Curiosity and Creative Conflict
I was reminded in one of my teacher leader gatherings a couple of weeks ago how important making space for curiosity is in education. One of the teachers made a scratch art stating, “The cure for boredom is curiosity” (See featured photo)! I would add to this that we need to also be teaching and modeling how to have creative conflict. Right now in the University of Oxford class I am taking we are learning how important encouraging and navigating creative conflict is to professional service firms, like mine. Therefore we should be helping our students understand creative conflict for their leadership development. It would be highly beneficial for their personal and professional growth. It helps our students develop important skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, effective communication, and collaboration.
To teach creative conflict effectively, educators can follow these guidelines:
- Create a safe and inclusive learning environment: open and respectful dialogue where the students are in a psychologically safe space.
- Model and teach active listening: Help students to listen to understand by starting with empathy.
- Foster a growth mindset: Conflict is an opportunity for growth and learning. Conflict provides the chance for exploring different viewpoints and find innovative solutions.
- Practice constructive communication strategies: Provide the ethos where students can express their opinions clearly and respectfully, using “I” statements. Focusing on the issues or problem instead of attacking individuals must also be modeled and practiced.
- Provide opportunities for group work and collaboration. This will provide students with real-world practice resolving conflicts creatively.
- Help students develop self-awareness in order to become more open-minded and adaptable.
- Develop space for discussions and debates of real-world issues and problems: Students need to explore diverse perspectives and challenge their own beliefs.
- Model creative conflict for students.
Let’s all help our young people to foster creative conflict by promoting healthy and respectful disagreements that lead to innovation and growth, rather than destructive arguments. Think how much better the world would be if we were all better at this!
Byron's Babbles 
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