Supreme Special: Creativity and Planning in Schools
Recent research has highlighted the importance of developing a creative mindset for school planners, a concept that is relevant for initial professional educational practice and continuing professional development alike. Creative thinking is a key capability that helps individuals and organizations deal with and manage change, which is fundamental to the nature of the planning process. As change becomes more rapid it is crucial that there are people in the profession that are able to turn problems into opportunities. Creativity and planning helps a school define what it intends to achieve when it comes to the students success, objectives and organizational goals. are all working towards achieveing the same goals.
WHAT IS PLANNING?
Planning is the process of thinking about the activities required to achieve a desired goal. It is the first and foremost activity to achieve desired results. Planning is the fundamental management function, which involves deciding beforehand, what is to be done, when is it to be done, how it is to be done and who is going to do it
WHAT IS CREATIVITY?
Creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity is characterized by the ability to perceive the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to make connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena, and to generate solutions. Creativity involves two processes: thinking and producing. It is the courage to create.
STEPS TO EFFECTIVE SCHOOL PLAN
1: Know your school's current situation
A plan to improve depends first on a good understanding of existing school practices and student outcomes, particularly current levels of student attainment. These are the starting points for any improvement effort and the baselines against which a school's improvement efforts are evaluated.
Step 2: Specify the desired outcomes
A school improvement plan specifies what improvements in outcomes a school wishes to see. Desired improvements maybe included, but are not limited to, improvements in student achievement, school attendance, post-school destinations, and student attitudes and engagement. A school improvement plan recognises the need to prioritizes, set realistic expectations, and provide the time required for meaningful and sustainable improvement.
Step 3: Design and implement an improvement strategy
Once a school has decided the outcomes it wishes to improve, the next step is to decide how those improvements will be achieved, that is, the strategy or strategies the school intends to implement
In general, better student outcomes are achieved through more effective, evidence-based school and classroom practices. A school improvement plan makes explicit the changes in practice a school intends to make. The plan also identifies what will be required to implement the strategy, for example, changes in culture, staff professional development, staff redeployment or the physical resources required for effective implementation.
A combination of good school planning and creativity will ensure that stakeholders including parents, teachers, administrators and the school community are all working towards achieving the same goals.
KRYSTAL IBHADE TAMUNOSIKI
