Why Creativity Matters in Higher Education [#Infographic]
Creativity matters, and that is not a subjective statement. Adobe recently surveyed 1,000 college-educated, full-time salaried workers on this topic, and the results were overwhelming:
- 96 percent believe creativity is valuable to society.
- 78 percent state that creativity is important to their careers.
- 32 percent don’t feel comfortable thinking creatively at work.
- 78 percent wish they were more creative.
How do you solve a problem like this? Well, you have to get creative. Like most learned skills, creativity begins in school. Few students take creativity classes, and not enough courses address how to “think outside the box.”
Based on the study, 85% of respondents agree creative thinking is critical for problem solving in their career, and 68% of respondents believe creativity is a skill that can be learned. Nearly three-quarters (71%) say creative thinking should be “taught as a class – like math or science.”
Read the full press release here.
To address this issue, rather than build new classes into already busy schedules, professors can ask students to perform exercises and projects aimed at creative thinking. The working professionals surveyed noted they sometimes found that STEM subjects stimulated resourcefulness, which could also be valuable in their careers.
Check out the infographic below for the full results of this study.
