your life as creative thinking apprentices; you’re helping them learn to become creative thinkers by demonstrating and discussing how you do it.
This article was originally published on theMIT Press Reader site.