Being an educator in the 21st century is a daily challenge that requires a lot of effort in order to
build the perfect weapons against routine, old-fashioned tradition and boredom, issues that can
occur in an educational environment that doesn’t encourage the students to bring out their best.

​Exploiting the stimulating energies of creativity was the main goal of the latter edition of the
course “Creativity for the future: promoting Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving in the
classroom​”, that took place in Palermo from 06/11/2022 to 12/11/2022.

​The participants came from all across Europe with Karīna Dūne from Valmiera Pargauja State gymnasium in Latvia, Rebeca González González from IES Taboada Chivite from Spain, Ana Isabel Urbieta Balado and María José García Merin from IES Praia Barraña also from Spain.
Our journey through the original methods of education started with a creative brainstorming on the main innovative skills required in classroom, focusing on the so called 4Cs: critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration. All these important features lead to the main goal: developing powerful problem-solving skills through hands-on practice and different situations.

In our days together, we also have learned how to develop mechanisms of “πλευρική σκέψη“, suitable with every aspect and content in teaching. For example, using the “6 Thinking Hats Method” participants discovered how to get their students to think outside the box and assume active roles in their own process of learning.
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Reframing was one of our main goals: traditional tools and games were redesigned and participants had an opportunity to adapt them to their own subjects while building a stronger learning perspective on them.
We also focused on digital and ICT tools, fundamental skills for educators of the 21st century, as much as visual strategies to discuss ideas and build activities in the most creative and stimulating educational environment.
​The sharing moments have been our strength, because we have learned a lot about different strategies and influences in teaching methods, linked to each cultural and personal environment.
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Participant also had the chance to prepare some presentations in order to talk about their schools, showing to each other the main features of their workplaces.
Before our last goodbye, we also discovered the importance of reasoning, questioning and debating. These three main columns help students to avoid the huge amount of disinformation to which they are exposed every day and also to avoid passivity in their learning process.

​Each different personality of our group has been a wealth for all of us: they improved our energies during the course and enriched our laughter during our activities together!